THINK GLOBALLY. GIVE LOCALLY.
to save money and reduce your carbon footprint?
Here are ten good ones, courtesy of Terry Tamminen, author of
Lives per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction.
1. Adjust your thermostat by two degrees (cooler in winter, warmer in summer), to save one ton of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
2. Switch out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents and save three hundred pounds of greenhouse gases per bulb. Switching ten bulbs saves 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases and cuts the household electric bill by seventy-five dollars a year.
3. Insulate your hot water heater with a simple thermal “jacket” and save 550 pounds of greenhouse gases a year.
4. Replace air-conditioner filters to save 350 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
5. Unplug “vampire” electronics that suck up electricity even when turned off—TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable boxes,
chargers—anything that is instant-on or that has a blinking light. The typical household will save a half ton of greenhouse
gases just by making sure “off” is really off.
6. Wash clothes in cold water and save one ton of greenhouse gases.
7. Dry clothes on clotheslines and save nearly one and a half tons of greenhouse gases.
8. Take mass transit or telecommute once a week to save one ton of greenhouse gases.
9. Check tire inflation every week to increase fuel efficiency by three percent and save a quarter ton of greenhouse gases (as most drivers have chronically under-inflated tires, which makes the engine work harder and burn more gas).
10. Lose ten pounds—the average weight gain for Americans in the past ten years. Airlines use 350 million more gallons of jet fuel every year hauling around those extra pounds.
Bonus items to substitute where necessary: eat fresh food, not frozen (fresh consumes ninety percent less energy); eat less beef (the production of beef, pound for pound, uses up more energy than any other food); avoid bottled water and disposable grocery bags; buy local produce and other foods to avoid the 1,300 miles the average American plate travels on its way to the dinner table, using fossil fuels all the way.
More substantial steps: plant a vegetable garden, weatherize your home, install a solar water heating system or solar electric panels.
From Eco Barons by Edward Humes; reprinted with permission of Terry Tamminen.
|
|
THINK GLOBALLY. GIVE LOCALLY.
You can make a charitable gift by gifting a security. Consult with your tax and investment advisors about he amount and types of securities you wish to give and then |