This year . . .

* Give gifts that don't involve buying anything - time together, a back rub, babysitting, seeds from your garden.

* Give the gift that keeps on growing - …

Small engines are inefficient and dirty, too. Did you know that running a leaf blower for 1 hour is equivalent to driving your car 350 miles! Here are some  alternatives:

1. Don't …

Wood burning stoves are highly energy efficient. They are designed to reduce the amount of soot, smoke and ash produced compared to a standard open fire, and they direct heat out …

Everybody shops. But not everybody realizes how environmentally important it is to shop consciously. To precycle is to make buying choices that support responsible products and packaging, make recycling easier and …

An Energy Star refrigerator uses 50% less energy and could reduce your bills by $112 anually. Use Energy Star-rated appliances whenever possible.

Energy Star-qualified appliances also use 10% - 50%  less energy …

Aggressive driving - speeding, rapid acceleration, heavy braking - wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and by 5% around town. Aggressive drivers use an …

If you turn down your thermostat by 1 degree, your heating costs will decrease 3%. If you turn down 10%-15% for 8 hours a day, you'll reduce your heating bills by …

And you can make them yourself. It's easy!

Tear up your waste newspaper, soak it in a sink of water until it turns mushy, and then squeeze the mulch into a brick …

The Morton Arboretum is testing a unique, new porous pavement made of crushed, recycled beer bottles, other glass and granite fragments. The test is consistent with a decades-long commitment to protecting …

Since its founding in 1922, the Arboretum has demonstrated sustainable practices to benefit the community. As an outdoor museum, the Arboretum showcases trees as essential elements of livable communities and a …