Friday, July 4
Maintain the right temperature in your refrigerator and freezer. Refrigerators can use up to 20 percent of the total electricity in your home. The refrigerator should be set between 38ºF (3ºC) and 42ºF (6ºC). The freezer should be set between 0ºF (-31ºC) and 5ºF (-26ºC).------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wash clothes in cold water. Use cold temperature detergents, and always have a full load. Also, 15 minutes of presoaking and 5 minutes of agitation get clothes cleaner than 15 minutes of agitation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shut computers off at night. A computer or printer can use over 100 watts of power. When replacing computers, purchase new energy-efficient models that use less energy ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs in light fixtures used the most. The normal incandescent bulbs we're all used to are not very energy efficient. Compact fluorescent bulbs use about 25 percent of the energy and can last 10 times as long.------------------------------------------------------------------------- Add energy-efficient showerheads and faucet aerators. These can reduce the amount of water released from a tap by up to 50 percent, which means less hot water needs to be heated. Turn faucets off when not using the water. Running water non-stop during shaving or brushing teeth is wasteful. Turn on the faucet when necessary and save thousands of gallons of water a year plus energy needed to heat it.------------------------------------------------------------------------- Replace appliances with energy-efficient models. When old models wear out, replace them with appliances that have earned the Energy Star label. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wash only full loads in the dishwasher. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use a programmable thermostat. No need to run the air conditioner when no one is home. Set timers to have the air conditioning come on 30 minutes before anyone arrives home. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dust off light bulbs. Dirty, greasy, smoky light bulbs can reduce light output by as much as 10 percent. Dust bulbs and lenses regularly. (Make sure they are cool before touching them.) You'll avoid the tendency of switching to a higher wattage bulb, which will use more energy.
Sustainable Energy Coalition » Founded in 1992, the Coalition promotes increased federal support for ENERGY EFFICIENCY and RENEWABLE ENERGY technologies and reduced federal support for unsafe or polluting energy resources. ---------------------------------------------------- Environmental Protection Agency » EPA's Climate Change Site offers comprehensive information on the issue of climate change in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society – communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments. ---------------------------------------------------- Energy Star » ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. ---------------------------------------------------- Environmental Defense » Founded in 1967 as the Environmental Defense Fund, or EDF, we speak for 500,000 members. We find innovative, practical ways to solve the most urgent environmental problems. ---------------------------------------------------- American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy » The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection. ---------------------------------------------------- Monterey Bay Aquarium » The mission of the non-profit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans.
Australia's harsh reality: adapt or perish
Sydney Morning Herald: AUSTRALIANS must pay more for petrol, food and energy or ultimately face a rising death toll, economic loss and the eventual destruction of the Great Barrier Reef, the snowfields, Kakadu and the nation's food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin. That is the stark ultimatum presented yesterday by Professor Ross Garnaut in the first comprehensive assessment of the impact on the country of climate change. Arguing that Australia must introduce an emissions trading scheme in 2010 to ...
Australia: We must act now on climate change: Ross Garnaut
Australian: KEVIN Rudd's hand-picked climate change adviser Ross Garnaut yesterday backed Labor's ambitious plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme within two years, saying it would be "terribly hard, but possible". Releasing his landmark report on Australia's climate-change challenge, Professor Garnaut yesterday warned that the nation faced dire economic and environmental consequences if the world did not act quickly to slow global warming. He said that despite some ...
Australia: Govt under pressure over carbon trading time frame
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Federal Government is preparing its response to Professor Ross Garnaut's draft report, which warns of dire consequences if an emissions trading scheme is not introduced. Professor Garnaut called for a system to cap greenhouse emissions and a permit system for industry. He wants the scheme introduced in 2010, but with a two year phase in period. "These next few years will be crucial, we've got to have a strong global regime in place by 2013," he ...
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