Green Living
Use the energy calculator to help your family save money and live better.
This site will show you how to use the energy in your home more efficiently and learn about how renewable energy can provide your home with electricity, heating, cooling, and water heating.
The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact is a decade-old partnership between Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, to work collaboratively to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions, implement adaptation strategies, and build climate resilience within their own communities and across the Southeast Florida region.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection manages more than 4.9 million acres of submerged lands and coastal uplands in Florida.
Conduct a virtual home energy tour! Learn about how much energy you use in your home and how much you can save by following some energy-saving tips. The site also has other links to energy incentives and annual energy reports.
Take a survey to find out how you can lower your energy bills and get a personalized energy savings plan.
Looking to power your home with natural gas or propane? Check out this link for more information.
Save water by following these easy conservation tips!
Learn which items are recyclable and get recycling bins for your home (for anywhere in Palm Beach County, with the exception of Lake Worth).
Find simple and cost-effective ways to save water. Learn about water-saving devices such as shower heads and high efficiency toilets.
The world’s leading resource for climate solutions.
Have a look at just a few of the many things you can do to make an impact!
Find ways to make your life greener, from home and garden to food and health.
The possibilities are endless. Take green to the next level!
Tons of ways to green your bathroom.
Find recycling centers simply by typing your zip code!
Information on where to find energy-efficient products and home improvement ideas.
Great resource for parents, and lots of games and activities for kids concerning our planet.
Is this recyclable?! An EPA listing of the most common household items that can be recycled.
Breathe freely with these small steps to clean up the air inside your home.
Have you been wanting to compost your trash but don't know how to get started? Learn how with these quick tips.
Treehugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.
Columbia Forest Products is North America’s largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer, a long-standing leader in environmental sustainability, and innovator of soy-based formaldehyde-free PureBond® technology. Find retailers before you start your next remodeling project!
Greenguard is an independent nonprofit that makes sure products meet some indoor air quality and offgassing standards.
30 Things You Can Do to Save Water Right Now
Conserving water is as easy as making small changes to your everyday routines. Here's how:
Bathroom
- Shorten your shower. A one- or two-minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons of water each month. If possible, take a shallow bath instead of a shower for even greater water savings.
- Replace your shower head with low-flow shower heads or install flow restrictors.
- Put trash in the wastebasket — don’t flush! Each time you flush a small bit of trash you waste up to five to seven gallons of water.
- Check for leaks in your toilets. Drop a dye tablet in your toilet tank or add a few drops of food coloring and let stand for at least three hours. If the color begins to appear in the bowl without flushing, your toilet has a leak and could be wasting thousands of gallons of water each year. Repair those leaks!
- When brushing your teeth, wet your toothbrush, then turn off the water.
- Rinse your razor in a partially filled sink instead of under a running tap.
- Check faucets and pipes for leaks and replace worn washers. Small drips from worn washers can waster 20 or more gallons a day. Large leaks can waste hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water.
- Put a plastic bottle filled with pebbles in your toilet to displace the water in your tank, so it takes less water to fill it. Place the bottle away from operating mechanisms.
- While waiting for your bath water to get warm, place a bucket under the faucet to catch the cold water and then use it to water your plants.
- Building or remodeling your home? Ensure only ultra-low flush (U.L.F.) toilets and faucets are installed.
Kitchen & Laundry
- Keep a bottle of water in the refrigerator for drinking. Don’t run the tap waiting for cold water.
- Rinse vegetables in a pan of water — not under a running tap.
- Use your dishwasher and washing machine for full loads only.
- Never leave the water running if you wash dishes by hand.
- Fill one sink with soapy water and one with clear water. If you have only one sink use a dish rack and rinse with hot water. Use the smallest amount of detergent possible when washing dishes by hand. This reduces the amount of water needed.
- Check your kitchen/bath pipes and faucets for leaks and replace worn washers immediately.
- Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage can more often. Better yet, compost!
- Defrost frozen foods in the microwave or refrigerator, instead of under running water.
Outdoors
- Water your lawn in the early morning based upon current water restrictions when there is less evaporation.
- Plant drought-resistant native trees and plants. There are many beautiful plants and trees that thrive on small amounts of water.
- Don’t let your children play with the hose and sprinklers.
- Place a layer of mulch around trees and plants. Mulch slows evaporation of moisture and discourages weed growth.
- Don’t water your lawn on a windy day to prevent excessive evaporation.
- Set lawn mower blades one notch higher, since longer grass means less evaporation.
- If you have a pool, use a pool cover to cut down on evaporation.
- Watering the sidewalk is a waste. Adjust sprinklers so they miss the sidewalks, driveway, and street.
- Water only when your lawn really needs it. How will you know? If the grass springs back after you step on it, there is no need to water it.
- Check for leaks in hoses, faucets, pipes and couplings. Outside leaks can waste just as much as those inside.
- Sweep sidewalks and driveways. Don’t hose them down.
- Wash your car with a pail of soapy water, not a running hose. Use the hose for rinsing only.
Conservation and Biodiversity