Surfing For Green Products

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Are you shopping for green products?  The internet has plenty of resources to help you out.  Here are a few web-sites that may save you lots of time and energy (pun intended).

Energy Star Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intended to assist in saving the consumer money and help protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.  If you are looking for new household products, then try surfing the Energy Star web-site for products that meet the Energy Star requirements. If looking to make larger improvements to your home, EPA offers tools and resources to help you plan and undertake projects to reduce your energy bills and improve home comfort. Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool Are you buying a desktop PC, notebook or monitor in the near future?  You can compare the  environmental attributes of certain computer components by using Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) at http://www.epeat.net/.  EPEAT not only requires that the equipment be Energy Star certified but also has 23 required performance criteria that equipment must satisfy and 28 optional criteria that manufacturers may meet to achieve a higher-ranking level.  EPEAT has three tiers of environmental performance: Bronze:  Product satisfies all required criteria Silver:  Product satisfies at least 50% of optional criteria Gold:    Product satisfies at least 75% of optional criteria EPEAT provides an opportunity for manufacturers to be recognized for their efforts to reduce product environmental  impact. EcoLogo Program Another noteworthy initiative is the EcoLogo Program.  EcoLogo was founded in 1988 by the Canadian government and has recently been expanded to include all of North America.  EcoLogo provides buyers with the assurance that products displaying the EcoLogo label have been verified by a third party auditor (GEM) to meet strict ISO 14024 environmental standards.  The ecological criteria are based on the life-cycle of a product.   Currently the EcoLogo database has over 7500 EcoLogo certified products and services.   This is a good starting point for researching green products prior to making a buying decision.  EcoLogo is oriented to the North American market.  Outside of North America you may be able to find similar programs in your country of residence. CNET's Quick Guide Looking to buy an HDTV?  Here is a good summary of HDTV models and their energy efficiency. http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6475_7-6400401-3.html?tag=arw