HowStuffWorks Green Living  Tags: howstuffworks energy science_questions science_explanations science organic green recycle conservation hybrid global_warming alternative_fuel  

If you've been overly saturated with green tips and all the green products on the market today, rest assured our tips are straightforward and truly environmentally friendly. You can toss the other ideas in the compost bin.

"Green" is one of the hottest buzzwords in construction. Proponents say green building is environmentally friendly -- and also healthier and more cost-efficient.

New home construction takes a tremendous toll on the planet, but that doesn't have to be the case. These ten natural building materials can form sturdy, energy-efficient homes without the environmental impact.

Your car. Your clothes. Your home. Almost anything you can think of has a green alternative, including the floor beneath your feet. But where can you buy these materials?

Can the same stuff in my placemat make wood floors? What does bamboo have to do with green building?

Let's say you're building a house. You want to "build green," but where do you start? Most likely, you'll turn to LEED.

Air conditioning with ice blocks is taking root among some of the world's most powerful companies. Learn how air conditioning with ice blocks works.

Is there anything worse than an inbox clogged with spam? How about a mailbox stuffed with take-out menus, furniture catalogs and grocery store circulars? Once and for all, how can you stop junk mail from piling up in your life?

Do you think you're pretty green? Would you be willing to trade your comfortable flushing throne for a composting toilet? We thought not. But they might not be as bad as you think.

As the world confronts a water crisis, more people are recycling gray water at home. Left over from bathing or washing clothes, gray water can be used to water your garden.

One of these chairs is not like the others, especially if it's built locally and made from materials that meet environmental guidelines. How can you tell the difference when you're furniture shopping?

They're supposed to make your home smell like a spring day. But there's nothing fresh about low-grade pollutants. Do air fresheners lighten the scent in the air, or do their cancer-causing chemicals bog down people?

Vinyl makes many consumer goods safer and more affordable. However, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) releases toxic fumes and when burned, it produces hazardous smoke.

One company's SkyMine technology aims to capture industrial carbon dioxide emissions and turn them into an endlessly useful product: Baking soda. But how do pollutants become a household staple?

Environmentally conscious builders are learning a variety of green building techniques, from green rooftops and solar panels to water recycling. Learn more about green building in this HowStuffWorks video.

The Water Theater Desalination Plant is both visually stunning and eminently practical. The Water Theater will create an endless supply of clean water for an entire city.

This array of wind-powered generators off the Dutch coast has the potential to bring clean, inexpensive power to thousands of homes. The Dutch Oceanic Wind Turbine project is examined in this Discovery Channel clip.

A giant tower in Australia will combine solar technology and hot, rising oxygen to generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. Learn more about this amazing project in this video from Discovery Channel.

Kristen Kemp gives some practical tips to help you go "green" in the house and garden on The Learning Channel's "Property Ladder."