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Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause, this month with an environmental focus. Earth Day may have passed, but that's no reason not to try a little harder every day. Think of what will happen when everybody does.

Determine Your Impact

> It seems that if you run an environmental website, you need to offer a calculator of some sort. For overall carbon footprint, we liked the offering from Redefining Progress best -- and not just because it said we would need only 2.2 Earths if everybody lived like us, as opposed to the 2.7 reported by Earth Day Network. That's half an Earth! If you're short on time, Zerofootprint.net wants to organize the like-minded, social network style, but you can just use their One Minute Calculator.

> Then there are the more specific calculators. The Sierra Club lets you determine not only how much fuel, but how much money you would save if your current car met proposed new standards. There's even a Call to Action after you use it, so it's a good model, as well. And if you're concerned about your diet, you can score it for Health, Environmental Impact, and Animal Welfare. Just be warned that, apparently, eating anything at all is bad for the environment.

> Need more environmental calculations in your life? Suite101.com has a long list.

Use Less Energy

> After using those calculators, you may be a little concerned -- that's the sensation they're supposed to inspire, after all. 2.2 Earths? That's at least 1.2 Earths too many -- and even then, Shanghai, Houston, and Mexico City will still be smoggy.

> So, let's do something. Greener Choices breaks down household energy use by function. The Department of Energy has a list of ways to cut those numbers down, while Energy Star's site helps you find new, more efficient products.

> One of the hobgoblins of energy waste is Phantom Power Drain (which even sounds like a hobgoblin's name). If you walk into your living room at night and see blinking lights or the steady glow of LEDs, you're losing power, up to 15% of your total bill. Belkin's new Conserve power strip -- it comes with a remote control! -- can help stop PPD.

Make Every Day Earth Day

> Getting a new computer at work? Congratulations! Now, recycle that old one. Earth 911 and the Environmental Protection Agency both have information on how to keep your old compy from being dumped on India like a tech support phone call.

> You should also check out GreenPrint. Their software promises to eliminate "unwanted pages saving paper, ink, money, and millions of trees." 2.2 Earths worth of trees, we hope.

> Closer to home, you can get ready to ride your bike to work with these tips. Going out for sushi (on your bike)? Don't forget this wallet-sized list of seafood you should avoid. Oh, and: pack a lunch! Take-out litter generates 1.8 million tons of trash every year in the U.S.

A monthly roundup of our favorite nonprofit tech resources. Read more posts on our blog.

1. 42 Ways Not To Make Trash. We believe No Impact Man may be the reincarnation of Too Much Coffee Man.
2. Soocial promises to manage your address book across your computers, mobile phones, even Gmail. Their demo movie uses vintage Knight Rider clips. What is it with Europeans and David Hasselhoff?
3. Facebook's new "Insider's Guide to Viral Marketing". As one wag puts it, "First they ban you from spamming your friends, then they tell you how to do it."
4. WaterSaver Technology's AQUS: Flush your toilet with waste water from your sink! Without using a bucket!
5. Blog It promises to update all your blogs from within Facebook.
6. TeachStreet. We like the concept of linking students to teachers. The Beta is limited to Seattle, which explains the beer making and How to Use Microsoft classes.
7. The Sea Level Rise Explorer uses the Google Maps terrain feature. Looks like Portland won't get too wet...
8. Salesforgle. OK, we made that up, but the integration between Salesforce.com and Google Apps shows great promise.
9. Tired of wearing the same clothes everyday? Use Rehash to swap with others -- everything from "Cute Black Top" to "Faux Snakeskin Eyeglass Case" -- rather than buying new.
10. "Rebooting America: Democracy in the 21st Century". There's still time to submit your own work for inclusion in the anthology.

Flickr Photo: zombophotoI do a lot of traveling and talk to lots of people about social media and why I think it matters for nonprofits. I give a good twenty minutes about how the ground has shifted under our feet and social media is aligned with our current values as a society and a sector. It's one of those 10,000 feet view sorts of things.

And while I think that most people really appreciate the context, I can practically HEAR them thinking as I talk, "Yeah, but how the heck do I actually figure this stuff out?"

I usually give a few pieces of advice and then start showing off the tools that matter most to me. Now I have some new sources of inspiration for my talks. Chris Brogan has a great post today that consists almost entirely of questions:

• What were your first steps into social media?
• Who were your early people you admired and followed?
• How did you get started?
• If you were going to give advice to someone starting out, what would you tell them?
• What will you do in the next few months with social media?

There are dozens of comments with answers already, and they reveal some pretty great advice to folks who are currently wondering how to get started with social media. A few of the points come up again and again: