Eat Less of Everything

If this were as simple as it sounds, we wouldn't have an obesity problem in this country. Americans' portion sizes keep growing, and so do our waistlines. No matter how green our food is, each bite takes a toll on the environment through production, packaging, and transport. So, cutting down -- by preparing and ordering less, not just tossing out half of what's on your plate -- automatically reduces your carbon footprint, not to mention your caloric intake. And if you have children, you have even more reason to cut down on food intake since children's obesity is a rising epidemic nationwide.

Eat Less Meat

It's no secret that big industrial beef and pork farms pollute water and threaten biodiversity. But did you know that the methane emitted by cows is 21 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide? Just producing enough meat for one hamburger emits the same amount of greenhouse gas as a six-mile car ride. And this country, along with other Westernized nations, is one of the worst offenders: We eat an average of 8 ounces of meat per person daily, more than twice the amount consumed by people in developing countries. Need more reason to cut down on meat, how about money savings....read on?

Eliminate Processed Foods

Most of the food we consume has been processed in one form or another. In fact, almost 30 percent of the energy used by the food industry goes into processing the stuff we eat. Eliminating all processed foods could cut your food-related carbon footprint by almost a third (not to mention make you MUCH healthier).

Be Takeout-Savvy

Yes, to be really, really green, you would always cook at home with all that wonderful produce from your garden or the local farmers' market. But sometimes, that's not possible. Next time you place an order, say you don't want any paper napkins; if every American gave up one paper napkin a day, we'd save a billion pounds of paper from going to landfills each year. Also decline plastic utensils, individual condiment packets, and chopsticks, the latter of which cost China about 25 million trees a year to make. And ask if you can bring your own container and have them fill it for you. After all, how many packets of soy sauce does one person need?

B.Y.O. Bag

For one week, count how many disposable bags you get. Make a couple of trips to the grocery store, grab lunch from your favorite sandwich shop, pick up a prescription at the pharmacy -- it seriously adds up. In the United States alone, we go through 100 billion plastic bags per year, less than 1 percent of which get recycled. Bringing a sturdy tote wherever you go is one of the easiest Earth-friendly changes you can make -check out these stylish eco-totes!