 
|
|||||||
REDUCE YOUR
CARBON EMISSIONS AND HELP SLOW GLOBAL
WARMING <>YOU CAN MAKE
A DIFFERENCE !
<> <> <>Steps You Can Take to Save Energy On the Road 1. Reduce the number of miles you drive by
walking, biking,
carpooling, or taking mass transit. The average car in the 2. Drive smarter. Avoid driving in rush hour
if possible.
Observe the speed limit. A car’s fuel economy drops off sharply at
speeds above
55 mph. Avoid unnecessary idling. Maintain your car Consider a hybrid car, which uses a mix of electric and gasoline and averages 50 miles per gallon. Consider alternative fuels made from vegetable matter. Biofuels are derived from renewable plant materials such as corn, wood, and soybeans. The most commonly used renewable fuels today are biodiesel and ethanol. 4. Telecommute from home. Some companies offer employees the option of working from home for some or all of the work week. 5. Reduce air travel. Flying produces large
amounts of
carbon dioxide. Buses provide the cheapest and most energy-efficient
transportation for long distances. Trains are at least twice as energy
efficient as planes. Consider telecommuting instead of business travel.
Steps You Can Take to Save Energy At
Home
1. Choose
energy-efficient lighting. Lighting accounts for one-fifth of all the
electricity consumed in the 2. Choose energy-efficient appliances when making new purchases. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program Web site provides useful information to help with consumer decisions. Go to: www.energystar.gov/products 3. Properly operate and maintain your appliances. For example, don’t place your refrigerator next to heat sources such as ovens or dishwashers. Keep the coils dust-free. If an appliance has filters, change the filters regularly. Only run full loads in your dishwasher or washing machine. 4. Heat and cool your house efficiently. Heating and cooling your house typically accounts for about 45% of a household’s total energy use. Lowering your heat by a few degrees in winter and setting the air conditioner a few degrees higher in summer add up to real savings over time. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically lower the heat at bedtime or when you are normally out of the house during the day. 5. Insulate your house. Check for drafts around windows and doors and consider installing higher-efficiency windows. Seal attic vents and ducts. Insulate your water heater and hot-water pipes. 6. Get a home energy audit. Households typically spend about $1,500 per year on energy and can save as much as $450 or more by implementing some simple energy-efficiency measures. Use a professional home energy auditor, or for an informative do-it-yourself tool visit www.energyguide.com <>7. Conserve hot water. You can cut energy use by setting your water temperature no higher than 120° F. Take showers rather than baths and install efficient low-flow shower heads with shut off switches so you can turn the water off while you soap up.Front loading washing machines are more efficient than top loading machines. Also wash clothes in warm or cold water rather than hot. 8. Reduce standby power waste. Many appliances use electricity, even when they are “turned off.” This includes televisions, DVD players, cell phone chargers or any other equipment that has a remote control, battery charger, internal memory, AC adapter plug, permanent display or sensor. In fact, 25% of the power a television uses is consumed when it is not even powered on. The only way to be sure your appliance is not using power is to unplug it, or to plug it into a power strip, which you can then switch off. 9. Improve the efficiency of your home office. Energy-efficient computers are equipped with a power management feature that, when enabled, causes the computer to go into a low-power mode. Because computers are commonly left on when not in use, enabling power management can save 70% of the energy normally used by a computer. Also laptop computers are 90% more energy efficient than desktop models. Inkjet printers consume 90% less energy than laser printers, and printing in color uses more energy than printing in black and white. Where possible, choose multi-function devices that print, fax, copy, and scan, as they use less energy than individual machines would.10. Switch to green power. Wind and
solar power are among the fastest-growing sources of energy in the 11. Plant trees – they absorb carbon dioxide.
Steps
to Save Energy When Buying and Consuming 1. Consume less. Energy is consumed in the manufacturing and transport of everything you buy. You save energy by consuming less. Before buying ask whether you really need to buy. Can you make do with what you already have? Can you borrow or rent? Can you find it secondhand? 2. Buy things that last. Choose durable items over disposable ones. Repair rather than discard. Pass on items you no longer need to someone who can use them. 3. Pre-cycle – reduce waste before you buy. Discarded packaging materials make up about one-third of the waste clogging our landfills. Some packaging is necessary to transport and protect the products we need, but some manufacturers add extraneous wrappers over wrappers, and layers of unnecessary plastic. Give preference to products that use recycled packaging or don’t use excess packaging. Buy in bulk where possible. 4. Recycle. Cooperate with your community’s recycling programs. Recycling takes far less energy than does sending recyclables to landfills and creating new paper, bottles, and cans from raw materials. It also reduces pollution and saves natural resources such as precious trees, which absorb carbon dioxide. 5. Don’t waste paper. Paper manufacturing is
the fourth-most
energy-intensive industry, not to mention one of the most polluting and
destructive to our forests. It takes an entire forest – more than
500,000 trees
– to supply 6. Bag groceries and other purchases in a reusable totes. Americans go through 100 billion grocery bags each year. One estimate suggests that we use 12 million barrels of oil each year just to produce plastic grocery bags that end up in landfills after only one use. Paper bags are a problem too. It is estimated that 15 million trees are cut down each year to produce the 10 billion paper bags we use. Carry a reusable bag when you shop. 7. Compost. When organic waste materials, such as kitchen scraps and raked leaves, are disposed of in the general trash, they end up compacted deep in landfills. Without oxygen to aerate and assist in their natural decomposition, the organic matter ferments and gives off methane, which is the most potent of the greenhouse gasses – 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide in global-warming terms. Organic materials rotting in landfills account for about one-third of man-made methane emissions in the8. Carry your own refillable bottle for water and other beverages. Instead of buying single-use plastic bottles that require significant energy and resources to produce, buy a reusable container and fill it up yourself. Also using your own mug or thermos could help reduce the 25 billion disposable cups Americans throw away each year. 9. Modify your diet to include less meat. A high meat diet translates into a huge amount of carbon emissions. The typical American diet uses about 800 kilograms of grain each year, but only 100 kilograms is eaten directly. The rest is consumed indirectly by livestock, poultry, and farmed fish. The Mediterranean diet, widely considered to be the healthiest, uses about 400 kilograms of grain each year. More is consumed directly in bread, pasta, and cereals with only moderate amounts of meat and fish. Much of the world’s deforestation is a result of clearing and burning to create more grazing land for livestock. This destroys trees that would otherwise absorb carbon dioxide. 10. Buy local. The environmental impact of transporting food is significant. It is estimated that the average meal travels over 1,200 miles by truck, ship, and/or plane before it reaches your table. Buy from local farmers’ markets or from a community-supported agriculture cooperative. Be
a Catalyst for Change
2. Let others know. Speak to family, friends, and colleagues. Write an op-ed piece or letter to the editor of your local or school newspaper. Encourage your school, church, or business to reduce emissions. 3. Vote with your dollars. Support brands and stores that are making efforts to reduce their emissions. Make companies that are negligent aware of your objections. 5. Consider the impact of your investments. Invest in companies, products, and projects that responsibly address climate change and other sustainability challenges. 6. Take political action. Talk or write to your elected officials urging them to support measures that have a positive impact on the climate crisis. To find out where politicians stand visit: www.lcv.org/scorecard 7. Support an environmental group. Many organizations are doing great work. |