[Carleigh Price] 
With the holiday season here, 
t'is the season to be green.
The holidays aren't always 
the most eco-friendly time
of the year, so it's important 
that this year we don't forget
to keep the environment
in mind.
The EPA is encouraging consumers 
to put the environment on their
gift list before heading 
to the mall.
Hello and welcome 
to Green Scene,
EPA's series of environmental 
podcasts that you can take
with you.
I'm Carleigh Price with 
the Office of Multimedia.
This year, you can give a gift 
that is green in more ways
than one by looking for 
Energy Star labeled products.
Energy Star makes it easy to 
choose a gift for a loved one
that will also contribute to the 
fight against climate change.
Joining me today on Green Scene 
is Maria Vargas from the
EPA Office of Air and Radiation 
Energy Star Program to tell us
more about Energy Star products 
available this holiday season.
Thank you for joining 
us today, Maria.
[Maria Vargas] 
My pleasure.
[Carleigh Price] 
Now, what kind of Energy Star 
products are available this
holiday season?
[Maria Vargas] 
Well, electronics make a great 
gift, and there are lots
of opportunities for consumers 
to look for the Energy Star.
One we're really excited about 
this year is televisions.
TVs that are now qualified for 
the Energy Star label meet new,
stricter requirements, 
so they'll save about
30 percent of energy compared 
to a conventional product,
and that's energy that they're 
saving while they're on and 
while they're off, so that's 
a great place to look for  
Energy Star.  
[Carleigh Price] 
What else?
[Maria Vargas] 
Well, if computers are on your 
list, that's a really nice
opportunity to save a lot of 
energy and not lose anything
in the performance 
of the product.
Computers that earn the EPA's 
Energy Star use about
50 percent less energy than 
a conventional product.
And one thing that's important 
to keep in mind about computers
is, when you get them 
home and unwrap them,
make sure that the power 
management feature is enabled
on the computer, because that 
makes sure that the computer
is not using energy when 
you're not using it.
[Carleigh Price] 
That's great advice.
Now, how about holiday 
decorations?
[Maria Vargas] 
Oh, that's another great place, 
and a new area for Energy Star.
Energy Star now has qualified 
decorative string lights.
These are the lights we use in 
our home, outside our home
to light up and
be festive.
And these new Energy Star 
qualified string lights
use super-efficient
LED technology.
They save about 75 percent 
of the energy that we use
versus a conventional product 
and are available in all sorts
of shapes and sizes and lengths, 
and they're more durable and
shock resistant than 
the conventional ones.
So there's a whole host 
of reasons that paying
attention to your lighting 
inside and out and using
more energy efficient Energy 
Star qualified lighting makes
sense not only for your energy 
use and lowering those bills
that tend to go up over the 
holidays with all the lights,
but also to make sure that 
you're doing the right thing
for the environment.
[Carleigh Price] 
If you had one message 
for American shoppers
this holiday season, 
what would that be?
[Maria Vargas] 
Oh, I think a really great 
place for everyone to make
a difference in the fight 
against global warming is
to make sure that they're 
looking to be as energy
efficient not only 
in their own homes
but in the gifts 
they give.
Energy efficiency is a great 
gift that gives year round.
So, if consumers invest in more 
energy efficient products,
and there are now over 50 
different kinds of products
for your home that can 
earn the Energy Star,
and if you do those things in 
your home, you can save about
30 percent on your 
energy bills.
That's about
$700 a year.
So it's a great idea to pay 
attention to what it is
you're buying this year for 
yourself, for your family,
and to make sure that it's 
Energy Star qualified.
[Carleigh Price] 
Now, what can you do in the 
home besides decorations?
[Maria Vargas] 
Well, it is winter, and so we 
like to point out to folks
that there's a lot of things 
they can do to their home
to make sure that it's energy 
efficient and make sure that
the energy and the money you're 
paying to heat your home keeps
that warm air inside.
One thing EPA recommends is 
that you seal your home.
A lot of us have cracks and 
holes in our home that,
when you add them all up, 
it's like having a window open
all year round, and that's 
just a waste of energy.
So a great thing to do is to 
add insulation and seal up
the cracks in
your home.
It's a great way to make sure 
that, again, the air you're
paying to heat stays 
in your home.
And you want to pay particular 
attention to the attic and the
basement, because those are 
places that there are lots
of leaks.
So, that's one thing that's 
really easy for folks to do.
[Carleigh Price] 
How about thermostats?
[Maria Vargas] 
Thermostats is a great place 
that people can save energy.
We want you to look for 
an Energy Star qualified
programmable thermostat and 
then go to our Web site,
energystar.gov, and we'll give 
you all sorts of tips about
how to use your programmable 
thermostat correctly.
And in so doing, people can 
save about $180 a year
on their energy bills just by 
making sure that their homes
are being heated when they're 
there but not heated as much
when they're away.
That's a waste of energy, 
and that's really the goal
of the Energy Star Program, 
is to make sure that people
are comfortable when they're 
home but not wasting energy
when they're not.
[Carleigh Price] 
Well, thank you, Maria Vargas, 
for joining us today and for
reminding shoppers to give 
the gift of Energy Star
this holiday season.
For a list of Energy Star 
products that use less energy,
save money, and help protect 
the environment,
visit www.energystar.gov.
I'm Carleigh Price, and I'll see 
you next time on Green Scene.