National Geographic Green Guide for families presents tips and grill comparisons on how make your barbecue more environmentally friendly. For charcoal grills: get rid of fire starters and use a chimney for your charcoal. Remember that electric grills are good for your backyard, but these make pollution somewhere else. Gas grills are the cleanest burning grills with a third the carbon footprint (climate change) as a charcoal grill. Alternatively, for a great smoked barbecue taste, replace charcoal with natural wood briquettes that are sustainably harvested and made without fillers and fossil fuels!