Becoming energy-efficient may seem like a daunting task at first but it really is not. Here are some quick and easy ideas to save energy and help the environment.

Step 1: Bike Instead of Drive

Biking instead of using a car is a great way to save fossil fuels, get some exercise, and enjoy the outdoors all at the same time.

Step 2: Use a Laptop Computer

Instead of using a noisy, power hungry desktop computer, use a laptop. Because they have to be able to run off of batteries, laptops have power saving features installed.

Step 3: Use Linux

Windows and OS X have ever increasing system requirements and thus consume more and more energy. Linux on the other hand, can run on almost any computer, old or new. My favorite distro is Ubuntu. There are several guides on how to install Ubuntu, so I won't go into details. Thanks to http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/items/environment/index.php?lang= for this great point about Linux.

Step 4: Turn Your Heating Down

In the summer, and whenever it is warm, you could turn your heating down to use less energy.

Step 5: Turn Off Uneeded Lights

When you are not in the room, you could turn the lights off to use less energy.

Step 6: Unplug Appliances

Unplug appliances that you do not use frequently.

Step 7: Open Blinds

Open blinds and window shades during the day to let in more natural light so you don't have to have so many lights on.

Step 8: Backlights on Clocks

Many alarm clocks have a built in back light to help you see the time, but these are not needed most of the time. Usually they can be dimmed or turned off.

Step 9: Thanks!

Thanks for reading my Instructable and feel free to leave comments if you have any questions, ideas, or other information and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can. UbuntuNinja needs your vote in the energy efficiency contest! Thanks again!