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Twelve Simple Things to do, to Help Our Earth! If we all do these twelve things our Earth would be a better place! 1.Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb Fluorescent light bulbs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. 2.Install a programmable thermostat Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill. 3.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. 4.Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. 5.Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available. 6.Do not leave appliances on standby Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode. 7.Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C. 8.Move your fridge and freezer Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers. 9.Take a shower instead of a bath A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow shower heads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort. 10.Cover your pots while cooking Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%! 11.Buy fresh foods instead of frozen Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce. 12.Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year. |
