Urban Green

As an eco-sensitive city dweller, you might feel somewhat stuck in your concrete box. Sure, you'd love to save energy by drying your clothes on a line, but you can do little more than watch a few shirts collect dust and smog on your fire escape. And you aren't exactly allowed to knock out a few holes on the roof of your apartment building and convert everyone to solar power. However, since you likely rely on mass transit instead of shuttling the kids around in a carbon-spewing SUV, and your walk-up uses less energy than the Joneses' sprawling split-level ranch house, you're already leaving a lighter footprint than most other Americans. But if you're eager to increase your efforts, why not try one of these five ways to live a little greener in the city?

If a dearth of natural light leaves you heavily reliant on your lamps, use compact fluorescent lightbulbs to save oodles of energy and money. You've probably heard it before, but CFLs save tons of energy and money. They use 75 percent less energy and last 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs your apartment likely came with, and the variety of shapes, wattages, and light quality is getting better and better as time goes on. However, if you're still anti-fluorescent because you love supersoft light, simply going down in wattage when possible will still save energy.

Smaller urban kitchens often lack that oh-so-wonderful dishwasher, so you wind up having to do the dirty business by hand. Instead of letting the faucet run the whole time, fill the basin with water. This way, you're using only 10 gallons at most, instead of two to three per minute. And as much as you can stand it, try washing in large batches (instead of one bottle or sippy cup at a time) to make the most of that water.

How many times each week do you order in and receive a paper bag inside a plastic bag filled with an avalanche of paper napkins, cellophane-wrapped plastic utensils, and separate disposable containers for each food item? Either try to prepare meals for your family at home more often, or simply be specific about what you don't need when you order.

We know what you're thinking: "In my apartment? Are you crazy?" But you can stick the airtight Bokashi bucket in any warm, dry place out of direct sunlight (and out of the kids' reach). When you combine your kitchen scraps with the provided Biosa compost-starter, the food will ferment rather than decompose, so it won't stink anything up or attract rodents. The result? Plenty of rich, nutrient-filled fertilizer ... which brings us to the next tip.

Your new green friends will suck up carbon, release plenty of oxygen, dampen sounds, cool down a room, filter dust and dirt, and perhaps even provide you with herbs and beautiful flowers, depending on the greenness of your thumb. If you're trying to decide what to buy from your local nursery, some of the most beneficial houseplants for air quality are philodendrons, rubber plants, and Boston ferns.