"The Environment Equation: 100 Factors That Can Add To or Subtract From Your Total Carbon Footprint" (Adams Media) puts a number on dozens of ways that your everyday habits can have an impact on your year-round carbon footprint — the amount of carbon dioxide you release into the environment. The authors have calculated how even small lifestyle changes can reduce America's annual 20 tons of carbon emissions per capita.

1. Microwave ovens use a third less energy than conventional ovens. Doing a quarter of your cooking in the microwave will reduce your annual carbon emissions by 55 pounds.

2. Production of disposable diapers uses 3.5 billion gallons of oil a year in the U.S. alone. Disposables also generate 60 times more waste than cloth diapers.

3. Moving to a house 500 square feet larger can add more than 3,600 pounds to your carbon footprint.

4. Don't let the car engine idle; it's a myth that shutting it off and turning it back on will use more gas.

5. Living in an urban area actually reduces your carbon footprint, to the tune of 6,174 pounds a year.

— Chicago Tribune

GROCERY SAVINGS

MAKE LIST, USE COUPONS

Save while shopping with tips from "America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money," by Steve and Annette Economides: Make a list and stick to it. Impulse buys can increase bills of undisciplined shoppers by 50 percent or more. Ignore displays at the ends of aisles and at checkout counters. They often are set up to encourage expensive impulse buys. And clip coupons!

— Gannett News Service

FINAL WORD

"I come from French-Cajun-Jewish people. Our hair is not supposed to be that way. ... I think we worked on the hair as much as we did on the sword fighting."

Shia LaBeouf | "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" star, in Entertainment Weekly