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Like contemplating a diet, people thinking about living a greener life often become nervous, wondering whether they'll succeed. They are easily overwhelmed thinking about the size of the effort needed, are concerned about their ability to stick with a plan, and not really sure if the struggle to live differently will be worth the effort.

Yet everyone has a responsibility to help preserve the environment, and it does not have to be a daunting task. In fact, here are 10 simple ways to "go green" without making a major change to your life.

1. Warm up your freezer. According to industry trade groups, most people keep their freezer from five to 20 degrees colder than it needs to be to safely preserve food. Raising the freezer temperature by just five degrees will save enough electricity to a CD player and speakers for nearly a year.

2. Turn off your television. The "stand-by" on TVs, DVDs and VHS players waste electricity. Deactivating stand-by' features adds roughly 30 seconds to the time from when you flick the "on" button and when the picture appears. If your home has two sets and one DVD player, turning the set off completely will cut your electric bill between approximately $10 and $55 a year, depending on local rates, and use that much less electricity.

3. Turn off computers. Almost everyone leaves their computer running constantly, not shutting it down before leaving the office or at home after e-mails get read and games have been played. But even though the monitor is blank and the PC quiet, both still draw power, ready to leap to life when a key is touched. A recent survey in a Toronto, Canada office tower discovered that 89% of the computers were still on at midnight even though no one was in the office. The amount of unneeded electricity generated to run stand-by computers totals millions of kilowatt hours annually burning coal, oil and natural gas, unnecessarily contributing to CO2 emissions and climate change.

The cost of not turning off computers? Businesses understand dollars and consultants estimate computers humming all night cost about $48 per year per unit, depending on local rates. At home, turning off the computer saves about $36 annually.

4. Reduce hot water heater settings. The hot water heater for a family of four may be the greediest energy hog in the house. In North America, most home hot water heaters come factory set at 140'F, far too hot for most people to use without burning themselves. So they crank up the cold tap when showering or bathing

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