Green Daily

The smash hit game The Sims and its many expansion packs is not just a virtual world. It's also a virtual space in which you can "go green." Intrigued? Here are the details!

By building your own house, you can choose how much electricity you'll be using by altering the size and shape of the building, the amount of natural light, and how many electricity-using features you add.

Using candles, chess tables, and the bubble blower are the eco-friendly options to the big screen television, computer games, and arcade machines.
For active Sims, there are sports and machine-free activities such as Yoga to stay fit and happy.

You might want to purchase The Sims 2 University, the expansion pack that lets you take your Sims to school. It even lets you create a school with dorms and off-campus housing that is just like your own!

Your Sim can even study to become a Natural Scientist. If all of the studying, cramming and test-taking you do in your normal day hasn't been enough for you, prepare to do it virtually!

One of the more recent expansion packs, The Sims 2 Seasons, introduced weather and weather-related recreational activities that generally do not consume electricity. It also added fish ponds and gardens, allowing your Sims to cultivate a green thumb and a fisherman's skill.

You can sell your produce, or cook with it, cutting down on groceries, taxis, and delivery men, as well as inspiring you to take "buy locally" to your own Sim's backyard.

In fact, you can not only recycle, but in Seasons you can also compost in order to fertilize your garden. If you are sneaky, you can even catch your garbage can at the curb at the right moment and kick it over. Pick up the spilled contents and head over to the compost unit!

Worried about insects on your crops? Try using the Lovely Ladybug Loft which not only houses the insects, it provides chemical-free pest control. You can even purchase Garden Schpritzers that cover the perfect amount of ground and water only when necessary, for effective control of water usage.

You are even encouraged to download and install user-created content, some of which is environmentally-related. Check out the Be Green fashion line of t-shirts from FathomDesigns at The Sims Resource as an example.

Considering how many people get a kick out of simulation games, it's nice to see the "go green" theme making an appearance for gamers. Of course, games like the Harvest Moon series have been farming for years, but most of us aren't going to pack up and buy a farm. We might get jobs, go to school, make friends, learn skills, balance our needs, health and wants, and try to be a little greener as we go.