WHAT YOU CAN DO!
IN YOUR HOME...
Wean yourself off the bottle.
The Earth Policy Institute estimates that manufacturing plastic bottles for the bottled water industry, transporting the bottles to retail stores and keeping them refrigerated consumes the equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil per year. Despite marketing claims to the contrary, bottled water generally is not qualitatively superior to the stuff that comes from your tap. If you have concerns about your tap water, a filter pitcher can help remove any impurities. For more information click here .
Eat Locally.
Food from the grocery store travels an average of 1500 miles before it gets to your dinner table. You can help reduce diesel truck emissions and support our regional economy by buying food from local growers. To learn more, visit www.kcfoodcircle.org .
Kill Your Phantom Load.
Phantom load refers to energy consumed by home electronics and appliances when they are off or in standby mode. Studies have estimated that phantom loads account for five to ten percent of electricity usage in U.S. homes. You can cut your power bill by putting your computer, appliances and other gadgets on a power strip, and turning the power strip off when items are not in use. To learn more, click here .
Take a Green Shower.
Replacing your conventional shower head with a low flow head can reduce your utility bills and your carbon footprint. Low flow shower heads start at around $10, and a pair of channel lock pliers and Teflon tape are all you need to do the replacement. After the switch, you'll use 50% to 70% less water – an average savings of 12 – 17 gallons – each time you shower. More information is available here .
Air It Out.
Using a clothesline can decrease your electricity and natural gas consumption and reduce the cooling load in your house, all of which is good for air quality. And by the way, it can save you $40 - $100 per year, depending on the size of your household. To learn more, click here .
Change your furnace filter.
If you haven't changed your furnace filter lately, you could be wasting a lot of money on heating and cooling your house. Clogged filters force your furnace blower to work harder than it needs to. Standard glass fiber and pleated filters can be bought for well under $10 and are generally quite simple to replace. To see how easy it is, click here .
Insulate your air ducts.
Seams and holes in air ducts increase the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your home. For around $40 and a little elbow grease, you can seal those openings, saving an average of $108 annually (that's a 4.5 month payback!). For information on how to get the job done, go to http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Insulating_Ducts_for_Efficiency-Insulation-A1780.html .
Build Green.
Thinking about adding on to or updating your home? The Mid-America Regional Council has a free booklet of ideas to make your project as green as possible. Click here to download a copy.
Let the sun cook for you.
Many of us have made sun tea before, but have you ever considered cooking a whole meal using only solar power? Making a solar oven is easy, and using it can drive down your electric/gas bills and reduce the amount of work your air conditioner has to do. A number of do-it-yourself solar oven designs are available at http://solarcooking.org/plans/ . |
