Check out this vid!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
10 Things You Can Do
1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycle half of your household waste, you will save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Buy products with minimal packaging.
2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
Turn it down! Learn to live in more layers of clothing during winter and less clothing in the summer. Add insulation to your walls and attic. Install weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows. These actions will lower your heating costs more than 25 percent. Turn down the heat while sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Set your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer to save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
3. Change Your Light Bulbs
Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
4. Drive Less - Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Use mass transit system, and carpool whenever possible. When you do drive, make sure the car is running efficiently. Every gallon of gas you do not use keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
Make your next car purchase one that offers high gas mileage or is a hybrid model that uses gas and has a self generating electric drive mode. When you replace your old appliances, buy Energy Star rated appliances. These have been developed to consume less energy than previous appliances. Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
6. Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.
7. Turn It Off
Turning off lights when you leave a room, and turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing.
8. Plant Trees and Other Green Flora
During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
9. Get A Report Card From The Utility Company
Most utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.
10. Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
____________________________
Does Your Utility Provide Green Power?
Ask your local utility is whether it offers green power, which is electricity generated using some type of renewable energy source such as wind power, hydropower, solar power, geothermal or biomass. If you want to know whether you have the option of purchasing green power from your utility, you can check the map at The Green Power Network: www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml
Recycle half of your household waste, you will save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Buy products with minimal packaging.
2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
Turn it down! Learn to live in more layers of clothing during winter and less clothing in the summer. Add insulation to your walls and attic. Install weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows. These actions will lower your heating costs more than 25 percent. Turn down the heat while sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Set your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer to save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
3. Change Your Light Bulbs
Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
4. Drive Less - Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Use mass transit system, and carpool whenever possible. When you do drive, make sure the car is running efficiently. Every gallon of gas you do not use keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
Make your next car purchase one that offers high gas mileage or is a hybrid model that uses gas and has a self generating electric drive mode. When you replace your old appliances, buy Energy Star rated appliances. These have been developed to consume less energy than previous appliances. Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
6. Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.
7. Turn It Off
Turning off lights when you leave a room, and turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing.
8. Plant Trees and Other Green Flora
During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
9. Get A Report Card From The Utility Company
Most utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.
10. Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
____________________________
Does Your Utility Provide Green Power?
Ask your local utility is whether it offers green power, which is electricity generated using some type of renewable energy source such as wind power, hydropower, solar power, geothermal or biomass. If you want to know whether you have the option of purchasing green power from your utility, you can check the map at The Green Power Network: www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)