new year's resolution: going GREEN
as in making some and saving some
both in the bank and the environment
SO START OUT THE NEW YEAR BY SAVING PLANET EARTH
1. 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!
2. MOVE YOUR THERMOSTAT DOWN 2° IN WINTER AND UP 2° IN SUMMER.
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
3. CLEAN OR REPLACE FILTERS ON YOUR FURNACE AND AIR CONDITIONER.
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
4. CHOOSE ENERGY EFFIECIENT APPLIANCES WHEN MAKING NEW PURCHASES.
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models. If each household in the U.S. replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we’d eliminate 175 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year!
5. USE HOT LESS WATER.
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.
6. TURN OFF ELECTRONIC DEVICES YOU'RE NOT USING.
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
7. UNPLUG ELECTRONICS FROM THE WALL WHEN YOU'RE NOT USING THEM.
Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, cell phone and iPod chargers and televisions use energy. In fact, the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption and spews 18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year!
8. 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.
9. BUY RECYCLED PAPER PRODUCTS AT HOME.
It takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
10. PLANT A TREE.
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
11. SWITCH TO GREEN POWER.
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.
12. BUY FRESH FOODS INSTEAD OF FROZEN.
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
13. 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!
14. 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.
15. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MILES YOU DRIVE BY WALKING, BIKING, CARPOOLING OR TAKING MASS TRANSIT WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!
16. KEEP YOUR CAR TUNED UP.
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
17. TELL FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING AND HOW TO HELP.
18. GET INVOLVED.
for more info read or rent AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH or go to climatecrisis.org
