Black balloons: making CO₂ real

emily — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:32:54 -0700

Check out the Alliance for Climate Protection's first ad in our national advertising campaign. We are helping alert Americans about the urgency of the climate crisis and engage them in solving it.

You can see the first ad by clicking the video above.

The ads bring to life the contribution that each household is making towards climate change and demonstrate some very easy ways to help reduce it while saving money. You'll recognize the voice as that of the actor Tommy Lee Jones.

AC/DC Green Power

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:27:31 -0700

Consumer choice probably isn't what comes to mind when you think about your electric company. The grid is one-size-fits all: electrons work the same whether they come from organically sourced methane or strip-mined coal, and they don't care if they're pumping tunes from the stereo or milk from a cow.

Are you kitchen aware?

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:00:28 -0700

If your refrigerator is more than 10 years old, it could be using twice the energy of a new one and costing you twice as much in power bills. If you've been thinking about getting a new refrigerator, energy efficiency is a good excuse to go shopping today.

Wrap it up. Save energy with R-49.

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:53:03 -0700

Only about one-fifth of homes built before 1980 are well insulated. Is yours?

To get an idea of what insulation could do for your comfort, your pocketbook, and the climate crisis, consider what it's already doing: without existing residential insulation U.S. carbon dioxide emissions would increase 15%. That's 1.35 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide, and it would take a forest of 300 million acres, equivalent to all of our harvested cropland, to take it back up.

Cool threads

emily — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:44:26 -0700

Most of the energy consumed by your washing machine is used just to warm the water. If you usually use hot water for your washing you can drop your energy consumption in half by choosing warm water, and up to 90% if you choose cold. That leads to significant reductions in global warming pollutants that are created either directly in your house by your oil or natural gas water heater or by the power plant that supplies your electric water heater.

Wear a Sweater

emily — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:38:05 -0700

In most homes, heating is the single largest energy cost. Keeping warm can make up two thirds of your total energy bill in colder parts of the country, and puts more than a billion tons of CO₂ overall into the atmosphere. Even small changes in home heating efficiency can lead to large reductions in greenhouse gases.

Clean filters, clean air

emily — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:30:50 -0700

Heating and cooling uses about half of the energy in a typical home, accounting for about $1500 a year in annual costs and some 10% of US greenhouse gases emissions. Because these systems condition large amounts of air in homes and apartments, there are many places to look for energy savings. Follow this checklist, then reexamine your home for potential savings unique to your living space.

Turn it down... automatically

emily — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:21:26 -0700

Winter or summer, a programmable thermostat keeps your home temperature on a schedule that maximizes both efficiency and comfort. Are you typically gone all day but want the home toasty when you return? Just teach your thermostat to do it for you. By setting the temperature back 10% to 15% for 8 hours when no one is home, you can save as much as $150 a year. If every house in America did this it would drop our total greenhouse gas production by about 35 million tons of CO₂.

Getting Shady and Staying Cool

emily — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:09:48 -0700

One of the great paradoxes of climate change is that the very technology we've designed to keep us comfortable in the heat is also a big contributor to global warming. According to the EPA, about one-seventh of US electricity generation is used to air condition buildings, accounting for more than 4% of national greenhouse gas emissions. Making the most of that air conditioning -- or finding more efficient ways to stay cool-- could reduce overall emissions a percent or two and substantially lower your energy costs.

Top tips for staying cool

Home Sweet Efficient Home

emily — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:50:06 -0700

Nearly one-fifth of America's greenhouse gases come from home energy use. Half of that is used to heat and cool our living spaces, while the other half goes to lighting, appliances, and your electronic entertainment infrastructure. That means a 10% reduction in heating and cooling expenditure would result in a 1% drop in the nation's total greenhouse gases emissions!

Black balloons: making CO2 real