"The solution is you!"
-- Laurie David, 2007 Rachel Carson Award Honoree
10 Things You Might Not Know... About Energy Efficiency
Only 10% of the energy used by incandescent bulbs produces light.The rest is given off as heat.Compact fluorescent light bulbs use up to 75% lessenergy than standard incandescent bulbs,and last up to 10 times longer.
If every household replaced one standard light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb,the energy saved would power three Empire State Buildings.
TVs,stereo,computers,microwave ovens and battery chargers consume as much as 75% of their electricity while they are turned off but in standby mode.Unplugging these devices saves money and energy.
.Appliances like refrigerators,dishwashers and air conditioners manufactured before 1993 use up to 50% more energy than today's Energy Star models.If just 10% of US households retired their old fridges and switched to Energy Star appliances,it would be the equivalent of planting 1.7 million acres of trees.
By air-drying your clothes instead of using your electric dryer,you can cut household energy use by 10% while extending the life of your clothing.
By washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot,you can save 220 kwh ofpower and avoid 500 lbs of carbon emissions based on doing just two loads a week.
Turning out the light each time you leave a room can save 5-10% of your light energy use.
Idling your car engine gets zero miles per gallon.You could travel one mile for the same fuel used during two minutes idling.A good rule of thumb is to turn off your engine if parked for more than 10 seconds.
Removing unnecessary items from your car,such as golf clubs,can improve yourfuel economy.An extra 100 pounds in your trunk can reduce your MPG by 3%.
Buying renewable energy reduces green house gases and encourages innovation.Over half of all US utility companies now offer customers the option of paying a small (often pennies a month) premium to get electricity from clean,renewable sources like solar and wind.
