HOW AMERICANS ARE EMBRACING THE POWER OF THEIR HOMES | Earth911.com

Just a few years ago, living off the grid conjured up images of tiny cabins in the middle of nowhere. Today, the dream of average American homeowners powering their homes with alternative energies is coming true. Solar panels on your neighbor’s roof are no longer an oddity, and electric cars are less of a curiosity and more of an everyday sight. It’s not hard to imagine a time when wind turbines in the backyard will be commonplace and geothermal heating an expected utility in all new homes.

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How to Choose the Greenest Outdoor Grill - for MotherEarthNews.com

Summer is here, which means it’s time to get outside and enjoy your backyard, deck or patio area. What better way to do that than with a cookout? Plus, cooking your food outdoors is the more environmentally-friendly way to do it, right? Well, it can be.

As with many eco-friendly choices, it depends on a confluence of factors, including the careful selection of the right equipment. Whether you prefer cooking inside or out, the tools you use can affect the carbon footprint of your cooking.

So before you fire up the grill, think about what you can do to make your barbecue greener and cleaner. Here’s a look at the relative environmentally friendly attributes of the different grill options—gas, electric, charcoal, pellet—so you can decide which is the best fit for your green lifestyle.

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