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There's a lot of buzzwords flying around out there; omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan. What do these terms mean, however, and how do they differ in CO2 emissions and sustainability? Here's a breakdown.

Omnivore
An omnivore is a person who eats both meat and fruits/vegetable, as well as other by-products from animals (dairy products, gelatin, e.g.). The average American is an omnivore.

Vegetarian
Contrary to an omnivore, a vegetarian does not eat meat, eating only fruits/vegetables. They do, however, eat animal by-products.

Vegan
A vegan is the most strict in diet of all three. A vegan does not eat meat, or any animal by-products, and they also do not use animal by-product in their day to day lives (not wearing leather, avoiding products with gelatin).

So what does this mean for CO2 emissions? It means a lot, actually. In 2006 the United Nations found that in raising animals for food, we generate more greenhouse gases than all the running cars and trucks in the World. Not only do you factor in the CO2 emissions of just running an animal farm (electricity, land use), but you need to factor in the electricity used in slaughtering the animals, packaging (Styrofoam trays and plastic), and transporting. There is also the inherent emissions from the animals themselves. The gas from a cow is rich in methane, a common greenhouse gas, which does 23 times the damage as CO2. The manure also causes a problem, which can emit methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide (ChooseVeg article). The UN suggests eating 10% LESS meat (TreeHugger link).

Going vegetarian will definitely lower your household CO2 emissions, but it won't completely get rid of it. There is still the factor of the CO2 emitted to run the farm, to clean and package and transport your vegetables to the local grocery store, as well as the emissions from dairy farms. If you want to cut that down even more, buy locally. Buy your fruits and vegetables from places where you know it's grown in your area, and if it has to be transported it is not sent from across the country. Farmer's Markets and Co-Ops are great places to find locally grown food, as well as organic and locally processed dairy. Also, start your own garden, either at your home or at a local garden in your city.

Eating a vegan diet is the most sustainable of the three options. If you cut out the added emissions of animal by-products, that can drop your household CO2 emission by great amounts. The same advice holds true for vegans; buy locally, organically, grow your own, and with an eye for how that food got to your plate.

Making such a drastic change in your diet is daunting, so if you're considering cutting out your intake of meat and trying to go vegetarian or vegan, do it slowly. Studies show that cutting anything cold turkey (even if you're cutting out cold turkey) makes it harder for you to stick with that plan. Decide to eat one meatless meal a week, or cut out red meat all together, for a whole month. After that, step it up. Also be sure to supplement with vitamins what your body will be missing in proteins. There are multitudes of cookbooks, websites and forums that offer support for such a diet change, as well as tips and recipes.

Happy eating, everyone!

It's becoming increasingly obvious that unjustified wasting is a large contributor to the environmental crisis. People don't think about what will happen when they're done with something, where it will go or how it will affect our planet... just throw it away and once it's in the garbage or the dump, it's not your problem anymore. Well, that's not the case. It's always our problem, and out of site is not out of mind.

One of the easiest things you can do to limit the amount of waste you put out is recycling, and it's often the most overlooked. There are a number of things that can be recycled, and most towns have facilities that will accept these items. Call your local City Office and ask where the recycling facility is, and find out what items are accepted there. Some Co-Ops or grocery stores will also offer in-store recycling of paper and plastic bags, which some facilities may not take.

Another option for bigger items (like bicycles, books, and household objects) is a service called Freecycle. With this website, you can locate people in your area who have or need these things, and you can connect with them to trade, sell, or give your items to. You can also donate some gently-used items to charitable organizations such as GoodWill, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Salvation Army.

You can also call around to shelters, foster care systems, and community organizations and find out what items they need and if they'd be willing to take gently used donations. Some places do not, so call in advance.

Hopefully you'll think twice about throwing a glass bottle in the garbage can, or taking a bicycle that you don't ride anymore to the dump. There's always a place for those things to go, if you're just willing to take a little bit of time and effort to find it a new home for it. Just because you're done with it doesn't mean it's gone forever and it's impact to our environment stops.

Do you find yourself searching your brain for fun things to do with your children to teach them about how to be sustainable AND creative? Here's a great, inexpensive and simple idea that you can do with your kids, or as a gift for someone else, that will give you the opportunity to talk about recycling and staying green...

Recycled Crayons

1. Preheat your oven to 150 degrees.

2. Have your child unwrap broken crayon pieces that they may not use anymore, and collect them in a bowl.

3. In a silicone baking tray, which come in a lot of shapes (like stars, moons, or the alphabet), place the unwrapped crayon pieces together. You have a lot of creativity here, so you can make new crayons that are just one color, two colors, three colors, or little bits of every color.

4. Once you have your pieces in the silicone tray, place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, watching carefully to make sure they do not smoke or burn.

5. After baking, set them somewhere to cool. Placing them in the freezer will speed this process up.

6. Remove from the molds and color away!

Making fun projects out of things most kids stop using is a great way to teach them about recycling. Just because a crayon is broken, or is just the nub of a much-loved color, it doesn't mean it's useless or garbage. Re-using things in a creative way breathes new life into something that's already a rewarding experience, and also saves money.

That's right, your friends and family can be carbon neutral for a day by joining Brighter Planet in their latest "One Day Campaign." All you need to do is point your loved ones here to make it happen. It just takes a name and email, that's it. The goal is to give away 5,000 one day gifts, and to offset 680,000 lbs of CO2. Pass it on!

Winter is approaching and record-breaking low temperatures are already popping up. Conserve energy in your home by making sure it's weatherized with a few classic tips. First, use caulk and weatherstripping to make sure there are no air leaks in the cracks between your windows and doors. Second, do what you can to insulate walls and ceilings. Third, use double-paned windows when replacing old and outdated glass. "Raising Baby Green," a book by Alan Green, claims that caulking and weatherstripping can save 1700 lbs of CO2, wall and ceiling insulation can save 2000 lbs of CO2, and double-paned windows can save 10,000 lbs of CO2. The book also claims that the reduction in CO2 will add up to roughly $1000 U.S. in saving. As a bonus to helping the planet, and your wallet, YOU WON'T FREEZE!

With the holiday season quickly approaching, whether you celebrate Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, you may feel overwhelmed with how to stay green in a season that is so commercially driven. Here are a few handy tips for staying environmentally conscious.

1. Wrap gifts with recyclable paper, or paper that is home-recycled (using newspaper or paper bags) and instead of ribbon, use twine or hemp rope. They come in a lot of colors, so your gifts will still look great.

2. Make your own gift cards and tags with recyclable paper.

3. Hand-made presents are greener than options you can buy at a store. Learn to knit or crochet and make scarves and hats. You could also sew re-usable shopping bags to give to your friends and family. Buy only the amount that you’ll need so you don’t have leftover waste, or if you do, make something for yourself!

4. Buy a potted tree that you can plant after the holidays, or get an artificial tree that you can use for more years than just this one.

5. Throwing a party? Buy your food in large quantities, and buy things that will last in your fridge or pantry if they’re not eaten, like boxed crackers and canned foods. Find reusable or compostable silverware and plate ware, which will cut down on washing after, but also garbage.

6. If you’re traveling, try to carpool with people heading the same direction. Many communities and colleges have a carpool board where you can find people who need to find travel companions. Make sure your tires are inflated, and filters are clean, before heading out. Separate your snack waste, and recycle what you can when you get to where you’re going.

This time of year, the best gift that you can give is your pledge to help this planet make it so your kids, or young nieces and nephews, can see a Christmas when they’re grown up. Enjoy the season, time with your friends and family, and the planet we all live on.

DVice.com has gathered ten ideas to help green your home, and you probably haven't heard of most of them. Here is a quick teaser, but do some Googling or go to DVice.com to learn more.

EcoDrain - Installs in the shower drain and uses leftover hot water to help heat the incoming water.

Solarwind Turbine - Think wind turbines covered in solar panels.

Water Reclamator - Waste water treatment in your own yard!

Swash Toilet Seat - Uses a small amount of water to wash your bum. No more TP.

Coolroof - Recycled rubber shingles that have solar cells embedded into them.

Granitecrete - This porous surface will soak up storm water runoff, instead of sending it straight to the city.

Ultratouch Insulation - This recycled denim product is like heating the home with your old Levis.

Green Walls - An exterior wall of plants to help purify air, and insulate your home.

Ceramic Paint - Exterior paint that lasts 25 years.

Plogs - Like a prefab mini-house made of used Douglas Fir.

The collection of December 07 photographs by photographer Chris Jordan, titled An American Self-Portrait, incredibly eye-opening for anyone who has not seen them. Just link over to the global intelligencer to see for yourself. Images included are:

- Two milion plastic bottles (used every five minute in US)

- 1.14 million paper bags (used every hour in US).

- 426,000 cell phones (disposed every day in US)

- 15 million sheets of paper (used every five minutes in US)

- 106,000 aluminum cans (used every 30 seconds in US)

There is more too. Please note that these figures are the ones listed alongside the photographs themselves. I wonder if those figures have gone up or down since 2007, what do you think?