Turn down the heat
10 ways you can reduce your carbon emissions and help cool the planet
by Andrea Coombes
May 15, 2007
2. Take a different vacation. Shell out for direct flights, if you can afford it. "Most emissions are produced by landing and takeoff; the largest amount of fuel is used," Kollmuss said.
And avoid first-class. "You take up much more space," Kollmuss said. "Your impact is two to six times greater if you fly business or first class." Of course, the plane flies anyway, but Kollmuss said that if enough consumers choose economy class, airlines will eventually respond.
Also, opt for a smaller rental car or a hybrid, now available in some areas, and stay at resorts that embrace the principles of sustainable tourism. See related story.
3. Work right. Ask your employer to buy recycled paper, Mills said, and "think twice before you print something." You reduce carbon emissions by using less electricity while printing, plus emissions related to making and processing the paper and print cartridge.
When you step away from your desk, turn off the monitor, and turn off or set your computer to sleep when you leave for the day. If you work at home, the next time you buy a new computer, printer, fax, scanner or copier, buy one that's Energy Star-certified, and make sure you set up that product's "sleep" feature so it saves energy when not in use.
Consider more conference calls to reduce business travel, Greenwald said. Or, "you can try to combine trips, and try to do several meetings in one trip."
4. Get a home-energy audit. Making repairs prompted by an audit can improve your home's energy efficiency by as much as 25%, Rangan said. "It's all about leaks and drafts." An audit can reveal the most cost-effective improvements. For instance, it's often much more cost-effective to get your house insulated than to get new windows.
Ask your utility company, or do your own home-energy audit. See this Energy Department site for more information.
Thinking about moving? Consider going smaller. "We've been turning our houses into the functional equivalent of sport-utility vehicles. American houses have been getting bigger and bigger as family size gets smaller and smaller," Hayes said. That means more energy to heat, cool, light and clean. 
Watch video about small homes.
And consider moving to a "greener" location. "The choice about where you live has probably the most profound carbon impact on a person's life," Karlenzig said. "Can you walk to a store? Can your kids walk or bike to school? Can you walk to public transportation?" See where your city is on SustainLane.com's green rankings.
5. Go higher-tech. Laptops use substantially less energy than desktop PCs. For your desktop, buy a flat-panel monitor -- they use half the energy of an average CRT, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Even earlier forms of "high tech" are useful. "A microwave is definitely an energy saver," Mills said. "They use much less energy to make a cup of tea than putting water on your stove."
6. Unplug. About 5% of electricity used in the U.S. is sucked up by home-electronics products that are off, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of business and government leaders.
"If you're going on vacation, unplug all of your televisions, stereos; they are sucking a little energy all the time," Rangan said. And, if you don't want to install compact fluorescent bulbs, consider dimmer switches. "If you have it set at half-dim, it's using half the wattage," she said. Watch video on cutting electricity costs at home.
7. Take a different ride. Hybrids are the gold standard in terms of reducing automotive emissions, but you don't have to go hybrid to have an effect, Hayes said. Choose the most fuel-efficient car in the category you need. "If everybody just made the transition to the most efficient vehicle in their category, it would save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East," Hayes said. "That's without changing lifestyles at all. You're still buying a van."
Walking or biking, of course, are environment-friendlier options, and keep your eye out for ride-share possibilities. Many urban areas have such programs. A new Web site in New York, Hitchsters.com, connects you with people to share airport taxi rides.
8. Buy alternative energy. If you can't afford to install solar panels on your home, consider buying alternative energy through your public utility. "The electrons that come out of the wind turbine don't necessarily flow into your light bulb, but they do displace electricity that would have flowed from a nongreen source," Hayes said. Not all companies offer this option. Visit this site for a state-by-state list of programs.
This site lists additional state programs.
Another idea: Purchase "green tags," which fund the development of alternative energy sources. See these sites for more information: http://www.green-e.org/ and https://www.greentagsusa.org/GreenTags/
9. Avoid the excess. Given that it takes energy to produce stuff and that landfills produce greenhouse gases, it makes sense to avoid unnecessary packaging when you can. Reuse shopping bags, buy products with the most minimal packaging, and consume less overall.
10. Use less water. Water must be pumped to your faucet -- often over long distances. In California, water is one of the largest consumers of energy, Karlenzig said. Turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth or shaving. If you have a newer dishwasher, you don't need to pre-rinse, he said. In the garden, use an irrigation system rather than a hose, and think about avoiding water-intensive lawns in favor of native plants, which require less watering.
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