How to Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions

More and more people are wondering how they can do their part to help reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. While change won't happen overnight, here are steps that you can take against a ypothesized cause of global warming.

Around the House

1. Don't use a leaf blower. Instead, get a broom and a shovel. Do it by hand. It will make your place look cleaner and you get a little bit of exercise. Your neighbors will thank you for the noise reduction, too!
2. Reduce the amount of red meat in your diet. Methane is the number 1 producer of greenhouse gasses, and reducing meat in your diet is a healty way to help.
3. Buy local produce when you go to the grocery store rather than items trucked in from far away.
4. Plant a tree. Well-placed landscaping cuts energy costs in summer and winter. Also, one tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.
5. Repaint your house with latex paint instead of oil. The paint releases significantly fewer harmful fumes while drying and smells a lot better.
6. Make sure the dishwasher and washing machine are full before running them to save energy and money.
7. Buy energy efficient appliances with the "Energy Star" label.
8. Call your local utility and sign up for renewable energy. If they don’t offer it, ask them why not.
9. Get a home energy audit. Many utilities offer free audits, which may reveal simple ways to cut emissions.
10. Weatherize your home, caulk, and weather-strip your doorways and windows. Not only will this save energy, but it will save you money!
11. Move your thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer.
12. Unplug your cell phone charger and other electronics from the wall when you are not using them. Did you know that even when turned "off" your cell phone chargers, DVD players, and cameras use energy?
13. Make sure to turn off lights and other energy-sucking devices when they aren’t being used.
14. Replace your normal light bulbs with fluorescent ones. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are more expensive, but replacing just one light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide. They produce the same amount of light, last 10 times as long, and use a 1/4 of the electricity – reducing your energy consumption AND your electric bill!
15. Take shorter showers.
16. If you're leaving your computer for a while, put it on stand-by. You'll be able to restart it quickly, and it'll take less energy than shutting it down and then restarting it.
17. Before turning the heating on, put on thick socks and a sweater.
18. As always, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Plastics, cardboard, pop cans, and paper are all recyclable. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Transportation

1. Buy a bike. With gas prices so high, it will pay for itself. Ride it to work, or take a joy ride. Everyone benefits when you ride a bike. You help conserve our limited oil resources, you are not polluting, and you are exercising.
2. Walk around the corner rather than drive. It may be convenient to drive, but let's face it, it probably takes longer than walking would, and emits pollutants to boot.
3. For longer trips, take public transportation or carpool. These options may take a little longer, but you can read, listen to headphones, work on computer or craft projects, or talk to people instead of having to stare straight ahead for the length of your commute. There are many carpool and rideshare websites on the internet for both regular and one-time trips. Try craigslist.org for your one-time trips. Your city government might also facilitate carpool trips.
4. Consolidate your trips. If you must drive to do laundry, shopping, etc., plan to do all weekly errands on one day. You can get everything you need in one trip, saving you money and time. Also, it's more fuel efficient to start a car if it's already warmed up.
5. Use less gas. The gas you pump into your car or SUV is derived from fossil fuels which, when processed, release a good share of greenhouse gases into the air. Read the Related wikiHow on How to Save Money on Gas. Consider purchasing a hybrid car, or one that can run on biodiesel.

At the Cash Register

1. Buy only post-consumer recycled paper products, including toilet paper and tissues. The paper industry is the third greatest contributor to global warming emissions.
2. Don’t buy from companies that refuse to make post-consumer paper! Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70% to 90% of the energy and pollution that results from products made from virgin materials.
3. Buy certified wood to support sustainably managed forests.
4. Tell the companies you invest in that you care about global warming and you will pull your investments if they don’t address the issue. Don’t like a company’s stance on global warming? Go to shareholder meetings and speak up!

In Your Community

1. Learn everything you can about global warming. What is it? How does global warming work? Why is it happening? What are the causes? What are the critics saying? Remember, knowledge is power.
2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the dangers of global warming.
3. Call a local radio talk show to tell them you care about global warming or to question a skeptic.
4. Join a national or local environmental group that is fighting the climate crisis everyday so their membership numbers swell and their voice can't be ignored.
5. E-mail relevant articles to your friends and family to get them up to speed about global warming.
6. Write to your local council to ask for recycling collection. If they write back with a negative reply, give the letter to your local paper.

Tips

• Before turning on any oil or gas-powered machine, think: "Is there another way to do this task?" Be creative!
• To better keep track of your greenhouse gas emissions use a greenhouse gas calculator.

Resources

• http://fueleconomytips.com
  slash fuel useage and emissions
• http://mpgresearch.com
  open source discussions on saving fuel and dramatically reducing emissions.
• http://www.climatecrisis.com
  - Website for Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Turth"
• US Deparment of Energy
  - Definition of greenhouse gases and potential role in climate change

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