Recycle your paper, plastic, and tin cans. Cash in returnable cans and bottles. Images courtesy of Jupiter Images

Southampton - Earth Day (April 22) saw the opening of the first "green" spec house in Southampton Village. On the outside, the house looks much like any other elegant house, except for the unobtrusive solar panels on the roof. The walls are stucco, the roof is tiled with gray, blue-gray, and terra-cotta-colored slates. But those beautiful roof tiles? They're actually made of recycled soda bottles. You'd never know it to look at them. And that's just the beginning.

Use green, non-toxic cleaning products.

Catherine Bedard, an eco-broker with The Corcoran Group, is representing the house and explained its features. This house produces all of its own energy, with a combination of solar and a geothermal heat pump. The tight construction means that little heat escapes through windows and doors, making the home very energy-efficient. All thermostats are programmable, the lighting is from LED (light-emitting diode) fixtures, and all the appliances are Energy Star rated. See "First Green Luxury Dwelling Unveiled on Earth Day," elsewhere on this site, for more about the house.

Whether or not you ever decide to build a green house for yourself, you can adopt some of the features of the Southampton green house for your current home. There are plenty of things each and every one of us can - and should - do around the house to use fewer resources and decrease the size of our carbon footprint. Start by finding out how big your carbon footprint is now, by going to The Nature Conservancy's website (nature.org) and using their simple Carbon Calculator. Then get busy.

Compact fluorescent bulbs are widely available in hardware stores, supermarkets and retail chain stores. They cost more but last far longer than incandescent bulbs.

Here are 10 things you can do to start moving toward a greener lifestyle:

 • When you replace an appliance or office equipment, choose a product that is Energy Star rated for better energy efficiency. Energy Star products use from 10 to 50 percent less energy than conventional appliances.

 • Leave your car at home when you can. Walk or bike once in a while to run errands. Get a group together in your workplace and form a carpool. Plan your shopping and other errands to combine trips as much as you can. See if your company can conduct meetings by teleconferencing to cut down on business travel. Try to work from home some of the time.

 • Insulate the attic and basement of your house. Plug air leaks around windows and doors with caulking and weatherstripping.

 • Recycle your paper, plastic, and tin cans. Cash in returnable cans and bottles. Use recycled products - look for recycled content information on packaging. Supermarkets and "big box" stores collect plastic bags for recycling. Recycle your vegetable peelings, egg shells and other food waste (but not meats, fats, or oils) by starting a compost pile. I'll tell you how in a future column.

 • Use energy-efficient light bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are widely available in hardware stores, supermarkets and retail chain stores. They cost more but last far longer than incandescent bulbs. When the bulbs do burn out, take them to Home Depot for recycling - don't toss them in the trash. LED lights are also becoming easier to find and in greater variety.

 • Use green, non-toxic cleaning products. Make your own with vinegar, baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide, or look for brands such as Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, Method and Seventh Generation.

Take shorter showers, and use a low-flow showerhead. Don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth.

 • Install a water filter, and try to use less water. Take shorter showers, and use a low-flow showerhead. Don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth. Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation instead of overhead sprinklers to water your garden. If you do have an in-ground sprinkler system, make sure it has a rain sensor.

 • Lower your household thermostats in winter and raise them in summer. Even a few degrees will reduce your energy consumption.

 • Turn off appliances and electronics when you're not using them. Most of them draw energy even when they're turned off, so unplug them at night when you go to bed. And unplug chargers for cell phones, i-pods, and other devices as soon as you finish charging them.

 • Make your home more energy efficient. Contact Long Island Green at www.ligreen.com to find out about getting an energy audit and to learn more about improving your home's energy efficiency. Sign up for the Long Island Power Authority's (LIPA) Solar Pioneers Program. Go to www.lipower.org/solar, or go to the homepage and look in the Efficiency section for information.

It's easy to take those first few steps toward a greener lifestyle.