Inside

Especially in the upper midwest climate, houses are put through demanding paces: Summers are punishing, demanding sturdy roofs for the rainstorms and air conditioning to survive the humidity, and winters... well, there are few pleasures more enticing than walking into a warm house on a frigid December evening, but a poorly insulted house can bleed out heat and energy. Yes, because of your toasty warm home, polar bears are drowning! (How's that for a guilt trip?)

The good news is that there are easy ways to turn your home into a bastion of efficiency and environmental-kindness. And, what is particularly alluring about these measures is that most efforts to make homes more sustainable are also measures to make them more efficient-which means reducing water and heating bills. Yes, saving money and saving natural resources go hand-in-hand.

• Start with your energy consumption. In the Madison-region, MGE Green Power Tomorrow program has been converting customers to wind-powered electricity. But this is not a passive act. You need to opt in to the program. The number of users has grown 12-fold over the past decade, helping reduce prices.
• While you are at it, get an energy efficiency audit.
• Turn off applicances. Seriously, go do it. Right now! Power strips are a great way to minimize the drain of appliances (like that plasma TV, which draws energy even when not in use!). When not using those appliances, turn off the entire power strip.
• Insulate. And if you don't know why, the federal government has several studies to tell you why-and proposed solutions.
• Get a programmable thermometer, and fashion your house's schedule around your own. Turn the heat down while you sleep, snuggled under your favorite bulky blanket. Consumer Reports provides a good set of reviews.
• Conserving water is a two-fer: It saves on water bills and helps prevent pollution (from runoff) and keeps water-tables healthy. There are enough projects here to keep you busy for the entire weekend or, if you only have five minute, several easy water-saving projects.