5 Ways to Save Energy for Earth Day

Tomorrow is Earth Day and happily, there is no shortage of great ways to celebrate. In fact, this year, I was surprised at the sheer number of activities and earth-friendly programs that companies everywhere have implemented.

While everybody's efforts should be applauded and supported, I thought it was more important to focus on a few ways that everybody can easily contribute to greener living for Earth Day.

Here are five easy energy saving tips from Retrevo:

1. Turn off devices when you're not using them - especially game consoles and TVs. Large plasma TVs are the biggest hogs but game machines are a close second. Shutting down game players in the U.S. for just 24 hours would save enough energy to power the city of San Diego for a day.

2. Make sure they're really off - use a power strip and flip the switch. Many products draw power after they're turned off. If the charger in the wall socket is warm it's likely sucking power. Use a power strip and shut it down to insure gadgets are really off.

3. If you're going to leave your computer on, at least set them to Hibernate or Standby. Energy Star says the PC's Hibernate or Standby mode can save up to $75 a year in electricity. And, don't be fooled by screen savers - they're no help at all.

4. Unplug the gadgets you only use occasionally. If you only use them once in a while - fax machines, or peripherals attached to your computer such as USB hard drives for backup - unplugging guarantees they're off.

5. Use renewable energy to recharge small devices like iPods, cell phones and GPS. Inexpensive devices like the Hymini wind turbine, Solio's Hybrid 1000, Freeplay Freecharge, or Kinesis Industries combo are easy to use and get your gadgets going in minutes.

For even more tips, be sure to check out Retrevo's Twenty Two Tips for Greener Living with Gadgets or download their Guide To Greener Living with Electronics.

Enjoy Earth Day tomorrow!