A couple of years ago, I wrote an incredibly nerdy post about videogame consoles and energy. (I'm still stupidly proud of that lame Castlevania reference in the first line. Seriously.)

Why, you might ask, am I bringing up my nerdiness again? Well, it's because I ran into this article on Ars Technica on energy and videogame consoles that cites a Carnegie Mellon study with surprising results: America used nearly 16 terawatt-hours of energy on videogames in 2010, and a good chunk of it was wasted. [More]

Earlier this week, Amanda shared a checklist on Fueleconomy.gov that helps you keep your car well maintained. Keeping your car well maintained is one way to make sure that it's not using more gas than it needs to.

Do you have any other ideas for saving gas this summer?

You have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments. [More]

Last week I went home for a family reunion. Visiting my family was great, and one of my favorite things was hanging out with my dad in the garage while he works on the car. When my siblings and I began to drive and own cars, my dad continually reminded us of the need to keep our cars on a regular maintenance schedule. With warmer spring weather here, and summer just around the corner, it’s a great time to get these things done. To make things easy, we have a checklist for you so it’s easy to remember what needs to be done. [More]

April showers may be best known for bringing in May flowers, but in my D.C. neighborhood, they also bring in…a local farmers market! There's something about fresh produce that just tastes better—kale is a little spicier, strawberries a little sweeter, and tomatoes are completely different fruit than those watery things sold at the grocery store. And it's so nice to know that I'm supporting my local farmers and economy by buying at the farmers market. [More]

Cleaning your home in between winter and summer is a great way to welcome warmer weather and get some fresh air. Speaking of fresh air, Stephanie talked about her challenge in replacing her furnace filter - a project that usually leads to replacing other filters that can make appliances less efficient, and cleaning the surrounding basement area. It's a great example of how doing one thing to save energy can lead to others. [More]

Last Sunday was Earth Day 2012. That day, many of us took a moment for contemplation, and stepped back to reexamine how we use the natural resources that our amazing planet offers us.

Perhaps we took time to think about the some of the historical events led to the first Earth Day in 1970. A colleague of mine, for example, went to Rockville, Maryland, to visit the cemetery where Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, is memorialized for generations to come. For those of you unfamiliar with Carson's work, she was one of the 20th century's most influential American writers on conservationism, and her bestselling book Silent Spring—which envisioned a future where environmental pollutants devastated wildlife and human lives alike—led to the ban of DDT and other harmful pesticides. [More]