Don't dump the remainder of your glass of water down the sink. Energy went in to purifying it and getting it to your house. Instead, pour it in your dog's water dish, or your watering can for your plants. They won't mind the backwash.
The process for extracting aluminum from its ore requires between 6.5 and 9.0 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy to produce one pound. Recycling aluminum uses 95 percent less energy than making it from ore. A recycled can saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for up to 3½ hours. The link is WIRED article.
Tip for small businesses- use openeco.org to compare your carbon footprint with others in your industry. Users can also share tips and encourage one another. Its encouraging to see the goals of others while trying to achieve your own.
Lights made with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are roughly as efficient as compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and vastly more efficient than incandescent lights. Unlike CFLs, LEDs start instantly at full brightness, contain no mercury, and emit no UV light. LEDs also last approximately 50 times longer than incandescents and 5 times longer than CFLs.
A follow-up on my washer and dryer tip... donate your old washer and drier to a church or habitat for humanity. Tax right off and maybe you get to go to heaven, eh, eh.
Although quite expensive, if you have money laying around, replace your old washer and dryer with a new large capacity/green machine. I did, and I promise I use half the amount of water and detergent. Plus, I do many fewer loads than I used to. So, I guess I will earn my money back in a few years.
Have a kiddie pool you are going to throw out? Stop and fill it partly with dirt, organic matter and start planting your garden. It's just hard to move the darn thing (gets heavy) and if you live in the suburbs or city you'll be labeled as a red-neck... never stopped me before.
If you shop at a large bulk food store, don't just recycle those 50 gallon barrels of mayo and pretzels, use them for your kid's or pet's toy storage. Also great for storing nails, potting dirt (poke holes in it for air purposes)... oh, and it makes for great planting containers. Your local hippie will think your pretty cool.
Want to be really hip? Buy your fruits, veggies, meats. honey, flowers, herbs from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture... it's a share program). Look it up. Plus, you may earn a discount if you give up some free labor. Hey, when is the last time you shoveled some sh*! Take your kids and show him/her where food really comes from.
Listen, even old grumpy country folk agree. You may not be able to buy fresh greens and fruits in the dead of winter (at least in parts of the midwest/east coast). Just don't buy, for example, blueberries from South America (plus, they are packed way before appropriate harvest time and taste awful - I think).