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• Feb 5, 2007 11:57 pm US/Central
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  Good Question: How Can I Go Green And Save Money?

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Good Question: How Can I Go Green And Save Money?

(WCCO) Many of us can't afford to go buy a hybrid car tomorrow or install solar panels on our roofs, but that doesn't mean there aren't some little changes we can all make to tread a little lighter on the planet and actually save money. Here are four easy ways to go green and save some green.

Use A Cup

Seventy million bottles of water are used each day in the U.S. and about 60 million are tossed in the trash.

"People are buying bottled water for its convenience," said Michael Noble the executive director of Fresh Energy in St. Paul.

Plastic comes from oil and it takes 1.5 billion barrels to make the bottles we use each year. When you add it all up, it costs about 10,000 times more than getting water from the tap.

Junk The Junk Mail

We each get about 41 pounds of it each year and 44 percent of it goes to the landfill unopened. Making and sending junk mail uses more energy than 2.8 million cars and it kills 100 million trees.

"We should recycle it with our recycled paper, but we can also get our names off of junk mail lists," Noble said.

To cut down on junk mail, check out Consumer Assistance's Web site or 41pounds.org's Web site.

Drive Smarter

"Setting it at 55 is an amazing amount of energy savings," said Noble.

Driving 65 miles per hour instead of 55 uses 20 percent more fuel, while going 75 uses 45 percent more.

Use Better Bulbs

Compact fluorescent light bulbs reduce energy use by 75 percent compared to regular incandescent light bulbs. If each household in the U.S. switched just one bulb, we could save enough energy to power the city of Chicago.

Check out Minnesota's Earth 911 Web site for information about how to dispose of light bulbs.

"You are reducing global warming emissions and you are protecting the environment while putting money in your pocket," said Noble. "All these examples are just plain good old fashioned thriftiness."

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)