Go Green

Take Action! (what you should do)

The Stop Global Warming calculator shows you how much carbon dioxide you can prevent from being released into the atmosphere and how much money you can save by making some small changes in your daily life. It’s our hope that the calculator will promote action, awareness and empowerment by showing you that one person can make a difference and help stop global warming.

There are many simple things you can do in your daily life — what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home — that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antarctica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference.

	Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.

	Inflate Your Tires Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.

	Change Your Air Filter Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.

	Use Recycled Paper Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

	Adjust Your Thermostat Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.

	Check Your Water heater Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.

	Change the AC Filter Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year

	Turn off Your Computer Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer's "sleep mode" instead of a screensaver.

	Install a Low-Flow Showerhead Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.

	Take Shorter Showers Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year

	Buy Products Locally Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.

	Buy Energy Certificates Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.

	Buy Minimally Packaged Goods Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.

	Buy a Hybrid Car The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid.

	Buy a Fuel Efficient Car Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.

	Carpool When You Can Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

	Don't Idle in Your Car Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.

	Reduce Garbage Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.

	Plant a Tree Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.

	Insulate Your Water Heater Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.

	Replace Old Appliances Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

	Weatherize Your Home Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.

	Use a Push Mower Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.

	Unplug Un-Used Electronics Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.

	Put on a Sweater Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.

	Insulate Your Home Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.

	Air Dry Your Clothes Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.

	Switch to a Tankless Water Heater Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.

	Switch to Double Pane Windows Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.

	Buy Organic Food The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.

	Bring Cloth Bags to the Market Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.

	Be a Meat Reducer The average American diet contributes an extra 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases per year compared with a vegetarian diet. Eliminating meat and dairy intake one day a week can make a big difference.

	Ditch the Plastic 2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away every hour in the US. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic.