I too have wondered about all this confusion, and am quite surprised that there aren't scores of college hippies researching this.
My eco-conscious goals within the next ten years are to have:
- energy star appliances
- solar power be the main energy source for my home
- a solar heater installed to again utilize solar energy
- grown my own garden, supplying me with most of my fruits and vegetables (which is not a stretch since my father has been gardening many different things every year of my life)
The actual outcome is to become as self sufficient as possible.