Gift Giving

When Bellicose Bumpkin wrote Rampant cosumerism run amok , a good article BTW, it made me realize that others were searching for solutions that many of us have already found.

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Grist, known for some of its practical energy information, offered some of the following, but there are more on their site and they continue adding:

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First on the list, they have included CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) that are becoming available in a wider assortment - dimmable, exterior floodlights, smaller and larger incandescent equivalents. No tools are required! The savings are immediately noticeable on the electric bill and it helps others begin to understand that reducing energy consumption is NOT about sitting in the dark.

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The Energy-Saver Sweater Set
CFLs: a bright gift idea.
What: A pack of CFLs, a programmable thermostat, and a tube of caulk, wrapped in a sweater.

Why: The average American uses six times as much energy as the world average -- and as a nation, the U.S. uses $1 million of energy a minute. These easy-to-come-by items will keep your friends toasty and light up their houses -- and their faces, when they see the savings on their bills.

Cost to you: $37 (We're talking $6.88 for a 4-pack of CFLs; $25 for a low-end programmable thermostat; and $4.65 for a six-ounce tube of plumber's caulk. And sweaters? Well, you could drop $60 on an organic cotton turtleneck, but you can also give one you never wear, buy secondhand, or knit it yourself.)

Savings to your loved one: One calculation comparing a single CFL to an incandescent puts annual savings at $15.21. And a programmable thermostat alone saves about $180 a year. Talk about being an energy star!

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The Drop-In-the-Bucket Bouquet

What: Food coloring (to check for toilet leaks), a low-flow showerhead, and a faucet aerator, presented in a stylish stainless-steel bucket.

Why: The average American loses 18.8 gallons of water each day to sneaky leaky pipes and faucets -- over a quarter of daily indoor water use. The little gadgets in this gift array can help decrease water use by 50 to 70 percent -- and the bucket will be handy for capturing graywater and reusing it in the garden!

Cost to you: $40 ($2.50 for food coloring, $12 for a low-flow showerhead; $5.95 for a two-pack of bathroom faucet aerators; and a $20 stainless-steel bucket.)

Savings to your loved one: The new showerhead alone can save a family of four as much as $250 a year -- or at least offset any "20-minute-shower teenagers" in the house.

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The Juice-Me Jubilee

What: A solar charger, rechargeable batteries, and a power strip, packed in a recycled juice-box tote!

Why: Because it's time to speak truth about power. We all use it, but we could all use a bit less of it. Why be counted among the Americans who waste $1 billion a year powering those little green standby lights when you could watch a little green flow back into your savings account?

Cost to you: $75 ($9.99 for an everyday power strip or a specialized Smart Strip for $29.99; $15.77 for this set of rechargeable batteries and wall charger; solar chargers on the lower end can be found for $20-30, though you may need to pay extra for gadget-specific adapters. And $20 for that kicky juice-box tote.

Savings to your loved one: Once they quit standing by their standby electronics, your loved ones' home electricity use could decrease by 5 percent. With an average residential monthly electricity bill of $95, that's nothing to sneeze at.

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Check for additional ideas -- Lean, Green Giving
This gift guide saves energy -- and it's recession-proof! and at the bottom, you can even subscribe.