In an effort to expand people’s consciousness on green topics, Sundance Channel is happy to promote the activities of Energy Star and The Environmental Protection Agency. We hope you enjoy the video and think it is great that Energy Star is making it easier for every day Americans to learn about the green lifestyle choices that can make the world a cleaner place.

Tom Kraeutler plugs devices into a power strip so as to minimize monthly electric bills

Most people don’t realize that by making simple changes in their homes they can collectively make a big impact on the environment and help fight global warming. The typical household spends $1,900 a year on energy bills and as much as half of this energy goes toward heating and cooling the home. For the podcast, EPA enlisted the help of home improvement expert Tom Kraeutler (co-host of the nationally syndicated home improvement radio show, The Money Pit) to create a 4-minute ENERGY STAR videocast.

The ENERGY STAR videocast takes you on a room-by-room tour offering energy-saving tips. From changing your five most used light bulbs to energy saver bulbs to installing a ceiling fan, taking a few simple steps today can help protect the environment from the risks of global warming. Tom hosts the videocast and walks viewers through ENERGY STAR Home [www.energystar.gov], an interactive tool which provides energy-saving tips and advice for the entire house.

As we noted yesterday [www.sundancechannel.com], green weddings are hot and hip these days, and, as we’ll note below, becoming easier than ever to source and implement while keeping each couples’ ideas, budget and aesthetic in mind. As with other green lifestyle choices and behaviors like what you eat [www.sundancechannel.com] and what you wear [www.sundancechannel.com], there are long lists (that are getting longer) of ways to implement greener choices at your wedding for the happy couple-to-be, guests and everyone involved. Here are some of TreeHugger’s favorites, including proof that it can actually be done.

1) Perhaps the item that demands the most attention and causes the most trepidation, the dress, deserves some special attention; we looked to Faernyn’s Grove [www.treehugger.com] for stylish, eco-considerate couture that’ll make brides feel as good as they look walking down the aisle.
2) For a comprehensive how-to guide, check out our How to Green Your Wedding [www.treehugger.com] guide, written by TreeHugger Sami Grover, who was in the midst of planning his own green wedding as he compiled the guide; we also organized a few handy tips [www.treehugger.com] for a quick-hitting, lighter-weight guide to getting greener.
3) To prove that it’s possible, Sami wrote a really sweet follow-up [www.treehugger.com] to the guide, including some pics and personal reflection on his big day.
4) You know that an idea’s time has come when it makes on TV, and on a soap opera, no less: “Days of Our Lives [www.treehugger.com] featured Sami and Lucas getting hitched, green-style not long ago; though there are no guarantees about commitment in TV-land (and certainly not on a soap), eco-chic weddings never look better than on TV. No word on whether a “green divorce” (God-forbid) is a possibility.
5) The idea has caught on in Hollywood, too, though not in a movie (just yet, at least); A Soolip Wedding [www.treehugger.com] organized an event where socially conscious brides will find organic cuisine, tree-free/reclaimed material paper, tips for d écor and party favors that’ll have a life beyond the celebratory day.
6) Everybody has their own style; check out this Waiheke Island, New Zealand-style green wedding [www.treehugger.com] to see how to green a wedding in a pretty remote, sometimes hard-to-get-to (at least for North Americans) locale.
7) Portovert magazine, mentioned yesterday, teamed up with the carbon offsetters at NativeEnergy to create a really functional, unique feature: the first U.S. wedding carbon calculator [www.treehugger.com] to help offset guest travel, lodging, venue power and heat and other carbon-related expenses for the activities surrounding a wedding.

Tomorrow: more green wedding tips, including ideas for how to stay green on the big day and beyond…