Earth Day Advice: Change Your Life, Change the Planet

For Earth Day (Tuesday), we decided to ask seven sustainability superstars for advice on ways to help the planet -- beyond the usual (albeit important) maxims to switch to energy-efficient bulbs, buy organic and drive less. Here's what they had to say:

"Stop doing so much laundry. Wash clothes less frequently, use cold water when you feel you must wash, and then line dry rather than cranking up another machine. Never iron unless absolutely necessary. You'll be surprised how liberating it is to wear your jeans for days at a time without throwing them into the dirty pile, and it is truly a luxury to have sun- and air-dried clothes and towels."

-- Leslie Hoffman, executive director of Earth Pledge, a nonprofit organization

"Look, screwing in the new light bulb is okay, but if we're going to deal with climate change, we've got to screw in a new national and global policy. Organize politically. We can help you at 350.org. If you've got some time left over after that, then by all means change your bulbs."

-- Bill McKibben, author of "Deep Economy" and "The Bill McKibben Reader"

"Unplug your television."

-- Sam Grawe, editor in chief of Dwell magazine

"My suggestion to anyone is to take stock of your day from the time you get up in the morning to when your head hits the pillow -- a daily activity audit, if you will. Identify the ways you might be able to do things better -- not perfectly, but better. Once you've done that, you can dive into all of the great resources and information that's out there and decide what's relevant to your daily life and what works best for you. After that, just keep asking yourself, 'How can I be a little greener?' I think you'll find sustainability can be addictive!"

-- Graham Hill, founder of TreeHugger.com and vice president of interactive for PlanetGreen, Discovery Communications' new 24-hour TV network and multimedia site

"Plant stuff! As important as it is to cut down on CO2emissions, it's equally important to plant things to absorb it all. The more we can do to cover this planet in green, the better. I am always looking to find new, innovative ways to be efficient and less wasteful, but in addition to that, anything I can do to offset any wastefulness or carbon emissions helps. For example, I just planted a 300-square-foot garden on the roof of my garage. In August, I am going to have zucchini coming out of my ears, and I will not have gone to the supermarket to get it."

-- Rogan Gregory, founder and designer of fair-trade and organic fashion lines Rogan, Edun and Loomstate, and winner of the 2007 Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund Award

"Change your mind-set about the way you spend your money. You can make every dollar count by favoring products and services that minimize their environmental impact. If you think you can't afford it, think again. Anyone buying bottled water can shift to organic milk. Anyone buying throwaway paper towels can shift to a reusable sponge. Start on Earth Day by allocating $10 of the week's household budget to greener goods. You don't have to spend more money to make your money greener."

-- Diane MacEachern, author of "Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World"

"If you're a student and really want to rock your world, consider going into the environmental field. There is a serious shortage of students going into environmental science. And I can't think of a more exciting time to get involved in this expanding field!"

-- George Gray, director of research for the Environmental Protection Agency

-- Eviana Hartman