With all the hype about going green and saving Mother Earth , are you green-out or overwhelmed by this responsibility? Or are you asking yourself what you can do to play your part? Plenty, even if you are not an enthused environmentalist or a green activist. Even the little you do can create a huge impact in the long run. And what better time to start than this summer, where challenges abound with soaring temperatures?

Summer–lazy hot afternoon and warm nights. Days at the pool, at the beach, in the background firing up the grill. Days of air-conditioning and hiding indoors in the heat of the day–television gawking or computer surfing. Time to take flights to destination far and wide for the much needed vacation. Lots of opportunities for using energy and lots of good excuses too. If you take a step back and re-evaluate, you can actually enjoy all the perks of summer without leaving hefty footprints all over planet. Here is how:

Turn off the TV and computer too

Right, get off the couch and do some activities outside the house. Summer offers ample outdoor possibilities. Not only will you save energy otherwise expanded by hours of television watching and computer hogging, but you will reap the benefits of some good old fashioned outdoor activity. Take a nature walk. Too hot? Swim in the comforts of your own pool, or your neighbor’s or the community. Shoot balls with your children. Activities like these and more (you can get creative) help to gel family and friends together. Cheap, clean fun with no down side.

Easy on the Air-conditioning

So the tendency is to turn on the cool button on your air-conditioning when the air grows warm around you. There are cool green alternatives to this inevitable problem. You can cool your house the au naturale way–open your windows, especially ones facing south and north. With the shades down, but windows open, cross ventilation may just be the answer. If you’re still feeling the heat, turn on the fan instead, as they consume way less energy than the humming air conditioning unit. Don’t have a fan? Make one. Newspaper, magazine or even your outdoor concert brochure–they can be transform easily into portable, creative fan powered by your own muscle. Couldn’t be more eco-friendly. If you must have the air-conditioning, crank it up a few degrees, ideally 78 degrees as it is most energy efficient.

Cool Treats

Summer is a good time to round up family and friends for some cool treats. See? You can be cool and green at the same time. You can make popsicles as a family project to be served on warm days. Frozen fruit treats are easy to make. Eating food rich in water content can help hydrate and cool the body. Watermelon game, anyone?

Gasonomics

Instead of driving miles in search of summer fun, plan activities with low environmental impacts. Walk to the local park, go to a nearby zoo, head out to the nearest beach to chill. Read a book in the cool comfort of your lounge chair instead of vying with the summer crowd at the theater. Play water games in your backyard instead of driving miles away to a water park. Less driving means less carbon monoxide emission. Translation? Easy on the pocket and good for the environment.

Grilling 101

What is summer without backyard barbecues? However, using briquettes to cook a standard hamburger produce 105 times more carbon monoxide than using a propane grill. What’s more? Briquettes give off harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) when burned.

Plant a garden, Grow Green Awareness

Summer time is a good time to plant a vegetable garden. What can be more organic than vegetables hailed from your own backyard? Or what could be more eco-friendly since your vegetables just need to travel from the backyard to your kitchen to be enjoyed. Get your kids to help you pick the kind of vegetables they like and make it a family project. This get-down-and-dirty green project not only will ensure your supply of vegetables in the months ahead, it will help your kids appreciate nature. And who better to entrust the world to than a future generations of nature lovers?

Smart Shopping

School is out and this is good time to take your kids shopping at the local market. Farmer’s market is a good place to start. Supporting local farmers help to cut cost in transportation and reduce energy use. While you’re out shopping, don’t forget to tote your canvas bags and tout a little of the importance of going green. A little fact to impress your kids: In an average year, American households used about 100 billion plastic bags of which 99% are never recycled. A little education, a little shopping and a whole lot of green awareness.

There you have it. Seven simple things you can do to support the longevity of Planet Earth. You can do one a day and feel terribly accomplished at the end of the week, or you can pick and combine. The more, the merrier. Going green may take a little lifestyle adjustment but that little adjustment goes a long way. After all, as someone said, “When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.”