That's because the celebrity lifestyle is generally one of conspicuous consumption and excess -- and most folks naturally sense tension between consumerism and genuine concern for the environment.

From the moment we're old enough to sit in front of the television and be bombarded with ads for sugary cereals and plastic toys, we are taught that things are the route to happiness. It's no wonder that as adults, we burden our landfills with the cast-off waste of an acquisitive society. But you can teach yourself to break the cycle by establishing a habit of giving things away. Read the rest of the article to find learn more.

Bikes have an incredibly low manufacturing footprint in comparison to a motorized vehicle. They're cheap to operate, don't pollute the air, and provide more miles per calorie of energy than any mode of getting around known to humankind. Best of all, a properly maintained bicycle should last for decades.

Which makes bikes a good candidate for buying used. You can pick up a quality bicycle for a fraction of their original purchase price, and it will give you many years of reliable service. But you'll need to know what to look for.

We've put together a guide to help you locate a terrific used bicycle and assess its condition. Ready to roll? Read the rest of the article to get started.

People are finally getting the idea that plastic grocery bags just aren't a good thing.

Most plastic bags are made of HDPE, a non-renewable petroleum product. Less than one percent are recycled. In the environment, plastic bags are often mistaken for food by marine animals -- with fatal results. And they last for centuries when dumped into landfills.

In the United States, cites such as San Francisco are already moving toward a ban on plastic bags, or a stiff deposit designed to make sure they're properly recycled. Similar efforts are ongoing in Australia, Canada, the EU, and parts of Africa.

But you needn't wait to get ahead of the curve. We've rounded up three very popular, very green alternative to plastic bags. Read on to choose yours.

Magazines tend to multiply around the house like dust bunnies.

Now, don't get us wrong. At Lighter Footstep, we're huge magazine fans. They're books for people with short attention spans: colorful, fresh, and fun. But subscribe a weekly or two ... a few specialty magazines ... and before you know it, there are small stacks of dead trees pretty much everywhere you look.

And that's the problem: magazines represent a lot of resources. From paper stock to ink and transportation, a lot of energy and materials go into something most people read once before slipping under the sofa.

You could recycle them -- but there's a better way. Read the rest of the article to get started.