Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
Researchers estimate a third of your life is spent sleeping, but have you ever wondered exactly what you're sleeping on?
KENS-TV has discovered that the chemicals and substances required for mattresses could be toxic.
Last year, the federal government began requiring all mattresses be flame resistant.
When compared to older mattresses, the new ones burned much more slowly.
Rod Frazier has been overseeing mattress production at Taylor Bedding Co. for 37 years.
Only within the last year did he begin to question the safety of what the mattress industry has been carting out to consumers.
Frazier was concerned of the possibility of carcinogens being present in the materials in the fire-resistant mattresses.
It's something that mattress manufacturer Mark Strobel, president of Strobel Manufacturing, can understand.
According to Strobel's Web site, www.peopleforcleanbeds.com, every fire-resistant mattress is a possible risk because they contain toxic chemicals like boric acid, a known rat poison.
"Another one is antimony, which is again, very poisonous and causes heart muscle damage, irregular beat or stop," he said.
A local environmental scientist also believes there could be a serious problem with mattresses with toxic chemicals.
"We just don't know how much would be available through the skin or breathing," said Rupali Datta, an assistant environmental professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Datta warns people against jumping into the unknown.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission believes buyers should not be concerned after testing fire-resistant materials, including boric acid, and have found that mattresses "are not likely to present a hazard to consumers."
Some, though, still may have uneasy dreams.
"Maybe the only thing between you and that is a sheet," said Frazier.
All he can do is follow the letter of the law and sew in the safety notice required by the government.
The CPSC estimates that fire resistant mattresses will save 270 lives and prevent 1,330 injuries every year.
