Super Eco

Photo credit: Navin75, flickr

The Arizona Cardinals square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII. I've pulled myself together after the Eagles loss last week to offer these 5 simple tips to effectively greenify your Super Bowl party.

1. Get an Energy Star television. Retailers have great sales on televisions prior to the Super Bowl. If you're buying one, see that it has earned the Energy Star, which saves both energy and money.

2. If organizing a betting pool, the winner's money can go to buying carbon offsets in the form of supporting renewable energy or purchasing carbon allowances. Carbonfund.org can help you calculate how much money it will cost to offset the carbon produced by your home or car.

3. Don't use paper plates or plastic cups. To be truly eco-friendly, buy beer in aluminum cans and recycle them. If you get a keg, serve beer in pint glasses. It's greener and will make everyone feel like they're at a real bar instead of your crummy apartment.

4. Don't go hog wild with food that might end up in the trash. If you order too much food, distribute it as people leave, donate to a local shelter or just save for later. Buffalo wings taste surprisingly good heated up the next day. For further reading, The Non-Consumer Advocate has a great post on how to reduce food waste.

5. Ask people to carpool. Having ten people over? Ask two to pick up the rest and offer to pay for gas.

Bonus Tip: Wheatgrass drinking game—take a shot every time John Madden talks about Ben Roethlisberger's toughness or how hard it is to cover Larry Fitzgerald. Additional shots may be taken if someone remarks on how one of the teams just "wants it more."

Enjoy the game!