How We can Help to Reduce Global Warming

These tips not only help in our primary objective of stopping global warming but also carry added benefits such as cost savings, benefits to the wider economy, benefits to our health and overall quality of life.

•  Use CFL light Bulbs
  Low energy light bulbs use less than 20% of the energy of a conventional light bulb and more importantly can last up to 15 times longer. There are currently two types of low energy light bulbs on the market; Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.
  
  Though the LED light bulbs are the most efficient and can last up to 60,000 hours (compared to just 1,000 hours for a conventional light bulb) they’re still prohibitively expensive to buy and fit.
  
  They’re certainly the green light bulb of the future and as the technology matures and becomes more viable they’ll be your best choice. For now however CFL light bulbs are the best choice and typically last between 6,000 to 15,000 hours. They cut wastage of energy by three quarters and instantly start saving you money and help the environment.
  
  Do note that CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury which is perfectly safe inside the bulb. Bulbs should be disposed of responsibly and can either be collected in normal household waste bins or recycled in specialized recycle centres and light bulb stores.
  
  If the glass breaks in your home, then the broken material should be swept up carefully with a damp cloth and placed in plastic bags and taken for disposal. The room should be ventilated for at least 15 minutes. 

• Don’t Leave Appliances On Standby
  Always use the “on/off” switch on any electrical device you own. As an example a TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and then spends the other 21 hours ins standby mode uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
  
  Switching the TV off completely means you can save that 40% instantly. It only takes 2 seconds to turn it off so do your bit and always switch off.

•  Home Insulation
  ave significant money on your energy bills by reducing the need to turn the heating up in your home in cold times. Home insulation keeps the warmth in the home rather than letting it escape. Your heating system needs to work less thereby reducing carbon emissions.
  
  Measures you can take include insulating both cavity and solid walls, underneath floorboards and sealing gaps, cracks and skirting boards with sealant, drought proofing doors and window frames with strips and excluders, insulating water tanks and pipes, and double glazing windows.
  Governments such as in the UK now offer a range of grants and special schemes to help people insulate their homes.

•  Take showers, Not Baths
  A shower takes up to four times less water than a bath. To maximize the water savings, avoid power showers and use low flow shower heads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.

•  Reuse Shopping Bags
  When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil. Most supermarkets offer reusable bags to purchase at a small cost made from stronger durable forms of plastic polybag or natural materials such as jute.

• Buy Local & Home Grown Produce
  The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel, help the local producers and more importantly keep money invested and flowing within your community.

•  Don’t Waste Fuel
  You can reduce Carbon CO2 emissions by adjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute.
  
  By changing the way you drive you’ll not only save money on fuel but also car maintenance costs. Another tip is to always keep your windows closed whilst driving and more importantly remove unnecessary weight from the car so that you use less fuel.

•  Try Walking Or Cycling
  Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year. At the same time you’ll be getting extra exercise allowing you to stay fit and saving money on car fuel and maintenance costs.

• Switching To Green Power
  In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. In some of these, you can even get refunds by the government if you choose to switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by selling the energy you produce and don’t use for yourself.
  
• Recycle Your Waste
  You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. So don’t just bin it, take the time to selectively recycle your waste.