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Helping the earth is often synonymous with planting a tree or adopting a highway. But outside of summer, the weather in the Albany Diocese leaves green thumbs frostbitten.

What can an environmentally-conscious Catholic do during the winter? Plenty, say local and national stewards:

U Put on a sweater. Use a programmable thermostat or keep the temperature at 68 degrees. Open window blinds during the day to let the sun heat up a room; close them at night to keep the heat in. Improve weatherstripping around windows and doors. Layer clothes if you're cold.

"Even changing from 70 [degrees] to 68 can make a huge difference," said Mary Ellen Mallia, director of environmental sustainability at the University at Albany. "Every one degree can be a three-percent savings in your energy bill."

Wrap your water heater with a pre-cut jacket or blanket to lower its temperature. A heater that's warm to the touch needs extra insulation.

* LED lights will cut the electric bill at Christmastime. When baking cookies, double the activity by cooking dinner on the stove.

* Share hand-me-down clothing with siblings or donate outgrown clothing to thrift stores or charities. The youth group at St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville, for example, donates shoes to the Delmar Bootery to send to needy families in Appalachia. The youth group has also sent clothes to the diocesan DePaul Housing Management and old baseball and soccer equipment to charities in Nicaragua and Russia.

* Collect old medications, CDs, light bulbs, plastic bags, batteries, printer ink cartridges, cell phones, electronics and small appliances and contact your local government's recycling coordinator to find "returnable" drives near you. Check http://earth911.com to find recycling centers for specific items.

* Advocate through parish social justice groups or individually for legislation that protects low-income neighborhoods from toxic hazards and pushes for urban revitalization. Donate to organizations that promote energy efficiency for low-income households.

* Assess home energy use at www.energysavers.gov. A local utility company can do an energy audit on your parish - like St. Lucy/St. Bernadette's in Altamont, which switched from fluorescent lighting in its parish center to compact fluorescent lighting, using 20 fewer bulbs.

St. Henry's Church in Averill Park banned foam cups and containers in its kitchen, where six groups host regular dinners serving up to 150 people. Sacred Heart in Lake George went green with recent renovations: compact fluorescent lighting, extra insulation for the roof, doubled-paned windows, a low-grade air cooling system and baseboard hot water heat. New toilets save water by using an automatic flush system.

Sacred Heart Church in Stamford recently installed de-stratification fans that blow hot air down in the winter and circulate air in the summer.

* Purchase a fuel-efficient car or take alternative transportation; in rural areas, carpool or work from home once a week.

* Buy local, seasonal food through farmers by signing up for a share in a community-supported agriculture farm. Visit www.localharvest.org/csa/ for information; one local example is Roxbury Farm in Kinderhook (www.roxburyfarm.com). Can't find farmers' markets in the winter? The Heldeberg Market in Albany County delivers, and you can order online at www.farmiemarket.com/HeldebergMarket/#.

(SOURCES: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Mary Ellen Mallia, director of environmental sustainability at University at Albany; Catholic Coalition on Climate Change; U.S. Department of Energy.)[[In-content Ad]]

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