Our retail purchases account for over 70 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That means that our decisions as consumers make a big difference, economically. And they make a big difference in how lightly we live on the earth, too. Here are a few ideas on how to use our purchasing power to reduce our environmental impacts. Many of them will be familiar to you.

1. Choose quality over quantity. A really terrific jacket that you wear almost every day and that lasts for years is a better environmental choice than eight or ten jackets that you throw away after six months. One amazing chocolate truffle is as satisfying as three cheap chocolate bars.
2. Walk or bike instead of driving. It costs you nothing more than a bit of your shoe soles (much less than gasoline), and has little environmental impact and is even healthy for you.
3. When you do buy a car, buy one that is fuel efficient. An electric car would be even better (unless your electricity is 100% coal). About 85 percent of a car's environmental impacts come from its fuel consumption. 
4. Buy or rent a smaller home-- preferably one near work. 
5. Install compact fluorescent or LED lights in your home. They come in all shades, and they save about two-thirds of the electricity you would use with incandescent lighting.
6. Use caulking to seal openings in the exterior wall roof and floor of your home. Most of the wasted heating in your home comes from these leaks.
7. Install water saving devices in your home. Faucets, shower heads, toilets, dishwashers and clothes washers all come in water-efficient models. The average U.S. home uses 100 gallons of water per person per day. Installing these devices easily reduces that number by two thirds without changing your life style.
8. Plant things, especially trees. living systems make oxygen for us to breathe, control and clean the water flow in the environment and make us happy.