Tip #3 - Eating Locally

One easy and community friendly way to reduce your environmental footprint is to shop locally. These days there are lots of options to buy local veggies and meats. Just visit any one of the many farmers markets across town:

• The Lansing City Market: open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11am to 7pm, and Saturday from 9am to 5 pm all year round.
• Old Town Farmers Market: Open May to October the first Sunday of the month from 10am to 3pm (located at Turner and Grand River Ave).
• Allen Street Farmers Market: Open May to October every Wednesday from 2:30pm to 7pm (Allen St. and Kalamazoo Ave).
• East Lansing Farmers Market: Open July to October every Sunday from 10am to 3pm (downtown East Lansing at Valley Court Park).
• Meridian Township Farmers Market: Open May to October on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm and on Wednesdays from 8am to 2pm starting in July.

Tip # 2 - Sealing Air Leaks

Air leaks around doors, windows, and electrical outlets, and especially in attics can lose as much heat as leaving a window open all winter long.  Fixing these leaks can not only save you money - but you could reduce your carbon emissions by up to 800 pounds annually!  Here are some easy ways to fix these problems:

• Once you locate where cold air leaks are coming in - get some weather stripping, outlet insulators, caulking, insulating foam, window putty, and door sweeps adn install where needed.
• If you are renting - try working out a plan with your landlord to deduct the cost of installation and materials from your rent.
• You can also have a home energy audit done - there are a variety of options here. We had someone come in with an infra-red camera to see where around our house was leaking air or didn’t have very good insulation.
• You can also get those sand or cotton stuffed tubes to put along the bottom of your doors or windows (keping drafts out).

Tip # 1 - Home Heating

It’s starting to get cold outside and we’re all turning up the heat. Home heating typically accounts for over a quarter of your overall energy bill AND you can generate ~8,000 pounds of CO2 emissions annually. But you can lower your environmental foot print AND save money - here’s how:

• During the day when people are home, set your thermostat at “sweater” temperature - between 65-68 degrees.

• Before going to bed or when everyone is out of the house set the thermostat to “blanket” temperature - between 55-58 degrees.

• An even better bet - install a programmable thermostat so you make sure the heat is always at the temperature you wish. This can reduce your heating bill by up to 20%. (It’s worth the initial investment — Plus once we installed it my hubby wasn’t scolding me for forgetting to turn the heat down - bonus!)

By setting temperatures to the above recommenation - you can reduce your carbon footprint by ~1,400 pounds. So not only are you Going Green but you are also saving money!