15 Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming
It is amazing to see that small steps from us can actually help reduce our carbon emissions. These are the top 15 suggestions put forward by scientists to help us reduce our carbon footprint.
1. Replace Incandescent Bulbs with Energy Efficient CFL lights or LED bulbs - Incandescent bulbs are over 100 years old and its technology has n't changed yet. Only 10% of the input energy is converted to Light. Rest is dissipated as heat. Hence by using energy efficient lights like CFL light bulbs and modern LED light bulbs, you can reduce your energy costs significantly.
2. Turn your thermostat to 22C. This will save lots of energy - The next highest energy consumption occurs for heating and cooling needs. By setting this to just below human body temperature, you will feel comfortable and reduce the energy bills.
3. Turn down your refrigerator to medium cooling mode - Defrost your refrigerators regularly. Frost takes up more energy to maintain its same state. Reduce the cooling level to medium. This will save hundreds of dollars in year end electricity bills.
4. Use Solar Water Heaters if you are living at place where there is enough sunlight - The third important energy requirement is for heating water. By using solar water heaters, you can easily save hundreds of dollars from year round energy bills. Also in my opinion, solar water heaters heats well compared to normal electric geysers.
5. Turn off the lights and Appliances when not in Use - Appliances in standby can take up electricity. Hence if they are not in use turn them off. Normally a TV set with standby feature can take up to 5 watts. Consider you have 20 different appliances with similar standby ratings. It would add up to 100 watts. A normal incandescent bulb will use this power.
6. Insulate your home more effectively to prevent any heat dissipation - This is more important in Cold countries. By using double glazed window panels and proper insulating materials, you can keep the warmth for longer period. Hence insulate your home more efficiently and prevent un-wanted heat dissipation.
7. Use Energy efficient products wherever applicable - Like CFL bulbs, there are many alternative energy efficient things you can use for your daily needs. For example, replace a CRT TV with LCD one and save 70% in energy costs. Similarly, you will notice many similar energy efficient products that can replace other less energy efficient products.
8. Use public transports like Trains and buses. Utilize the carpool concept and similar ideas for your traveling needs - Emissions from vehicles account to large part of CO2 released in to atmosphere. Hence by less using automotive, we can reduce carbon emissions to certain extent. A public transport vehicle like trains & buses takes large number of people from one place to another. Hence by using these public transports, emissions per person will be lower compared to driving your own vehicles.
One of the new ideas to reduce the vehicle usage is Carpooling. There will be many others in your route for same destination. Thus by sharing cars, you can reduce the emissions.
9. Tune up your Engine and Air filters of your vehicles every 6 months. - Air filters of vehicles get clogged up by dust and other particles. Clean up this and your Engine will run smoothly and efficiently. Improving efficiency reduces energy consumption and there by reducing carbon emissions.
10. Clean up your air filters from Furnaces and Air conditioners - As in vehicles, Air conditioners and furnaces have air filters. Once they get clogged, more energy is wasted. Hence by preventing this clogging you can save energy and thus helping to reduce carbon emissions.
11. Place Lids while Cooking Food - Closed vessels always increase the boiling point to higher level. This means, food is cooked earlier than in open vessels. This way you can save energy costs. This is the concept behind pressure cookers. Hence using pressure cookers can actually reduce the energy costs.
12. Use Recyclable Materials - By using recyclable materials, you can help nature to use the same things again and again.
For example, consider recycled paper. Paper is actually made from woods. With recycling, you can prevent using wood for creating new paper. Another advantage is that there would be no un-wanted paper. Everything can be recycled again.
13. Plant More Trees - Trees suck up carbon dioxide and produce food and oxygen in return. Thus planning more trees would eat some percentage of co2 in atmosphere and provide us more oxygen. Another advantage is that they give us shade and fruits.
14. Switch to Green Power - Technology has advanced rapidly that now you can power your home entirely by solar energy. Even though it may be slightly expensive, consider the savings it would make in long-run.
Another green power source is the energy from windmills. Using these carbon-less solar and wind energy equipments, you can massively reduce your carbon footprint.
15. Educate more people about Global Warming and Its effects - Ignorance is the plague spreading our society. Educate many and they will take their own measure to prevent global warming. Hence by educating many people about global warming can eventually help decreasing carbon emissions.