Lifestyles
Renewable Energy
The electricity industry is changing. At least 50% of customers have the option to purchase renewable electricity directly from their power supplier, and everyone has the option of purchasing renewable energy certificates. Such power is sometimes referred to as "green power" or "clean power."
In most states, you can buy clean power through one or more of the following programs:
Green Pricing
Some power companies provide an optional service, called green pricing, that allows customers to pay a small premium in exchange for electricity generated from clean, renewable ("green") energy sources. The premium covers the increased costs incurred by the power provider (i.e., electric utility) when adding renewable energy to its power generation mix.
Competitive Electricity Markets
In some parts of the country, you can choose not only how your electricity is generated, but also who generates it.
Just as the long-distance telephone industry was restructured, certain states have restructured their electricity industry in order to allow competition among electricity generators. In some of these states, clean power generators, who specialize in producing electricity using renewable sources, are taking advantage of the restructured market to sell clean power products to residential, commercial, and wholesale customers. Some default suppliers are also teaming with these competitive marketers to offer more green power options.
Efforts to sell clean power are aimed at consumers who will choose to pay slightly more for renewable energy products and services that reflect their environmental values. The small premium you pay offsets the additional costs power companies incur in purchasing and/or generating electricity from renewable sources.
Green Certificates
Buying green certificates allows you to contribute to the generation of clean, renewable power even if you can't buy clean power from your power provider (i.e., electric utility) or from a clean power generator on the competitive market.
An increasing number of clean power generators are now separating the power that they sell to power providers from the environmental attributes associated with that power. These environmental attributes, called green certificates (also known as "green tags," "renewable energy certificates," or "tradable renewable certificates"), are then sold to companies and individuals who want to help increase the amount of clean power entering our nation's electricity supply.
By separating the environmental attributes from the power, clean power generators are able to sell the electricity they produce to power providers at a competitive market value. The additional revenue generated by the sale of the green certificates covers the above-market costs associated with producing power made from renewable energy sources. This extra revenue also encourages the development of additional renewable energy projects.
Several organizations offer green energy or renewable energy certificates that can be purchased separate from your current electricity service.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy
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Solar Energy
Solar panels are one of the main drivers in the reduction of carbon emissions. Homes and businesses across the globe are transitioning away from a fossil-fueled electricity grid towards a clean energy economy, necessitated by the emissions reduction targets set by the global community. Costs to
install solar panels along with the energy credits accrued will soon be equal to, or less than, those of fossil fuels.
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Weatherizing
Proper insulation in both the ceiling and walls of your home will lower your heating and cooling costs by keeping the heat or air conditioning from escaping.
- Dialing your thermostat two degrees up in the summer and down in the winter can save the equivalent of 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
- Install double-pane windows and caulk for a tight seal.
- Change your furnace filters regularly.
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Lighting
Purchasing eco-friendly light bulbs to save electricity and help the environment.
There are 3 types of eco-friendly bulbs:
1) Halogen incandescents consume less power but aren't as efficient as LEDs and CFLs.
2) CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light) will last up to 10 years.
3) LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) are the most expensive but can last up to 25 years. They consume up to 80% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs.
All 3 types of bulbs provide you with the same level of light. Halogen incandescents and LED lights reach their maximum brightness immediately when you turn them on, while CFLs take a minute or two.
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Transportation
Driving and flying less. Whenever possible walk, bicycle, take public transportation or carpool.
Planes run on fossil fuel with no alternative fuel sources available at this time.
When purchasing your next vehicle, consider an electric or hybrid vehicle. In particular, electric vehicles can dramatically reduce carbon pollution from transportation and improve air quality. They are an essential part of a clean energy future. Producing the electricity to power electric vehicles will still generate emissions, but those emission levels are far lower than the pollution emitted by conventional vehicles. They could even be lower as the electric power sector improves over the next few decades, according to a report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
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Recycle/Reuse
Recycling as many items as you can. Composting your fruit & vegetable scrapes, leaves, newspapers etc. And simply put, buying less stuff.
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Appliances
When shopping for appliances, look for the Energy Star label. It will tell you which are the most energy efficient.
You can also check out the Environmental Working Group's website to find if a product is environmentally friendly and sustainable (free from chemicals of concern). It will also steer you towards cleaning supplies that are less toxic.
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Water
Save on water usage around your house.
1. Try to wash most of your laundry in cold water. About 75-90% of the energy used by the washing machine to do laundry goes towards heating the water.
Using cold water to wash most of your clothes eliminates this energy. It's just as effective as washing in hot water for everyday loads. It helps your clothes last longer; hot water tends to fade the colors and wears them out.
This simple switch can save you close to $100 per year in heating costs while helping to protect the environment. Anytime you've got something that's harder to get clean, that's a good time to select warm or hot water.
2. If you can, hang your clothes to dry. If you can't, consider using wool dryer balls as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemicals and fabric softeners for softening clothes and reducing static and wrinkles.
3. Install low-flow toilets to reduce water waste.
4. Install water-saving shower heads that have a water cut-off valve for when you are lathering up or shampooing.
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Food
Eating a more plant-based diet with food that is both locally grown and seasonal.
Don’t buy produce shipped from Chile, Peru and Australia. They have more miles and usually a much higher carbon footprint than local produce.
Cutting back on eating red meat, which may seem strange on the surface, but consider:
-Cutting out some meat, especially red meat, and eating lower on the food chain can help to significantly lower your personal greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing your consumption of animal protein by half can cut your diet's carbon footprint by more than 40%.
- Meat and dairy accounts for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
- Cows and sheep have a digestive process which causes the animals to belch out methane-a greenhouse gas. However, producing beef is more than twice as carbon intensive as producing lamb because cows take longer to age and reproduce, meaning the production of beef requires much more feed and land than other types of meat. Additionally, cattle ranchers have clear-cut millions of square kilometers of forests for grazing pastures.
- Instead of using land to feed cows, we could use the land to grow vegetables for consumption by humans. In comparison to meat and dairy, plant-based foods have much smaller carbon footprints. On average, emissions from plant-based foods are 10-50 times smaller than those from animal products, according to a science study.