
The path to “going green” is best managed with small steps. You don’t have to change every energy aspect of your life at once; little energy sparing adjustments add up. Make one simple change a week, and soon you and your family will be living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Not sure where to begin? Here are five easy things everyone can do to reduce their carbon footprint:
1. Adjust your thermostat. Drop the temperature by 1 degree when heating and raise it 1 degree when cooling your house. During winter, if you set your thermostat 5 degrees lower at bedtime, you’ll save even more. Planning to be away for a few days? Set the thermostat to around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Your pipes will resist freezing, and you won’t waste energy heating an empty house.
2. Switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent. A compact fluorescent bulb consumes only 25 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light. According to a 2009 Audubon Society report, if every home in America exchanged incandescent for compact fluorescent, carbon dioxide pollution would be reduced by more than 60 tons annually!
3. Unplug it. Even a sleeping computer uses energy, and there’s no point in keeping a computer running when nobody’s using it. Unplug your laptop, printer, toaster oven, microwave and other appliances, and you will save even more energy.
4. Change your air filters. When heating or air conditioning filters are clogged, the system takes more energy to operate and you get less clean air.
5. Add solar. The star that spins in the center of our solar system provides a limitless amount of clean energy that can be used to heat your home, cook your food and light your night.
Once you realize how easy it is to reduce your carbon footprint, you may find yourself looking for even more ways to live lighter upon the planet. If every person learns how to consume less energy and puts what they learn into action, the world will be a greener, cleaner place to live.
References
Audubon Society; The Real Deal on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs; Audubon.org; accessed March 20, 2014
Elizabeth Spencer; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Turn Down the Temp, But Don’t Let Your Pipes Freeze!; Energy.gov; accessed March 20, 2014
Albemarle County Department of Engineering and Public Works; Home’s Plumbing Needs Protection From Winter Lows; acsanet.com; accessed March 20, 2014
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