Top 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce

Global Warming
From Larry West
Burning ossil uels such as natural gas! coal!
oil and gasoline raises the le"el o carbon
dio#ide in the atmosphere! and carbon dio#ide
is a ma$or contributor to the greenhouse eect
and global %arming &
You can help to reduce the demand or ossil
uels! %hich in turn reduces global %arming!
by using energy more %isely& 'ere are 10
simple actions you can ta(e to help reduce
global %arming&
1& Reduce! Reuse! Recycle
Do your part to reduce %aste by choosing
reusable products instead o disposables&
Buying products %ith minimal pac(aging
)including the economy si*e %hen that ma(es
sense or you+ %ill help to reduce %aste& ,nd
%hene"er you can! recycle paper! plastic !
ne%spaper! glass and aluminum cans& - there
isn.t a recycling program at your %or(place!
school! or in your community! as( about
starting one& By recycling hal o your
household %aste! you can sa"e /!000 pounds
o carbon dio#ide annually&
/& 1se Less 'eat and ,ir Conditioning
,dding insulation to your %alls and attic! and
installing %eather stripping or caul(ing around
doors and %indo%s can lo%er your heating
costs more than /2 percent! by reducing the
amount o energy you need to heat and cool
your home&
Turn do%n the heat %hile you.re sleeping at
night or a%ay during the day! and (eep
temperatures moderate at all times& 3etting
your thermostat $ust / degrees lo%er in %inter
and higher in summer could sa"e about /!000
pounds o carbon dio#ide each year&
4& Change a Light Bulb
Where"er practical! replace regular light bulbs
%ith compact luorescent light )CFL+ bulbs&
Replacing $ust one 506%att incandescent light
bulb %ith a CFL %ill sa"e you 740 o"er the lie
o the bulb& CFLs also last 10 times longer than
incandescent bulbs! use t%o6thirds less energy!
and gi"e o 80 percent less heat&
- e"ery 1&3& amily replaced one regular light
bulb %ith a CFL! it %ould eliminate 90 billion
pounds o greenhouse gases! the same as
ta(ing 8&2 million cars o the road&
0& Dri"e Less and Dri"e 3mart
Less dri"ing means e%er emissions& Besides
sa"ing gasoline! %al(ing and bi(ing are great
orms o e#ercise& :#plore your community
mass transit system! and chec( out options or
carpooling to %or( or school&
When you do dri"e! ma(e sure your car is
running eiciently& For e#ample! (eeping your
tires properly inlated can impro"e your gas
mileage by more than 4 percent& :"ery gallon
o gas you sa"e not only helps your budget! it
also (eeps /0 pounds o carbon dio#ide out o
the atmosphere&
2& Buy :nergy6:icient ;roducts
When it.s time to buy a ne% car! choose one
that oers good gas mileage& 'ome appliances
no% come in a range o energy6eicient
models! and compact lorescent bulbs are
designed to pro"ide more natural6loo(ing light
%hile using ar less energy than standard light
bulbs&
,"oid products that come %ith e#cess
pac(aging ! especially molded plastic and other
pac(aging that can.t be recycled& - you reduce
your household garbage by 10 percent! you
can sa"e 1!/00 pounds o carbon dio#ide
annually&
5& 1se Less 'ot Water
3et your %ater heater at 1/0 degrees to sa"e
energy! and %rap it in an insulating blan(et i
it is more than 2 years old& Buy lo%6lo%
sho%erheads to sa"e hot %ater and about 420
pounds o carbon dio#ide yearly& Wash your
clothes in %arm or cold %ater to reduce your
use o hot %ater and the energy re<uired to
produce it& That change alone can sa"e at least
200 pounds o carbon dio#ide annually in most
households& 1se the energy6sa"ing settings on
your dish%asher and let the dishes air6dry&
8& 1se the =>= 3%itch
3a"e electricity and reduce global %arming by
turning o lights %hen you lea"e a room! and
using only as much light as you need& ,nd
remember to turn o your tele"ision! "ideo
player! stereo and computer %hen you.re not
using them&
-t.s also a good idea to turn o the %ater
%hen you.re not using it& While brushing your
teeth! shampooing the dog or %ashing your
car! turn o the %ater until you actually need
it or rinsing& You.ll reduce your %ater bill and
help to conser"e a "ital resource&
?& ;lant a Tree
- you ha"e the means to plant a tree! start
digging& During photosynthesis! trees and other
plants absorb carbon dio#ide and gi"e o
o#ygen& They are an integral part o the natural
atmospheric e#change cycle here on :arth! but
there are too e% o them to ully counter the
increases in carbon dio#ide caused by
automobile traic! manuacturing and other
human acti"ities& , single tree %ill absorb
appro#imately one ton o carbon dio#ide
during its lietime&
9& Get a Report Card rom Your 1tility
Company
@any utility companies pro"ide ree home
energy audits to help consumers identiy areas
in their homes that may not be energy
eicient& -n addition! many utility companies
oer rebate programs to help pay or the cost
o energy6eicient upgrades&
10& :ncourage >thers to Conser"e
3hare inormation about recycling and energy
conser"ation %ith your riends! neighbors and
co6%or(ers! and ta(e opportunities to
encourage public oicials to establish
programs and policies that are good or the
en"ironment&
These 10 steps %ill ta(e you a long %ay to%ard
reducing your energy use and your monthly
budget& ,nd less energy use means less
dependence on the ossil uels that create
greenhouse gases and contribute to global
%arming&
,ds
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