10 Ways You Can Save The Environment

1. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time

2. Once your cell phone is charged, unplug it from the charger!

3. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5

4. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door

5. Unplug seldom used appliances

6. Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refrigerators, for example, use significant more energy than newer models

7. Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods

8. Use electric appliances only when you need them

9. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

10. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work

Trees and Energy

You already know that trees are beautiful to look at. But did you know that trees also help us save energy and reduce air pollution?

Saving energy A big, leafy shade tree helps keep us cool during the summer. If that tree is shading the whole house, that means we don't have to use as much electricity for air conditioning. Trees also help keep us warmer in the winter. Many schools have rows of evergreen trees around their buildings to a block the cold winter wind. Reducing air pollution Carbon dioxide exists naturally in the air, but factories, cars and trucks put too much carbon dioxide into the air. Trees take in the carbon dioxide for their own food - then turn it into oxygen for us to breathe!

Why Do We Have To Save Energy?

You’ve probably heard the grown-ups in your house say “Turn off the light!” or “Close the refrigerator door!” Have you ever wondered why?

Energy is there whenever we need it – so it’s easy to forget where it comes from, or how much it costs.

It all adds up

Every year, we use more energy than we did the year before. In fact, the amount of energy Americans use has doubled about every 20 years.

All of that energy adds up, and much of it is wasted by using too much or not using it wisely.

Energy isn’t free. The grown-ups in your house pay for the all the electricity you use. So wasting energy is the same as wasting money – and we know that’s not a good idea!

Wasting energy isn’t good for the environment either. Most of the energy sources we depend on, like coal and natural gas, can’t be replaced – once we use them up, they’re gone forever. Another problem is that most forms of energy can cause pollution.

Facts About Saving Energy

A heavy coat of dust on a light bulb can block up to half of the light. Across America, home refrigerators use the electricity of 25 large power plants every year. A hot water faucet that leaks one drop per second can add up to 165 gallons a month. That's more than one person uses in two weeks. An energy-smart clothes washer can save more water in one year than one person drinks in an entire lifetime!

When you turn on an incandescent light bulb, only 10 percent of the electricity used is turned into light. The other 90 percent is wasted as heat.

A compact fluorescent light bulb uses 75 percent less energy than a regular bulb – and it can last up to four years. A crack as small as 1/16th of an inch around a window frame can let in as much cold air as leaving the window open three inches!

Some new refrigerators are so energy-smart they use less electricity than a light bulb!

An automatic dishwasher uses less hot water than doing dishes by hand - an average of six gallons less, or more than 2,000 gallons per year.