On Tuesday I attended a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show where she had Al Gore as her guest. He was presenting information from his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Now I don’t know how much stock I take into this film and the way it portrays the Earth’s climactic demise, but I do certainly believe we as human being need to reduce our carbon dioxide output.
Here are 5 things we can all do to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions.
Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb
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! You can purchase CFLs online from the Energy Federation.
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. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.
Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
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 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
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.
For more ways to save energy and reduce your impact visit: www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/
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