If every U.S. household traded out just one incandescent light bulb for an LED one, the reduction in pollution would be the equivalent of taking almost 700K cars off the road.
When we think about saving energy, we often associate it with saving money on our energy bills, but it goes deeper than that. Saving energy helps you reduce your carbon footprint and ultimately helps save the environment. The biggest thing we can do to help save the environment is reducing power plant emissions. 73% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from energy such as electricity, heat, and transport. To generate electricity, most power plants burn fossil fuels like coal or crude oil. It’s inexpensive but the planet pays the price. This method produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.
When released into the atmosphere, carbon dioxide absorbs the sun’s warmth and keeps the heat there — a necessary process for us to survive on Earth — but when our demand for more energy causes too much carbon dioxide waste, the extra trapped heat creates a lot of problems. Rising temperatures lead to heatwaves, drought, and high sea levels. In turn, abnormal and extreme weather patterns intensify natural disasters such as earthquakes, acid rain, and hurricanes.
Here are some easy ways you can reduce your energy consumption and conserve the Earth’s natural resources:
- Turn off the lights at night and avoid using a lot of energy during peak hours
- Wash clothes in cold water and only full loads
- Try greener energy solutions like solar, hydroelectric, wind, or bioenergy
- Run ceiling fans and adjust your air conditioner by a few degrees in the summer
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
- Start a compost bin
Becoming a more efficient consumer with a focus on saving energy makes a huge impact on the environment. While U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions decrease by almost 3% each year, we’re still emitting over five billion metric tons of it every year, with 33 billion metric tons globally. If we collectively reduce the amount of energy we consume to reduce the amount of electricity and fossil fuels power plants burn, it will make a huge difference.
