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cloakshands
New Member
6 Posts |
 Posted - 01/22/2016 : 03:27:42
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Climate change is the major, overriding environmental issue of our time,what can one person, or even one nation, do on their own to slow and reverse climate change?
did you know you spend more money on electricity to power devices when off than when on? What you need to do is to unplug them instead.
Purchasing energy-efficient gadgets can also save both energy and money—and thus prevent more greenhouse gas emissions.
Swapping old incandescent lightbulbs for more efficient replacements, such as compact fluorescents, would save billions of kilowatt-hours. In fact, according to the EPA, replacing just one incandescent lightbulb in every home would save enough energy to provide electricity to three million homes.
How about you, what do you do to reduce energy consumption?
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Edited by - cloakshands on 01/22/2016 03:29:01
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2016 : 10:07:21 [Permalink]
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I have replaced all my lights with more energy efficient lights. I replaced the fridge too. I've moved from a 6 cylinder truck to a 4. (I have to have a truck and I prefer small pickups.) It might not be much, but there is not alot I can do at this point. At at home, I can see the difference in my electric bill. On the road, I'm using less gas.
What really needs to be done is to move aggressively toward renewable energy sources that don't pollute. It's a good thing to have an eye on energy efficiency at home, but much more important is to remove the pollution it at the source, at which point, what we do at home will either cost us more if we're stupid about not doing things to save on energy, or less if we're not.
I've also taken to wearing more at night and keeping the gas heater off. Of course, that might not be an option for those who live in colder climates. But they can always turn the thermostat down and put on a sweatshirt to stay warm.
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2016 : 14:51:01 [Permalink]
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I put a timer on my hot water heater and have it come on for 20 minutes in the AM and 25 in the PM. I also set the thermostat on it so it is never hot enough to need mixing with cold water when used alone, so I never have to cool it. I also added the extra insulation blanket kit. I got my electric usage down to 3 Kwh a day. My frig' is my biggest demand. I don't buy frozen food except for frozen shrimp mostly because of the energy they end up using from the day they packaged until they are eaten, sometimes many months later. That's my personal boycott. I do keep my freezer full of chicken and ground beef bought not frozen but on sale, to keep it full. I have to keep my pasta in there too to fill it up the empty space so it will have less convection space available. Full freezers use less energy over time than empty ones. Everything in there is packaged into serving sizes. I defrost frozen items in the frig to save energy too. It takes 24 hours. Electric blankets under you in a bed is way cheaper than your furnace. If you don't want to wake up to a cold house get a setback thermostat.
I've said this before, globally we will burn more fossil fuel next week than we do this week. So what does that say about the effectiveness of all our collective efforts? Doing so will save you money but that is it and that's enough for me. It's not going to affect global warming in any beneficial way I see. Does it really matter if we slow it by ten years? As far as mitigating global warming our efforts are like throwing a wine cork to someone who is drowning. The search for oil and gas is as active as ever. They are moving into the north artic for more fossil fuels of late. China has got it's eye on gaining control over international water for the fossil fuel off it's coast, etc.. I don't see anything changing at all going forward as far as using less as opposed to more continuing the trend. This is an election year, does anyone hear any runners discussing this, military spending, the national deficit? trump is bringing up birth places for god sakes. Some kind of screwed up god inspired and directed plan I say.
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There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2016 : 19:50:25 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Kil
I have replaced all my lights with more energy efficient lights. I replaced the fridge too. I've moved from a 6 cylinder truck to a 4. (I have to have a truck and I prefer small pickups.) It might not be much, but there is not alot I can do at this point. At at home, I can see the difference in my electric bill. On the road, I'm using less gas. |
That's what gets to me about the politicians who claim to care about the working Joes and the economy, but rail against the evidence for climate change. What they should be saying is, "it doesn't matter whether global warming is real, you should all change your light bulbs, appliances and vehicles to more 'green' versions because it will save you money in the long run and give our economy a shot in the arm to boot." They can then claim ignorance that the side-effect, a reduction in profits for big oil, had anything to do with their advice, and keep taking lobbyist money to deny the climate science publicly.[quote]What really needs to be done is to move aggressively toward renewable energy sources that don't pollute. It's a good thing to have an eye on energy efficiency at home, but much more important is to remove the pollution it at the source...[quote]I've encountered the argument that switching to electric cars won't change anything, because it takes the same amount of energy to move a car from point A to B no matter what fuels it, but they miss the point that it's much easier to scrub CO2 from one power plant than it is to scrub the CO2 from the 250,000 cars parked at the homes served by that plant. And that's assuming that we never get away from fossil-fuel power generation.
What we really need at this point in time is for legislators and regulators to pass appropriate laws and rules for those of us who don't live in detached homes with private parking to be able to charge an electric vehicle without fear of lawsuits from home-owners associations and/or neighbors. I'd gladly pay the premium for an all-electric vehicle right now, but I'd have to string a power cord across a public sidewalk to charge it overnight. Someone needs to put together regulations for me to follow to properly and legally install a keyed (private) charging station at the curb in our shared public parking lot. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2016 : 02:19:52 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
I've encountered the argument that switching to electric cars won't change anything, because it takes the same amount of energy to move a car from point A to B no matter what fuels it, but they miss the point that it's much easier to scrub CO2 from one power plant than it is to scrub the CO2 from the 250,000 cars parked at the homes served by that plant. And that's assuming that we never get away from fossil-fuel power generation. |
Not only that, but the efficiency might even be higher at a centralised electricity generation site. And then, where excess heat from the process can be utilised to either generate more electricity, or serve as community heating...
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
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Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
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cloakshands
New Member
6 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2016 : 21:04:53 [Permalink]
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| I got interested in the topic because the company I work in is starting a go green program. They've even hired Ecova for their energy management solution. I don't know what this energy management solution does exactly though. |
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What can you do to reverse climate change?
