Say you forgot to send a gift to a faraway relative, and you need to get one there ASAP. While the option of overnight shipping may seem like a solution, it’s an environmental disaster. Overnight shipping involves myriad problems, including significant CO2 emissions from gas-guzzling planes, layers of protective packaging and the trucks needed to get that package to the recipient. Instead, consider sending digital gift cards or contacting local businesses near your relative to hand-deliver a gift. It may take a little more work, but it’s more personal and less environmentally destructive.

If your wardrobe is made up of mostly dark colors like navy blue and black, turn your clothes inside out before they go in the washer. Deeply dyed clothing has an outer-surface dye that can fade and wear quickly when it rubs against other clothing in the wash. By turning clothing like jeans and shirts inside out, they won’t rub, and they’ll still get clean. Using energy-efficient cold water also helps prevent bleeding and fading of colors -- especially important for newer clothes, as dyes are more likely to bleed in the first few washes.

For every hour you spend circling a parking lot or idling while waiting for a spot to open, you waste 1/5 to 7/10 of a gallon of gas. That may not sound like a lot, but over time and combined with other motorists, it results in a lot of wasted fuel and CO2 emissions going into the atmosphere. The app ParkMobile wants to eliminate those issues by helping you find open spots in real time on your phone. The app also lets you pay for the spot with your phone if it’s metered. So no more searching for loose change to pay for parking.