Story on all the little + the big things we can do

Chicago's RedEye had a nice story that lays out the little - as well as the big - things that we can all do to help reduce our carbon footprint. It's amazing how quickly green issues have risen in prominence in the public's eye, yet constant reminders of the ways that our own actions are relevant, like this piece, are very important. Reporter Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, who has covered environmental issues for some time, explores home energy, flying, driving, eating meat, recycling, etc. "If everyone in Chicago [used reusable bags], it would eliminate 601 million bags and save 4,508 tons of waste from going to a landfill." And how about the newspaper industry itself? Interestingly, the 1,500 daily newspapers in the U.S. use about 9.2 million tons of paper - consuming more than the book, magazine and catalog sectors combined. Yet it turns out they're the most recycled paper product around - and newsprint itself contains an average of 32 percent recycled fiber. (Still, it's a great incentive for going digital!) Anyway, enterprising reporting!