Earth Day was April 22, but the gift of green doesn't need to come just once every spring. Do your part to help preserve our planet with these ten easy, earth-minded steps that will keep you going green throughout the year.

1.      Use environmentally friendly transportation. Walk, bike, or carpool to work, school, or any other destination on your daily route.

2.      Switch from paper and plastic to canvas. Start using and re-using canvas or cloth bags when you shop.

3.      Break your bottled water habit. According to the Container Recycling Institute, supplying Americans with plastic water bottles for one year consumes more than 47 million gallons of oil - enough to take 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. And that doesn't include any of the carbon emissions associated with shipping that bottle of water from the mountains of France or the shores of Fiji to your neighborhood grocery store.

Ease up on the ozone, and invest in a Brita filter: You'll lose the plastic, and your water won't have to travel any farther than your kitchen tap.

4.      Support local businesses. Reduce your carbon footprint even more by shopping for locally grown produce and locally manufactured products.

5.      Sign up for paperless billing. Check with your utility, credit card, car insurance, and student loan companies - and anyone else that sends you regular bills or statements - to see if your bills can be sent by e-mail and paid electronically or by auto-debit.

6.      Conserve electricity. Turn off power strips and lights when you leave the house, and unplug chargers, laptops, toasters, TVs, and other appliances when you're not using them. Even when they're turned off, plugged-in "vampire" appliances can suck up as much as half the power they use when they're switched on.

7.      Read Rachel Carson's novel Silent Spring. This widely popular book, first published in 1962, is considered to have helped launch the modern environmental movement.

8.      Help save an endangered species. Contact your local fish and wildlife agency to see how you can help preserve your local environment for animals at risk.

9.      Make your opinion heard. Start an eco-blog, contact your representative about pushing for environmentally responsible changes, or share earth facts, enviro-tips, and green suggestions with friends and family.

10.  Participate in an Earth Day Network program, campaign, or event. Find a local event or association to get involved with, or organize your own. For ideas, check out Google's Earth Day '08 and read Earth Day pledges and contributions from other climate-conscious people around the world.