Here at National Geographic's D.C. headquarters, our cafeteria is big on composting: There's even a photo of a landfill on the trash can to guilt you into throwing that paper cup into the right receptacle.

Pretty soon, if you live in San Francisco, you won't have a choice. On June 23, mayor Gavin Newsom signed the first mandatory composting law in the United States for consumers and businesses.

The law, which goes into effect October 21, is in fitting with the mayor's "lofty green goal" -- zero waste by 2020, he said in a statement.

The city already keeps 72 percent of recyclable material out of the landfill, and turns about 400 tons of leftover food into nutritious organic compost, dubbed "black gold."

The fertile stuff is quickly snapped up by farms and vineyards in the Bay Area, Newsom added.

Composting not only keeps landfills down, the practice also prevents the powerful greenhouse gas methane from being released. That's because bacteria that break down food waste in landfills create a lot of methane as a byproduct.

If you compost food, on the other hand, you return carbon to the soil and encourage plant growth at the same time.

Not to mention compost can work wonders for your lawn, especially commercially made compost, which has high levels of naturally occurring phosphorous and nitrogen that is released gradually and is absorbed more easily by plants. (See our fertilizer buying guide.)

So we get it -- composting is cool, not only because it doesn't heat up a warming planet -- but how do you dig in? First decide if you want to set up shop indoors or in your backyard. If indoors, you can either buy a special bin or make one yourself out of a plastic garbage can. A properly managed bin, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, won't attract pests or smell bad.

If you head outdoors, select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin, and moisten dry materials as they are added.

The whole rundown on what you need to know can be found on the EPA's composting site.

Newsom said he hopes that composting will "become second nature for Americans, just like sorting bottles and paper."

With up to a $100 price tag for any San Franciscan who fails to compost, that sounds about right.

--Christine Dell'Amore

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Related:

Get the dirt on how to turn your trash into fertilizer treasure.

Try out composting by starting a carbon diet.

Image courtesy Kessner Photography

A novel coal-fired, near-zero-emissions power plant in Mattoon, Illinois, FutureGen was first proposed by the Bush Administration in 2003 as a way to control carbon dioxide emissions, then later waylaid due to costs.

But U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced June 12 that the $1.5 billion plant will likely go forward, with construction planned for 2010.

" … FutureGen reflects this Administration's commitment to rapidly developing carbon capture and sequestration technology as part of a comprehensive plan to create jobs, develop clean energy and reduce climate change pollution," Chu said in a statement.

The plant works by transforming coal into a gas made up of hydrogen, which in turn creates the steam needed to generate electricity through a gas turbine or a fuel cell. It also captures carbon dioxide and stores the gas permanently underground.

The Mattoon plant may call for up to 700 "green jobs" during construction, with a permanent workforce of more than a hundred, according to the FutureGen Web site.

The project and its potential for new jobs have already been popular in Mattoon,
Sarah Forbes, a senior associate at the environmental think tank the World Resources Institute, told the Green Guide.

A Green Job Explosion?

An "explosive growth" in green jobs was noted in a new Pew Charitable Trusts report.

That research found that the United States's emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007: That's 9.1 percent compared with 3.7 percent, respectively.

Much of the clean energy growth—and FutureGen—is funded by the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides nearly $85 billion for energy- and transportation-related programs.

FutureGen may be a model for a new generation of clean power plants worldwide, which would each produce at least 300 megawatts of electricity and trap at least one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, the DOE said.

The FutureGen plant is "an extremely positive step forward" as the country's first large-scale commercial demonstration of carbon capture and storage, Forbes said.

Half of U.S. energy comes from coal, and ever-growing China, which gets 80 percent of its energy from the combustible rock, continues to build more polluting plants, Forbes said.

"It's possible to envision a world where we don't build another coal plant," said Forbes, but "even if we don't, what do we do with that [existing] fleet?"

FutureGen "is critical … in finding out if [carbon capture and storage] can be that solution."

--Christine Dell'Amore

--Visit Green Guide's Energy Savings hub for tips on carbon diets, the most planet-friendly appliances, and more.

--And read the latest on carbon offsets: "Do Carbon Offsets Do More Damage Than Good?"

Illustration courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

The new Living Learning Center, set in the woods at an environmental-research facility on campus, is also in the running to become the first building to meet the Living Building Challenge.

The initiative, sponsored by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council and launched in 2006, is arguably the most extreme green building rating system in the world.

The builders of the 2,900-square-foot (269.4-square-meter) learning center say it meets the 16 requirements to earn living-building status.

Among the requirements:

--Solar energy will run the building, and any excess will be pumped back into the electric grid to be resold by the electric company.

--Rainwater will be captured and stored in a 3,000-gallon (11,356-liter) underground cistern and purified for drinking water. (Find out how rainwater harvesting works.)

--Porous pavement around the building will absorb storm-water runoff, and no wastewater will be produced.

--Fallen trees or trees slated for removal from nearby woods were used to build the center, meeting the requirement that materials come from within 500 miles (805 kilometers) to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.

(Learn how to build your own eco-friendly house from the ground up.)

Likewise, the center will be a learning hub for a summer high school outreach program and university classes.

More than 60 project teams throughout North America have signed up to pursue living-building certification, Eden Brukman, regional director of the Cascadia building council, said in a statement.

Washington University's learning center is one of two of the first projects opening in May, but to meet the standards it must be operational for at least 12 consecutive months, Brukman said.

" … There are many people throughout the country—and the continent—watching with eager anticipation," she said.

Visit these sites for more information on green buildings and construction:

How to Get a Green Roof for Dirt Cheap

Whole House Quiz: Learn Where You're Losing Money

Video: Watch a Green Home Makeover

And check out National Geographic's Summer Green Guide for more information on how to green your home and your life.

--Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News environment editor

Photo courtesy Joe Angeles/WUSTL

It's not just baby animals that emerge in spring: A whole host of insects that can eat you out of house and home also come out of the woodwork.

Applying indiscriminate amounts of pesticides used to be the norm, but more environmentally sensitive ways to combat pests have cropped up in recent years.

Here's a primer for how to take on the toughest bugs:

Cockroaches

First of all, make sure your kitchen and the areas underneath your sinks are completely clean, with no food bits that would lure roaches.

One of the most effective natural control methods for roaches is boric acid--a white, organic powder that is deadly to these insects, but is no more toxic than table salt to humans.

Most people apply the treatment wrong. For the powder to work, it has to be laid in a very thin layer on the area where the roaches walk. The key, according to the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology, is "to give the [boric acid] container a shake, then puff a very light dusting of the powder into the area you wish to treat."

Termites

The traditional control method is to apply a liquid pesticide to the soil to make a "chemical barrier" around the building that would thwart all routes of entry. But many termite entry points are hidden, and hundreds of gallons of pesticide must be applied.

The other option is termite baits: Small amounts of a compound made of paper, cardboard, and a slow-acting substance lethal to the insect are "deployed like edible 'smart missiles' to knock out populations of termites foraging in and around the structure," according to the University of Kentucky.

The trick is to get termites to find the baits—once they do, the foragers consume the bait and share it with their nest mates, gradually reducing the colony numbers.

Ants

There are many species of ants, each with different control techniques.

Richard Fagerlund's book Ask the Bugman! Environmentally Safe Ways to Control Household Pests recommends this non-toxic ant bait recipe: Mix three cups of water with one cup sugar and four teaspoons of technical boric acid designed for pest control.

Wrap three or four jam jars with masking tape, pierce small holes in the top, and smear the outside with the bait syrup. Place the jars where ants are foraging, and soon swarms will appear on the jars and carry the poison back to their colonies.

To get rid of ant piles in your yard, pour hot, soapy water down the entrance to the mounds with a small funnel, Fagerlund advises.

Of course, the best course of action is to prevent bugs from getting in your house in the first place, he adds.

Among his suggestions:

Lastly, if you decide to go with a professional, the Web sites Green People and Low Impact Living have lists of natural and organic pest-control companies in several U.S. states.

For more pest control tips from the Green Guide:

VIDEO: Garden Pests

Ridding Your Yard of Mosquitoes

How To Control Ants Without Chemicals

-- Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News environment editor

Just like financial planning, energy conservation is made a whole lot easier when you have a baseline to work from and know what you're spending.

At a "Town Hall" meeting in March, President Barack Obama once again noted the importance of metering. While he was talking about smart meters, which will be able to help you tap into the new national smart grid we're all dreaming of, there's no reason we shouldn't ask our new administration for metering options in the meantime.

Energy and education experts have said metering provides easy-to-use, practical information that often serves as the impetus for behavior change. By some estimates, meters can result in savings up to 15 percent almost immediately.

If you can plug your air-conditioning unit into a $25 meter and discover within seconds your A/C is eating up unnecessary amounts of energy--and your bank account--you may be inspired to brave a degree or two, or completely unplug.

Other governments, such as the U.K.'s, are already ahead of the curve, providing meters for households. The U.K.'s meter program is part of the country's goal to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 60 percent by 2050.

If you can't wait for the administration, head to Home Depot, or set up an Internet-based home energy monitoring system. Google's PowerMeter--an online dashboard to help you gauge energy use and decide where to cut--is expected on the market soon.

Read Green Guide's tips for carbon dieting.

Learn more about energy conservation strategies in the March issue of National Geographic magazine.

Test, or meter, your energy-saving smarts.

Read about alternative energy options.

--Tasha Eichenseher

The Mini Cooper is fun and sporty--but what if it was also the greenest car on the market? This year marks the field trial of the new Mini-E, an all electric Mini Cooper. It consumes no gas, releases zero-emissions from its tailpipe, and has lots of high torque for a zippy pick-up on the road.

So how does it work? The Mini-E has a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery. The battery stores 150 miles of electric propulsion. When plugged into a 240-volt special charging wall box (installed by arrangement with the dealer), the Mini-E recharges in 2.5 hours. Given that most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, this range should be quite sufficient for daily commutes and more.

The Mini-E also boasts major savings in fuel costs. Given average electricity rates and drive patterns, Tom Gage, the CEO of AC Propulsion (which produced the drive system for the Mini-E), estimates that most drivers will spend three cents per mile. At $2 per gallon gasoline, that is about 60 percent less than what you would pay for fuel in a regular Mini Cooper. At $4 per gallon gasoline, you spend about 85 percent less.

450 lucky people in Los Angeles and the New York and New Jersey area will be chosen to lease the Mini-E for one year . Drivers will be selected from among the 1,800 applications received by the company. Winners will be announced in March. While the leasing price may seem a tad costly ($850/month) , this has not deterred many enthusiastic potential drivers from the opportunity to take the hottest new green car of the year for a spin.

It wouldn’t be the first garden at the White House—John and Abigail Adams planted theirs in 1800—nor the most exotic—the oval office, in fact the whole West Wing, was an “orangerie” and then a bounteous greenhouse until 1902. Even President Clinton, not known for his heart-healthy eating habits, grew vegetables, not in the yard but up on the roof.  But it would be a nice source of presumably organic vegetables for you and your family. And what chef accustomed to cooking with fresh ingredients wouldn’t love to have a kitchen garden right outside the door?

We don’t want to overplay the symbolism of a White House kitchen garden, but in a small way it could help us all to remember where our food comes from and how far it often travels to get to us. It also should remind us of the hundreds of thousands of small farms struggling to make ends meet, some not so far from our cities.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, according to the New York Times, hopes his agency can help small farmers in part by linking them with creative new market opportunities, like institutional buyers and government nutrition programs. Oh my, that is a germ of an idea worth planting. What if the White House Mess, government buildings throughout the District and government-managed nutrition programs across the country were to buy fresh food from local farms? How this might improve personal health and the health of rural economies.   

We know you also like to get out of the White House sometimes. Tending a garden can provide a great break from the demands of the office and give you some space to think.  And it’s fun to do with kids. But before you start digging Mr. President, check out Green Guide. You’ll find great gardening How-To videos, plus shopping suggestions for greener garden supplies.

Congratulations! You won the battle of the Blackberry. So what's next on the wish list for the president who has introduced a country to weekly YouTube addresses and who's trying to install the nation's first Chief Technology Officer?

Well, considering that you're also an avid reader, we think you should buy a Kindle. The entire world, including Oprah, seems to be going ga-ga for them, and despite their $359 price tag, they've sold out in the midst of a recession.

E-readers are more than just a cool new gadget; they can do wonders to protect our natural resources. According to an article published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, you could conceivably save about one tree per year, just by downloading your newspapers wirelessly every day--which is uber-convenient with the Kindle's wireless connection. A year's worth of newspapers can use around 700 pounds of paper (the actual amount varies based on the physical size of your paper), and books use about a pound or two of paper each. Then you have to consider all the greenhouse gas emissions from printing the newspaper and then distributing it to all the newsstands nationwide; another ES&T study found that a printed newspaper emits up to 140 times more carbon dioxide and consumes as much as 67 times more water than an electronic version (paper books can use up to 78 times more water than e-books).

Even factoring in the electricity used to charge the thing allows you to come out on top (you get go totally carbon neutral with a solar charger). Plus, Amazon has instituted a recycling program for the devices (they are electronics, after all, and shouldn't end up in landfills), And, batteries are sold separately, so when they give out, you can replace the battery alone--not the entire device (something the makers of a certain popular MP3 player might want to try).

Our new tech-savvy president is all about change. Isn't it time he gave up his dead trees for something a little more forward-thinking?

According to Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times, the capital "flew into a bit of a tizzy" when your first photographs in the Oval Office showed you jacket-free and not so buttoned-up as the last President. I was tweeting too but not from your casual style but for cranking up the thermostat.

Ee-gad, Mr. President, Please don't do that. I know you're from Hawaii, but put on a sweater, as Jimmy Carter did, or consider installing a furnace humidifier. You see, it's really not the heat that matters, it's the humidity.

A humidifier can help reduce the heat you need to feel comfortable in a room because moist air feels warmer and as such you can feel the same warmth at a lower temperature as long as the humidity is high enough. A 20°C or 69°F temperature at 35% relative humidity feels just as warm as a 22°C or 72°F setting at 19% relative humidity. So install a furnace humidifier, set it for the proper humidity and your thermostat three degrees lower than you would normally. You'll be comfortable while saving; this small adjustment in temperature will lower your annual heating bills by as much as 5 percent.

For more energy saving tips, check out the Green Guide.

Breakfast, they say, is the most important meal of the day, and if yours is like most families', it includes a glass of orange juice, a great source of Vitamin C. Few, or so we figured, have ever tipped back their glass of orange deliciousness and wondered about the other C, the element Carbon, and just how much the morning glass-full contributes to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other global warming gases into the atmosphere. As it turns out, PepsiCo, which owns the Tropicana brand, did and recently hired experts to conduct the life cycle analysis to find out. What they learned surprised them; it wasn't running the factory or transporting the heavy juice containers, but the nitrogen fertilizers, which require natural gas to make and can turn into a potent greenhouse gas, that were the primary contributor.

PepsiCo should be commended for taking a look at the CO2 footprint of its products and finding out just where the carbon is in the chain. They're now in a better position to make decisions that will curb their energy use and combat global warming. And lucky for them, research conducted at the Rodale Institute's Experimental Farm provides strong evidence that organic farming practices can do just that--combat global warming by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and incorporating it into the soil.

The data come from the institute's Farming Systems Trial launched in 1981, which compared a conventional agriculture system to two types of organic farming systems. Over the course of 23 years, the trial revealed that the two organic systems increased soil carbon by 15 to 28 percent, while the conventional system showed none. For the organic systems that translates into about 3,670 lbs of CO2 per acre-foot per year--and that's not even counting the reductions in CO2 emissions represented by the fact that organic farming uses just 63 percent of the energy required by conventional farming systems, largely because of the massive amounts of energy required to synthesize nitrogen fertilizer.

The energy needed to transport heavy juice containers should be factored in when considering which juice to buy. Green Guide's recommendation: Go for the organic brands that are available as a frozen concentrate to start your day off on the right foot, and with the smallest footprint.

Way to go, Mr. President! You had the beautiful commemorative invitations to the Inauguration printed on FSC certified and 100 percent recycled paper. You hadn't taken office yet and already you were setting a great example of appreciation and respect for our planet's natural resources.

Processing paper from virgin timber is tough on the environment. Clear cutting can destroy wildlife habitat and increases erosion and sedimentation of streams. The cut wood is then ground, pressed, dried and chlorine bleached, producing over 1,000 different organochlorines, including the carcinogen dioxin, and mercury. The process also requires large amounts of energy and contributes as much as 9 percent of total manufacturing carbon emissions in the U.S. At the other end of its lifecycle, much of the paper we buy ends up in landfills.

The good news is paper recycling in the U.S. is on the rise, and choosing the right paper for your kitchen, bathroom or home office can help save forests and conserve energy, too. A ton of recycled paper saves 3,000 to 4,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity compared with producing a ton of virgin-fiber paper.

And it's now widely available. You can find high-content recycled paper in most office supply stores, including giants like Staples and Office Depot. Do pay attention to the labels and choose paper that's processed chlorine free (PCF) and with a high post-consumer waste (PCW) content--up to 100 percent. Green Guide recommends Mohawk's white Option and colored Via fine papers, made with 100 percent PCW using renewable wind energy ($22-$25/200 sheets; www.mohawkpaper.com, 800-843-6455) and Neenah Paper's Environment and Classic writing and printing papers ($21.95-$26.95/250 sheets; www.neenahpaper.com, 888-558-5061) and Wausau's Exact Eco 100 copy paper ($4/500 sheets; www.wausaupapers.com) are both 100 percent PCW and PCF.

Of course, reducing use is best. As a technically savvy President, you will appreciate the many simple ways to dramatically reduce office paper use altogether: Make sure everyone at home and in the office chooses the double-sided printing option on their printers, uses the blank side of scrap paper for printing drafts and distributes as many documents electronically as possible.

Cut back on paper in the kitchen as well by using cloth towels and napkins instead. But if you want to keep a roll of paper towels on hand for real messes, consider Marcal Paper's PCF paper towels, over 60 percent PCW, which can be found in stores nationwide ($2.99/3-pack; www.marcalpaper.com, 201-796-4000). For bathroom and facial tissue, try Cascade's North River PCF with 80 percent PCW (from $1.39; www.cascades.com; 819-363-5100). Whole Foods' store brand 365 Everyday Value toilet paper, napkins and paper towels are all PCF and up to 95 percent PCW ($1.69-$2.99/pack; www.wholefoodsmarket.com).

Based on the interview he gave to 60 Minutes after he was elected, Obama doesn't really need to be told this. Still, it's great that his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, is moving in to the White House with the rest of the family, and he should take advantage of all she can offer.

Grandmothers and mothers-in-law have always been valuable sources of advice for all things green, having grown up during a less wasteful era when conservation was key and waste was a sin. If it weren't for my grandmothers, it would never have occurred to me to use cardboard toilet-paper rolls as extension-cord organizers or food scraps as fertilizer.

In honor of these wise women, we've compiled a list of some of the nation's former First Ladies (and grandmothers and mothers-in-law) and their contributions to a better planet.

Abigail Adams: Her green contribution: line drying laundry in the White House's East Room. Yes, that was standard practice in a pre-clothes-dryer world, but if all of us followed Mrs. Adams' example, we'd cut our fossil-fuel-dependent energy use by 4 percent.

Edith Wilson: In 1918, the second First Lady of Woodrow Wilson decided to bring a flock of sheep to the White House both to provide wool, which she auctioned off to support the war effort, and to keep the lawn trimmed. Of course, gas-powered lawn mowers hadn't been invented then either, but even today, it's a great form of organic lawn care. And with all that wool, you'll be able to turn the thermostat down a few degrees in winter.

Lou Hoover: While her husband may not have a great reputation for how he handled the economy, Mrs. Hoover was an avid nature lover (she earned a geology degree from Stanford), and she was heavily involved in the Girl Scouts, getting girls to love the outdoors as much as she did. This year, along with "Take Your Daughters to Work Day," institute a "Take Your Daughters on a Walk Day" and get them excited about science and the environment.

Eleanor Roosevelt: The woman who planted the first Victory Garden, on the White House grounds in 1943, faced serious objections from the USDA and agriculture industry, who complained that she was hurting food sales. Her reasons for the garden were patriotic, but it's green, too: Growing your own food (and knowing which pesticides, if any, were used, and how many miles, or feet, it traveled from garden to table) is an eco-friendly habit we can all adopt. You can sign a petition encouraging the new President and First Lady to start an organic food garden at www.eattheview.org.

Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson: She may be best known for her efforts to decorate the nation's highways with wildflowers and native plants (which foster biodiversity, feed the soil and contribute a number of other environmental benefits to the landscape). But Ms. Johnson lobbied her husband quite extensively for better environmental protections, like air-pollution controls, and against destructive practices like strip mining. Plant a wildflower in her honor this spring.

Hillary Clinton: Technically, she's neither a grandmother nor a mother-in-law, but she's still made (and continues to make) major moves on the environmental front as First Lady, Senator and now Secretary of State. She was recently involved in establishing the New York Partnership for a Green Afghanistan, an initiative to replant trees to revitalize Afghanistan's orchards, nurseries, woodlots and greenbelts. Planting trees, says Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, is the best thing any of us can do to help foster a healthier planet.

Laura Bush: Our last First Lady incorporated green elements into the Bushes' Crawford ranch, which was built in 2000, including geothermal heating and cooling and permeable landscaping that allows rainwater to be recycled as irrigation water. If you can't remodel your home or re-do your landscaping, you can still incorporate some energy-saving habits into your daily routine, or save water by collecting your "warm-up" water to use on plants.

It's always fun to Monday-morning-quarterback an inauguration, especially since they only come around every four years. I, personally, was a little disappointed that Obama didn't trade the armored limousine for a super-compact Smart Car, at least on the parade route. How profound a statement would that have made for substantive change in Washington?

Oh, I'm sure armored limos make more sense for security reasons, so I was stuck scrutinizing his. And I couldn't help wonder, were his tires properly inflated?

Much was made of last August's Republican gag that involved tire gauges imprinted with the words "Obama's Energy Plan," spurred by a statement then-Candidate Obama made about how much gas could be saved (and energy saved from unnecessary coastal drilling) if people just kept their tires inflated. He was touted as naïve, compared to Jimmy Carter and his sweaters--but in the end, I wanted one of those tire gauges. It's a good plan.

Whether you're republican, democrat, libertarian or politically agnostic, if you care about the planet, you have to concede that it makes sense. Conservation is key to reducing our dependence on climate-changing fossil fuels and imported oil. Plus, it falls in line perfectly with Obama's belief in personal responsibility and everyone chipping in to do his or her part.

The numbers are all over the map when it comes to actual gallons of gas saved by such a simple measure, but assuming all gasoline (not diesel) powered cars on American roads had properly inflated tires, the drivers could cut gas consumption by 3.3 percent. That's about 13 million gallons of gas every day and, at current gas prices, $24 million a day that isn't going to the oil companies. How's that for a bail-out?

What do ten-year-old and seven-year-old girls want more than anything? Aside from meeting the Jonas Brothers, that is.

If the Obama girls are anything like I was at their ages, they want cool bedrooms where they can hide from their parents, have private conversations without siblings listening in and host sleepovers for every Chicago friend they ever had, and all their new ones, too.

Because we green types like to hang all our hopes for eco redemption on the children of the world, we naturally decided that their rooms should also symbolize our collective hopes for a greener future. So, herewith, our suggestions for eco-minded, sleepover-friendly bedrooms

First, the walls. Most eco-friendly paints have muted colors--earth tones and pastels--because the more color you add, the higher the level of volatile organic compounds and fumes. Benjamin Moore has developed a proprietary formula for waterborne colors, used in its Natura and Aura lines, that add absolutely no VOCs to paint, allowing them to create a broad spectrum of colors from pretty pinks (which would match the cute Happy Critters organic cotton bedroom set from Pottery Barn Kids) to older-sister-appropriate purples and greens that would match this PBK reversible organic cotton quilt. Paints start at $49.99/gallon, and the PBK duvets are $129 and $125 respectively.

They'll undoubtedly cover some of that paint with a poster or two of the Jonas Brothers, but they can also add a personal touch by spelling their names out with letters made from recycled maps--something we at National Geographic certainly endorse--made by a Colorado artist named Gail Winters and sold on Etsy.com. Girls Malia's age are crafty and creative enough to make their own decorations using old vinyl records, wrapping-paper tubes and just about anything else their minds can conjure up. American Girl Magazine has no shortage of ideas for DIY projects for kids.

Then, tie it all together with a Flor area rug. One of our favorite companies, Flor makes some of its products out of recycled material and even takes them back if your friends happen to spill too much of their chocolate sundaes, or if you need to move out after four, or eight, years in office. Plus, their really cool carpets and area rugs are held in place with stickers rather than high-VOC, formaldehyde-emitting adhesives.

If they still need throw pillows and other bric-a-brac to keep their rooms colorful, here are a few of the Green Guide's favorites:
-K Studio hemp and organic cotton throw pillows with quirky handmade designs ($98-$124; www.kstudio.com)
-Vivaterra hand-knitted Stuffed Owl made by women in rural Kenya ($67; www.vivaterra.com)
-Vivaterra Horizon Night Light made from recycled glass ($33; www.vivaterra.com)
-The Container Store Newsprint Bins made of rolled up recycled newspapers ($9.99-$19.99; www.containerstore.com)
-Recycled "Powerpuff Girls" Game Board Journal ($17; worldofgood.ebay.com)
-Monkeybiz beaded folk-art dolls made by a community of more than 450 South African bead artists who invest profits back into community services, including an HIV wellness clinic and weekly soup kitchens (www.monkeybiz.co.za)

The economy needs help, "stimulus" if you will, and it's a moment for thinking big—just recently Obama called for doubling the production of alternative energy nationwide in the next three years, a sorely needed boost to the industry.  But thinking small also has its moments.  Little changes add up, something Obama mentioned when talking about annoying questions during the debates, like what he'd done personally that's green: "What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective.'" First point: There is some drama to Obama, it just took CFLs to bring it out. Second point: Simple actions produce big results when everyone gets involved. When your house is the White House, you can set the pace on environmental causes.  Consider just a fraction of the green improvements already made at 1600 Penn Ave over the last three decades:

Energy-efficient HVAC—check
Native plants on the grounds—check
Reduced pesticide use indoors—check
Yard waste composted—check
Energy-efficient refrigerators—check
Low-VOC paints—check
And, of course, those compact fluorescent lightbulbs

This is old hat today, but the White House started its green initiative back in the mid-nineties when CFLs were scarcely to be found on store shelves. Now, the new administration could go big and put a windmill on the White House roof, but that probably wouldn't fly with the preservationists. No, where Obama and the presidential family can stand at the forefront of the global warming fight is in the shower.

The Obamas have exercise routines that put the rest of the nation to shame, and that means time whiled away under the tap. Heating all that water usually requires electricity from coal-fired power plants, which are major contributors to global warming. But with the help of a simple egg timer at home or a tile-adhering shower timer at the gym, they could cut the average 8.5-minute shower to five minutes, saving nine gallons of water each time and about 2,400 pounds of greenhouse gases annually for the whole family. Supposing only 10 percent of Americans adults joined them, it would save 6,814,503 tons of greenhouse gases every year and 2 billion gallons of water daily. And if you can't bear the thought of losing those extra minutes, get a low-flow showerhead like the Delta H20 Kinetics, which cuts water usage down to 1.6 gallons per minute without reducing water pressure.