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Do you know a neighbour, group or local business in your community who is working to support a healthier environment?

The Hometown Heroes Award Program, established in 2004 by Earth Day Canada, is providing a chance to help Canada recognize and celebrate environmental leaders (individuals, groups and businesses) who are working toward meaningful, long-term community awareness and action. They lead others to environmental awareness, action and a more sustainable future. They make a difference and improve the state of the environment at the local level.

Nominate yourself, an individual, group, organization or small business from your community by February 28th, 2011.

Please visit the Hometown Heroes website for more details.

When most people think about participating in Earth Day, images of tree planting and garbage clean-ups may come to mind. But some of the biggest things you can do for the environment can be done without even leaving your home and spring is the perfect season to take action to help save yourself some money and protect the environment.

A good place to start is by getting out there and checking your house. Look for small cracks or other holes that may have formed over the winter. These can be very costly if not taken care of right away and make heating and cooling your home far less efficient. Effectively sealing up and insulating your home will save you upwards of 30 percent on annual utility bills.

Why not consider getting a rain barrel to celebrate Earth Day? By directing your gutters to a rain barrel and use the collected water to water your plants, lawn or garden, you will not only be conserving a valuable resource, but also saving money on your water bill. It’s better for your plants too…they don’t like the cold water that comes out of your garden hose.

Spring is also a good time of year to get your air conditioner ready for the hot months ahead. Call in a professional to get your ducts and AC equipment cleaned. Regular maintenance will help your air conditioner work more efficiently and is also important for the air quality in your home. Got an old AC? Consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR® certified air conditioner. Today’s AC’s use 30-50% less electricity than 15-year-old models.

For more simple actions that you can take to help the planet and your wallet this Earth Day, please visit our website at www.onechange.org.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR program helps individuals and businesses protect the environment by improving energy efficiency.

On April 22, Earth Day 2009, the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program will honor pledge drivers who have made a real impact. Project Porchlight will be honored in fourth place among the top five nationally ranked non-profit organizations!

“Change the World, Start With ENERGY STAR” is a new EPA campaign that builds on the success of “Change a Light, Change the World With ENERGY STAR,” the campaign that was launched on Earth Day 2008. For these campaigns, “pledge drivers” are organizations that support the campaign by “driving” citizens to sign pledges promising to help save energy and fight global warming.

Congratulations to everyone—Project Porchlight staff members as well as so many volunteers—who has made this possible. According to the EPA, our cumulative savings so far include 14,997,966 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and a total of over $1,000,000 dollars!

Project Porchlight is a member of New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP), which will also receive well-deserved recognition from the EPA. NJCEP will be honored in third place among the top five nationally ranked energy-efficiency programs. According to the EPA, the NJCEP’s considerable efforts have resulted in savings of a total of 65,764,447 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. NJCEP is an initiative of the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which provides education, information and financial incentives for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency measures. New Jersey has instituted a number of successful initiatives, including the ENERGY STAR program, that help to reduce the state’s peak demand, conserve finite resources, and transform the marketplace for the next generation of energy-efficient technologies.

“We are delighted to work with Project Porchlight and others across the country who are helping in the fight against global warming,” says Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at EPA. “Together, we can all make a difference and protect our environment through simple everyday actions.”

Project Porchlight New Jersey is continuing its grassroots campaign to distribute nearly one million free energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an initiative of One Change, and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state BPU and NJCEP.

Special kudos also go to the Environmental Commission of East Hanover, New Jersey, currently ranked by the EPA as Number 5 for non-profit organizations with 3,219,403 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions saved. And a special nod goes to the City of Newark, New Jersey, which has helped save 4,311,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.