Ten quick actions
to help stop
global warming
1
Change a light (or six). Remove incandescent light bulbs and replace
them with compact fluorescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs emit 90 percent
more heat than light. (Remember the “Easy Bake Oven?” It used an
incandescent bulb as a heat source.) Compact fluorescents last five to ten
times longer and use far less energy, but give off the same amount of light. Just
switching bulbs on two lamps that burn four hours a day will save you nearly
$10 in the first year alone. For security lights and basements, switch to motion
detector and/or dusk-to-dawn fixtures. For decorative lighting, especially
holiday lights, switch to LED lights – they use even less energy than compact
fluorescents and last a very long time. And finally, remind everyone to turn off
the lights when they leave an area. Win one of our monthly contests and you’ll
win six light bulbs, so you can save nearly 1,000 pounds of global warmingcausing pollution.
2
3
Watch your hot water usage. Hot water accounts for 15 percent of your
utility bill, so keep the thermostat down to 120 degrees, since any hotter
also carries a risk of burning family members. Wash clothes in cold water.
Take shorter showers. Fix leaking faucets.
Install a programmable thermostat, so the heating and air conditioning
system isn’t wasting your money when no one is home. Close off rooms
you aren’t using. Remember your high school physics class – hot air rises
– and stay upstairs in the winter and downstairs in the summer to be more
comfortable during extreme temperatures.
Look out for vampires! Instant-on appliances – from computers to cell
phone chargers to televisions and beyond – are actually always on, silently
draining your money and your electricity. Turn appliances fully off when
not in use by turning off the power strips between each appliance and the
wall outlet. Use the energy-savings settings on your computer, monitor, and
other electronics.
4
5
Keep all your appliances clean and running as efficiently as possible.
Change filters monthly on your heating and air conditioning system, clean
out your dryer vent and hoses, keep the coils under your refrigerators
clean.
Ten quick actions
to help stop
global warming
1
Change a light (or six). Remove incandescent light bulbs and replace
them with compact fluorescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs emit 90 percent
more heat than light. (Remember the “Easy Bake Oven?” It used an
incandescent bulb as a heat source.) Compact fluorescents last five to ten
times longer and use far less energy, but give off the same amount of light. Just
switching bulbs on two lamps that burn four hours a day will save you nearly
$10 in the first year alone. For security lights and basements, switch to motion
detector and/or dusk-to-dawn fixtures. For decorative lighting, especially
holiday lights, switch to LED lights – they use even less energy than compact
fluorescents and last a very long time. And finally, remind everyone to turn off
the lights when they leave an area. Win one of our monthly contests and you’ll
win six light bulbs, so you can save nearly 1,000 pounds of global warmingcausing pollution.
2
3
Watch your hot water usage. Hot water accounts for 15 percent of your
utility bill, so keep the thermostat down to 120 degrees, since any hotter
also carries a risk of burning family members. Wash clothes in cold water.
Take shorter showers. Fix leaking faucets.
Install a programmable thermostat, so the heating and air conditioning
system isn’t wasting your money when no one is home. Close off rooms
you aren’t using. Remember your high school physics class – hot air rises
– and stay upstairs in the winter and downstairs in the summer to be more
comfortable during extreme temperatures.
Look out for vampires! Instant-on appliances – from computers to cell
phone chargers to televisions and beyond – are actually always on, silently
draining your money and your electricity. Turn appliances fully off when
not in use by turning off the power strips between each appliance and the
wall outlet. Use the energy-savings settings on your computer, monitor, and
other electronics.
4
5
6
Keep all your appliances clean and running as efficiently as possible.
Change filters monthly on your heating and air conditioning system, clean
out your dryer vent and hoses, keep the coils under your refrigerators
clean.
Seal up the cracks in windows and doors in your house with weather
stripping and caulking. And as your mother might have said, “Close the
door – you’re letting the heat out!”
7
That old refrigerator in the basement that you keep for beer? Unplug
it and recycle it. It’s costing you $15 a month. And when you buy a new
appliance, make sure you buy one bearing the Energy Star, rated as more
efficient than average. That action can save you up to $7 a month for each
appliance, and significantly cut your contribution to global warming.
Get out of that vehicle. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for
every mile you don’t drive, and walking and biking will help you lose
those other excess pounds. When have to drive, group trips together. And
get rid of that old hoopdie! Subscribe to a car share program and take
public transit to avoid having to own a car. When you do buy a new car, buy the
smallest, most energy efficient vehicle you can – plan for your usual use, not the
one time each year you drive to the mountains or haul stuff.
8
9
10
Use some of your savings to switch to clean renewable energy. For
pennies a day, you can feel better knowing that your electricity use isn’t
contributing to the problem of global warming. Clean Your Air
(www.cleanyourair.org) has information about how to buy green energy.
Support legislation at both the federal and state levels aimed to help
citizens save energy and money. In Pennsylvania, great strides to reduce
demand and save money through smart meters, appliance rebates, new
sources of renewable energy and energy conservation requirements were
made in 2008. We have to keep the momentum going.
efficient than average. That action can save you up to $7 a month for each
appliance, and significantly cut your contribution to global warming.
Get out of that vehicle. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for
every mile you don’t drive, and walking and biking will help you lose
those other excess pounds. When have to drive, group trips together. And
get rid of that old hoopdie! Subscribe to a car share program and take
public transit to avoid having to own a car. When you do buy a new car, buy the
smallest, most energy efficient vehicle you can – plan for your usual use, not the
one time each year you drive to the mountains or haul stuff.
8
9
10
Use some of your savings to switch to clean renewable energy. For
pennies a day, you can feel better knowing that your electricity use isn’t
contributing to the problem of global warming. Clean Your Air
(www.cleanyourair.org) has information about how to buy green energy.
Support legislation at both the federal and state levels aimed to help
citizens save energy and money. In Pennsylvania, great strides to reduce
demand and save money through smart meters, appliance rebates, new
sources of renewable energy and energy conservation requirements were
made in 2008. We have to keep the momentum going.
A project of PennFuture
www.pennfuture.org
A project of PennFuture
www.pennfuture.org
6
7
Seal up the cracks in windows and doors in your house with weather
stripping and caulking. And as your mother might have said, “Close the
door – you’re letting the heat out!”
That old refrigerator in the basement that you keep for beer? Unplug
it and recycle it. It’s costing you $15 a month. And when you buy a new
appliance, make sure you buy one bearing the Energy Star, rated as more