Use this page to find actions that your household has completed or plans to complete. Browse the categories on the left to find actions for the Power Saver, Green Leader, or Renewable Star Challenge.

Once you have signed in, you can click Add to My Challenge to add an action to your To Do List, Already Completed to mark an action as complete, or Not Applicable if the action does not apply to you.

Once signed in, you can rate each of the actions you have completed.
The highest rated action appear under the Most Popular Actions category.

ACTIONS

  • 1
    Green leaves denote the number of Green Points earned by completing the action and its relative environmental benefit.
    Hammers denote the relative amount of effort needed to implement the action.
    Dollar signs denote the relative cost of implementing the action.
    Free < $100
    $100-$500 $501-$2000
    > $2000
    A key denotes a renter-friendly action.
    Buy minimally processed foods
    You need to be signed in to add and complete actions.
    Add to my challenge Already completed Not applicable

    Foods such as whole grains, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, and fresh meats and fish retain their nutritional value if eaten right away, while most processed and boxed foods contain undesired preservatives and may contain fewer nutrients. Make sure that, when you purchase fresh foods, you only purchase what you can consume in a short period of time. Also consider preserving excess food at home by freezing, drying, or canning.

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  • 1
    Green leaves denote the number of Green Points earned by completing the action and its relative environmental benefit.
    Hammers denote the relative amount of effort needed to implement the action.
    Dollar signs denote the relative cost of implementing the action.
    Free < $100
    $100-$500 $501-$2000
    > $2000
    A key denotes a renter-friendly action.
    Replace meat-based meals with vegetarian meals at least once a week
    You need to be signed in to add and complete actions.
    Add to my challenge Already completed Not applicable

    The benefits of eating vegetarian for just one day can be startling, especially if everyone in the U.S. does it! Collectively, the environmental benefits include saving 100 billion gallons of water, 70 million gallons of gasoline, 1.2 million tons of CO2 emissions, and much more. According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads! Other benefits include reductions in solid waste pollution and methane production related to industrial meat production. To learn more, check out this article on the effect of going vegetarian for one day, or read more about vegetarianism.

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  • 2
    Green leaves denote the number of Green Points earned by completing the action and its relative environmental benefit.
    Hammers denote the relative amount of effort needed to implement the action.
    Dollar signs denote the relative cost of implementing the action.
    Free < $100
    $100-$500 $501-$2000
    > $2000
    A key denotes a renter-friendly action.
    Buy organic, free-range, and/or grass-fed food at least 25% of the time
    You need to be signed in to add and complete actions.
    Add to my challenge Already completed Not applicable

    Buying organic food lessens the impact of pesticides, fertilizers, and other dangerous chemicals on the environment and the consumer. Different levels of organic certification include “100 percent organic,” “organic,” and “made with organic ingredients.” Foods labeled “100 percent organic” cannot contain any non-organic ingredients. “Organic” foods must contain at least 95% organic ingredients, and foods “made with organic ingredients” must contain at least 70% organic ingredients. To learn more, watch this video on the benefits of eating organic.

    Certified organic meat and dairy products are slightly different than grass-fed and free-range animal products in that “organic” animals may be grain-fed but are also required to have access to pasture. To learn more, watch this video about the requirements for organic animal product certification.

    Free-range and grass-fed (in comparison to grain-fed) animal products contain far more essential nutrients, such as omega-3s, which are vital to brain and heart health and have even been shown to reduce risk of cancer, heart attack, depression, attention deficit disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. They also contain more beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), and essential minerals. Learn more about the health benefits of free-range and grass-fed animal products.

    Purchasing free-range and grass-fed products cuts down on CO2 emissions, pesticide use, and synthetic fertilizer use related to industrial grain production. It also reduces manure run-off, disease in animals and consumers, methane gas emissions from animals, and animal cruelty. Manure from pastured animals can help build healthy soil, improving habitat for soil organisms, insects, and other native animals. In addition, the grasses and plants allowed to grow on a pasture sequester CO2. Check out these articles to learn more about the environmental benefits of free-range and grass-fed animal products: Grassfarming Benefits the Environment, In Defense of the Cow.

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  • 2
    Green leaves denote the number of Green Points earned by completing the action and its relative environmental benefit.
    Hammers denote the relative amount of effort needed to implement the action.
    Dollar signs denote the relative cost of implementing the action.
    Free < $100
    $100-$500 $501-$2000
    > $2000
    A key denotes a renter-friendly action.
    Buy local food at least 25% of the time
    You need to be signed in to add and complete actions.
    Add to my challenge Already completed Not applicable

    Supporting local farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs), natural food stores, and wineries decreases food transportation costs, boosts the local economy, and provides healthy, fresh food that is often less harmful to the environment than industrial agriculture. For locations and operating hours of Frederick County Farmers Markets, check out Frederick Farm Fresh, the Frederick County Virtual Farmers Market, or the MD Department of Agriculture’s Market Information. You can also sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture program, which provides you with a weekly supply of fresh produce or other farm products from an individual farmer for an entire growing season. Find a CSA farm near you.

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  • 1
    Green leaves denote the number of Green Points earned by completing the action and its relative environmental benefit.
    Hammers denote the relative amount of effort needed to implement the action.
    Dollar signs denote the relative cost of implementing the action.
    Free < $100
    $100-$500 $501-$2000
    > $2000
    A key denotes a renter-friendly action.
    Clean with reusable cloth instead of paper towels
    You need to be signed in to add and complete actions.
    Add to my challenge Already completed Not applicable

    The pulp and paper industry is the third largest producer of global warming pollution in the world, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. In comparison to paper towels, cloth is reusable, washable, and often biodegradable when it comes time to replace it. You can even use your old clothes that are too worn to donate as cloth for cleaning purposes. Mirrors and windows will be streak and lint-free when using lint-free cloth and a non-toxic, biodegradable cleaner. A cheap non-toxic formula for streak-free glass surfaces: 1 part water, 1 part distilled white vinegar, 2-5 drops dish soap. Put contents in a spray bottle and wipe.

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