The Monthly Newsletter of greenlight magazine

Welcome to your April edition of the greenlight bite, full of ideas for honoring the planet this season of Earth Day and trimming your environmental impact. 

Tree holidays are celebrated around the world, but America's Arbor Day is commonly observed on the last Friday in April (this year, the 28th) - which makes tree planting a perfect way to honor the planet during this month of festivities. Earth Day, after all, is April 22. And trees keep our environment - and us - healthy by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen (enough every year, per acre of trees, for the consumption of 18 people). To plant a tree yourself in exchange for what the Earth gives you:

1. Calculate how many trees you'd need to plant to offset your contribution to air pollution.

2. Pick the right trees and the right spots for planting.

3. Plant properly. Click here for videos. 

If you don't feel comfortable doing your own planting, you can sponsor new trees through groups like American Forests, which currently has Hurricane Katrina reforestation projects underway, or the National Arbor Day Foundation, which allows you to gift trees in celebration or in memory.  

For more fun facts about trees, click here.

Upcoming school vacations are just the beginning: the months ahead mean frequent trips. With your mind on conservation (and the recent bump in gas prices), you may be rethinking car travel, but did you know that planes are fast closing in on autos for the relative amount of greenhouse gases they emit? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that jet travel's contributions to global warming could quadruple by 2050. The way to go may actually be taking the train:

You can reduce your emissions by 75 percent if you ride the rails for short-hop journeys instead of taking a plane, writes Dave Reay, UK scientist and author of Climate Change Begins at Home. Here are some other benefits of trains over planes:

• Scenic views: Admire mountains, rivers, coastlines, and wildlife, and enjoy stops along the way to get fresh air and a little exercise.

• Entertained kids: Trains are fascinating for little ones. Plus there’s room to move around and explore.

• Price: Most railway companies let kids travel at a reduced rate. The roundtrip coach for a family of 4 on the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Sacramento to LA is just $312.  

For family train travel advice, click here.

Life is busy. As much as you may aim for a home-cooked meal, sometimes it just gets too late for that...take-out time! But when you finish eating and face the pile of plastic bags, styrofoam containers, and throwaway utensils, you may wish you'd thought twice. Using a restaurant's disposable chopsticks is now taxable in China. Why take things that far? Here are some tips to help you minimize the impact of take-out meals:

Just say no to little packets of soy sauce and ketchup. Buy large bottles of the requisite toppings for your favorite dishes. Save any packets you do have for a picnic kit or your desk at work (though you can keep a bigger container of your favorite condiment in the fridge there, too).

Likewise, skip the disposable napkins and utensils. If you like Asian takeout, pick up some brightly colored, reusable chopsticks to keep at home. At work, stash some washable bamboo utensils in a drawer for take-out lunches.

Order from places that use recycled packaging and other recycled products (Whole Foods, for example, uses containers made from recycled paper) to close part of the loop, since you can't recycle most take-out containers.

Seek out healthier, more eco-conscious fast food options in your area. Florida's EVOS, for example, offers salads of organic spring greens and builds its stores with eco-friendly materials. Or there's New England's O'Naturals, started by the CEO of Stonyfield Farm.

Q: Help! I'm swamped with JPEG files. What's the best eco-way to store digital photos?

A: Consumer-grade recordable CDs (CD-Rs) lose their data after two to five years, in essence becoming landfill fodder. Home printing requires earth-unfriendly toner cartridges, which are sold in excessive packaging. I suggest backing up photos on a portable flash drive and/or a secondary hard drive. Kodak EasyShare Gallery will burn your online photo library onto high-quality CD-Rs, which will last 65 years. Since all technologies eventually become obsolete, get professionally developed prints of your favorite shots (not all of your shots). Online photo sites use archival paper and ink that will last 75 years or longer.

Kudos to 20th Century Fox (a division of NewsCorp; parent also to Fox News) for their new movie "Ice Age 2." The film incorporates big green issues - global warming and species extinction - in a simple, comedic manner that's simple enough to educate its target audience: 3 to 11 year olds.