Welcome to my first blog!

This year I made a resolution to live greenly.  I'm not going to move out of the city and become a tree hugger, but it is a huge goal of mine to become more active in recycling and to reduce my daily impact on the environment.  By making some simple, easy changes you can incorporate green living into your normal routine.  Below I've listed a few common sense ways you can be green at work.

Recycling office paper - If your current office or building does not have a recycling program of its own, it is still possible and easy to recycle. Set up a collection bin by fax machines and printers for office paper, newspapers and magazines and then drop off the materials at a local resource center.  You'd be surprised at the number of organizations that will accept your recycled paper. Visit http://earth911.org/ to find the closest recycling drop off center near you.

Print only necessary emails - I admit it is easier to print a long email rather than handwrite the important details of the message. 

However just take a moment to consider if it is truly necessary and worth the few seconds of saved time. If it is a matter of record keeping, try saving the message to your email archive or a separate disc.  This will ensure it can be retrieved at a later date.

Turn off your electronic equipment at night - Lights, computers, monitors, laptops, printers, etc. should be turned off when you leave for the day.  Turning them off does not damage them and as an added bonus it decreases the monthly electricity bill.

Recently the Earth Hour initiative highlighted the importance of turning lights off.  Cities around the world participated in turning their lights off for one hour on Saturday, March 29.  Chicago was one of US cities that participated and both residents and businesses were invited to go dark.

Here are two photos showing the famed Chicago skyline with before and during Earth Hour.  For more info on this program and to sign up for next year's Earth Hour go to http://www.earthhour.org/.