This was a year that saw major environmental shifts, in both directions. Here are just a few of the high (and low) lights, as we see them…

LCD TVs use less energy than plasma TVs. Keep this in mind when making that Super Bowl Sunday impulse buy.

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 28-ounce petroleum-based dishwashing liquid with vegetable-based products, we’d save 82,000 barrels of oil annually.

You can turn the oven temperature down 25 degrees when using glass or ceramic pans. The cooking time will remain the same.

Find local recycling centers for any item at www.earth911.com.

Free CD, broken cell phone and broken iPod recycling at www.cdrecyclingcentral.com.

When cooking with electricity, make sure you match the pan size to the hotplate to avoid wasted energy; with gas, make sure the flame only heats the bottom of the pan.

Did You Know?
Instead of tossing them, trade in video games and movies for credit at stores that sell these items.

If the hot and cold water outlet and inlet run vertically up from the water tank, convection causes heat. Anti-convection valves can be installed.

President Obama and other world leaders came to Copenhagen at the end of the two week climate conference in the hopes of ironing out the details of a real deal. Or at least appearing so.