10 Things You Can Do To Save Energy
With all the blackouts and extra energy being used this season due to intense heat, and the general overuse of energy everyday, there is a call to save energy nationwide.
Here are 10 things you can do to save energy at home and help stop Global Warming!
1. Change a light: Changing one regular lightbulb for one compact flourescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Drive less: Walk, bike, carpool, or take mass transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbob dioxide for every mile you don’t drive.
3. Recycle more: You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year just by recycling half of your household waste.
4. Check your tires: Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxode out of the atmosphere.
5. Use less hot water: It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging: You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down on your garbage by 10%.
7. Adjust your thermostat: Moving your thermostat just two degrees in the winter and up two degrees in the summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
8. Plant a tree: A single tree will absorb over 1 ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime!
9. Turn off electronic devices: Simply turn off your television, dvd player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them…you will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
10. Spread the word! : Share this information with friends and family, and see Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.
For more information on how to help save energy and fight global warming, visit these links:
Calculate your carbon dioxide output
StopGlobalWarming.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
Global Warming- in plain English
Global Warming- Undo It