Global warming
is a real and present problem. However, we don't have
to wait for the government's to help us: Each one of
us can start by adopting a more responsible lifestyle.
Start with the little things, every day things. Start
at your home, business and school. It's the only way
to save our planet before it's too late.
Our
message is simple: "You Are Not Powerless!"
Everything that you do personally to reduce your personal
consumption and the resulting emissions adds up quickly
to a very large impact. Use less electricity, water,
fuel, paper…the list of possibilities is long.
Just take action and get involved today!
Who
would have thought you could actually save money while helping
save the planet. Just by adopting some of these simple methods
in and around your home could help lower your energy bill
by more than 30%.
We're constantly looking for other
ideas to add to this list please let us know if you know
any. If you do and we use it we will give you credit and
list you on our friends of the earth list.
Try Conferencingfrom home or the office Conferencing / Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the amount you drive or fly every week. For more information, check
out the Telework Coalition.
Does Working From Home Really Work?
3.
Replace your
Batteries - According to an EPA fact sheet,
batteries "account for a disproportionate amount
of the toxic heavy metals contained in municipal solid
waste," even though they make up less than 1
percent of that waste. Fact
Sheets
4.
Replace a regular
incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light
bulb (cfl) - CFLs use 60% less energy than a
regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300
pounds of carbon dioxide a year. If every family in
the U.S. made the switch, we’d reduce carbon dioxide
by more than 90 billion pounds! You can purchase CFLs
online from the Energy Federation. Fact
Sheets
5.
Install a programmable
thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the
heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again
in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your
energy bill. Fact Sheets
Don't leave appliances
charging unnecessarily - If you leave your
phone or other gadgets charging they continue to use
electricity even once charged. When the charger feels
hot that's because it's wasting electricity. Make
sure you unplug them as soon as they've finished.
9.
Do not leave appliances
on standby
Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself.
A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average
time Americans spend watching TV) and in standby mode
during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its
energy in standby mode. 'Appliances on standby pump
one million tons of carbon into the atmosphere, and
the energy wasted could power 400,000 homes'. It makes
no sense to leave appliances on if you're not using
them - you're simply wasting energy, losing money and
contributing to climate change. Turn that TV off when
you're not watching it!
10.
Switch off lights
when you leave the room
It only takes a second to switch a light on when you
re-enter a room so why leave it on when you leave?
It wastes energy and harms the planet.
11.
Make good use
of natural lighting
There's absolutely no point in having lights on when
the sun is shining outside. By opening the curtains
you'll not only enjoy the natural daylight you'll
also reduce your energy use and save money.
12.
Take Shorter Showers
- Take a shower instead of a bath.
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath.
To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and
use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide
the same comfort.
13.
Install a Low-Flow
Showerhead - Switching to low-flow showerheads
will use about six gallons less water per minute, dramatically
reducing the amount of water and heat used by a shower.
Taking shorter showers saves even more energy.
14.
Buy Products Locally
- Buy locally grown and produced foods.
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200
miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will
save fuel and keep money in your community.
15.
Seek out and support
local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and
transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find
a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA
website.
16.
Buy fresh foods
instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
17.
Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas
and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their
grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce
methane, which they exhale with every breath.
18.
Buy organic foods
as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much
higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If
we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d
remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere!
19.
Use Recycled Paper
- Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled
paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
20.
Consider a Smaller
home - Why
are typical family's smaller, yet we are building
bigger homes? Tumbleweed
Tiny House Company has actually taken the lead
and built a tiny but comfortable home which you might
find thought-provoking if not desirable. Here's some
more great small home website, HELP
Home, tinyhouses
and More info...
21.
Energy Saving
Tips when it comes to Dishwashers
Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they
are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use
the half-load or economy setting. There is also no
need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents
are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes
clean at low temperatures.
22.
Managing Your
Hot-Water Heater and save energy and money
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use
less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead
(350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and
washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds
saved per year) instead of hot.
24.
Switch to a Tankless
Water Heater to save energy and money
Buy Minimally Packaged
Goods - Choose products that come with little
packaging and buy refills when you can, you will also
cut down on waste production and energy use!
27.
Recycle your organic
waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the
methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste.
By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have
a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just
make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes
with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will
cause methane emissions and smell foul.
28.
Reduce Garbage
- Be sure you’re recycling at home!
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by
recycling half of the waste your household generates.
Earth
911 can help you find recycling resources in your
area.
29.
Get a home energy
audit
Many utilities offer 'free' home energy audits to find
where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient.
You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000
pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy
Star can help you find an energy specialist.
30.
Cover your pots
while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing
the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers:
they can save around 70%!
