DIY

One mainstay of treehugging is doing it yourself, or DIY. There are a few reasons for doing it yourself, such as saving money. You also have a much better chance of being able to buy locally made materials than buying a locally made complete product. Other environmental advantages depend on what the finished product is, but sometimes it's more efficient to ship the raw materials than to ship the finished product. If nothing else, it is rewarding to know that you made something yourself.

There are lots of sites out there that guide you through everything from knitting a toy to building your own wind turbine. Knitting toys, animals, scarfs, etc. is a great way to be green because you can often find organic yarn, especially if you live near Amish areas. Knitty.com is a good site for finding patterns and instructions. Howtopedia is a newer cousin of Wikipedia, but is made up of articles on how to make to do things. That's where you can find instructions for your own wind turbine, or even a biomass digester. Instructables is a favorite, where among others things, you can learn how to wire your own LED lights. There is a DIY network, where they've combined guides from TV and online about most things under the sun. eHow and HowStuffWorks have been around a long time too.

One last resource that I'm sure no one has thought of is the good 'ol library. Try it - libraries are the ultimate communal efficient way to share entertainment and information.