This is the second part of a series on how the average person can do about global climate change.
We’ve been hearing on television news reports and in the papers about what governments are doing to help deal with global warming. These are large national and multi-national projects that address the problem on a very broad scale. But, what can the average person do to help?
 If you’re like me you sometimes feel that anything you do will have little or no effect compared to those big government projects. If you look at it like that, then your efforts have little effect. When you see it as millions, if not billions, of people like yourself doing it together then what you are doing can have a major positive effect.
When we look at the little things that we do and can do everyday like changing the AC filter, using CLF light bulbs and putting insulated drapes on our windows we’ll find that these are ways we can use less energy and produce less CO2. Oh, and we’ll save ourselves money when we do it.
One of things we easily forget to do every month is to change the filter in our air conditioning unit. The unit inside our homes is made to draw room air across a set of cooled coils. Before the warmer room air crosses the coils it passes through a filter. The filter removes lint, dust and pollen from the air. If your filter is clogged the system has to work longer to lower the temperature. Working longer means it uses more electricity, costing you more and putting out additional CO2 at the power plant.
There has been a lot of information in the press recently about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). The news is right-on about energy savings and helping the environment by reducing CO2 emissions. What you don’t usually get is all the details about what is out there as replacements for bulbs that we normally use everyday.
Most of us have three-way lamps, overhead lights on dimmer switches and outdoor lighting. These are all available along with the standard pigtail single element replacement. There are even decorator and yellow bug light bulbs. You can find these and others just about anywhere. This web site http://www.1000bulbs.com will give you a good starting point for information on CFL bulbs.
One thing that I learned from living all over our country is that we all want to keep something in or keep something out of our homes “that is heat”. The best way to do that, other than moving twice a year, is to insulate. I’m not talking about walls or ceilings (which are good ideas) but your windows. In an effort to keep the heat out of my house I bought some thick quilts on sale, cut and sewed them to fit the windows and put on wooden rings. I mounted a standard curtain rod above the windows and wa-la, instant energy saving and CO2 reduction.
These ideas will help put another dent in your power bill and put less CO2 in the air.
If you have something practical to share that you’ve been doing to deal with global warming and high-energy costs please send it to the email address below. The earth will thank you.
Next time more how to do it ideas for the rest of us.
Think Global – Act Local!