On Monday, as another step in leading by example, the Obama administration initiated a government-wide suggestion box for ideas to green the executive branch. For two weeks federal employees will have the opportunity to submit and vote on ideas which will then be referred to committee.

The existing suggestions are available for perusal on GreenGov at right, below the video. They include (many copies) of the usual suspects, like occupation sensors for lights or double-sided printing, as well as gems such as:

Replace grass lawns that require mowing with wild flowers that do not. This will save on pollution from lawn mowers. —Kris, Bethesda

Good idea. That should also cut down on run-off and water used for irrigation, as well as providing useful habitat for wildlife Kris.

There are also disappointing revelations like:

Many employees have mini refrigerators to keep their lunch cold. Each one uses around $30 per year worth of electricity. We could encourage people to share and eliminate the extra ones by charging a fee of $20 per year for a refrigerator permit. —Carl, NIH

Why aren’t there communal (high-efficiency) fridges in the first place? They’re a standard fixture in most offices…