If you happen to be a real estate developer, bank or manufacturer of building materials, the greening of commercial real estate can create entire new lines of business that allow you to increase your profits while being environmentally responsible.

But most of us who want to go green will have to do it in smaller ways.

Here are some ways:

In your home

Have an energy audit done of your home. The auditor will suggest ways that you can reduce your use of both electricity and heating fuels.

Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. In California, legislation has been introduced to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs statewide by 2012.

Turn electrical devices off when not in use. Sounds simple, but how often is a television left on when no one is watching?

Power your toys and tools with the sun. Baltimore, Md.-based Solar Style is just one of several companies that make solar chargers that can power the cell phones, MP3 players and laptop computers so essential to today's lifestyles.

Outside your home

Install solar panels. Besides reducing your electricity bill, this can create a tax break. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, you can receive a tax credit of up to $2,000 for installing solar panels in your home by the end of 2007. The same applies for qualified solar water heating equipment. If you install both, you can get up to $4,000 in tax credits.

Install a windmill. Yes, you can have your own personal wind turbine to generate part or all of your household's electricity. Unlike the giant turbines that generate thousands of kilowatts of electricity, the residential turbines offered by Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Southwest Windpower stand as little as 30 feet high and weigh as little as 170 pounds.

On the road

Many of us spend nearly as much time in our cars as in our homes, and motor vehicles emit millions of tons of pollutants per year. To reduce those emissions:

Drive less -- take public transportation, car pool, buy a scooter or a bicycle.

Trade your car in for a gasoline-electric hybrid, or a model that uses E85 ethanol-blended gasoline. Or get a diesel vehicle, but use biodiesel fuel.

If you are not ready to surrender or trade in your car, keep it, but use it more carefully.

Plan your trips to do more with less driving. According to the National Safety Council, idling for more than half a minute burns more gas than it takes to restart the engine.

Maintain your car per the manufacturer's specifications. If Americans simply kept their tires properly inflated, we could save 2 billion gallons of gas each year.

For extensive lists of more things you can do to conserve energy and make greater use of alternative energy resources, visit www.treehugger.com.