Consumer’s Guide to Going Green
How much energy do you save by switching light bulbs? Should you replace your refrigerator?
The Wall Street Journal’s Guide to Going Green answers these common questions. Some of the answers might surprise you.
Here’s a preview of Rebecca Smith’s article:
We hear the message day in and day out: It’s time to go green. But figuring out where to start can be daunting.
When you look for advice, you often find wildly impractical schemes about remaking your entire life to reduce your “carbon footprint.” Or you end up having to sort through heaps of perplexing statistics about power usage and efficiency.
Meanwhile, it can be tough to track down what most people actually need: a clear statement of the carbon consequences of, say, switching your light bulbs. And you’ll rarely find out if you’ll save enough on your energy bills to recover the cost of buying new appliances or changing your habits.
With that in mind, here are some answers to some commonly posed questions about what to do — and what not to do — to get greener.
Question 1: What are the simplest - and cheapest - things I can do to cut emissions?
Smith’s answer:
The most important thing to remember as you’re getting started is that you don’t have to change your whole life to make a difference.
“You can go crazy and get lost in the details and completely miss the point that every little bit helps,” says Carl Zichella, regional director in Sacramento, Calif., for the Sierra Club.
So where do you start? Here are just a handful of things that may be obvious — and yet so many people don’t do them. Heat or cool your home less. Drive or fly fewer miles. Run electrical equipment less and use less water since pumping water takes a lot of electricity. Buy more locally grown foods and goods that are manufactured nearby; they’re typically made with cleaner U.S. manufacturing processes, and companies use less fuel to transport them.
Plus, buy the most energy-efficient devices you can afford. For instance, look for appliances with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star label. Since the program started in 1992, the EPA says, it has helped Americans save $14 billion on energy bills and cut emissions equivalent to those of 25 million vehicles. The EPA now includes more than four dozen types of products in the program, everything from DVD players to air conditioners.
In addition, the EPA has a useful calculator that allows you to create a customized plan for reducing your environmental impact.
Don’t worry - more questions and answers are to come.
November 14 2007 06:46 pm | General
