Green Myths Exposed (from Kiplinger’s):

1) Never leave the lights on when you leave a room.

In the U.S., it saves money to leave compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) on if you will return to the room within 15 minutes, according to the Department of Energy. www.energysavers.gov

2) You can trust products that say “green,” “eco-friendly” etc.

Green-washing (false claims that a product is green) is a problem. Visit www.ftc.gov and search “sorting our green advertising claims” for information. Also, look for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Design for the Environment label (www.eap.gov/dfe).

3) Switching to solar is the best way to save money.

Go for the low hanging fruit first by tightening up the home.

4) Energy savings and tax credits will eventually pay for replacement windows.

You could easily spend $5,000 to replace five or six windows, of which $3,500 would not be reimbursed. Prevent energy loss for less money through insulating and tightening up the  home as in the previous point.

5) You can neutralize your share of greenhouse-gas emissions with carbon offsets.

Clean Air-Cool Planet, a nonprofit devoted to climate-science education, says that it’s impossible to prove that purchasing offsets will render purchasers carbon-neutral. Anyway, measuring your personal carbon emissions “is a squishy science, and measuring the offsets is even squishier.”

Source: Kiplinger’s