Homeowner

A homeowner can do any number of things to reduce your carbon footprint. You can do many things that have a great impact and do not cost very much.

1. Is your home energy efficient?

You can find out quickly and easily using the Energy Star Home Energy Yardstick. Collect a year's worth of utility bills and go to www.energystar.gov and click on "Home Improvement". The Energy Star Home Energy Yardstick will ask you to type in the utility-bill information along with the square footage of your home, the number of persons in the home, and the year it was built. The yardstick will use that information and give your home a score of between 1 and 10 with 5 denoting an average in terms of energy efficiency.

2. Weatherize your home or apartment

For a very small investment, you can cut your heating and cooling expenses and reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Use weatherstripping to seal drafts around windows and doors. If a draft comes through electrical outlets or switches on outside walls, install foam draft blockers behind the cover plates. Use covers (inside or outside) on air conditioners during cold months. And make sure your home has adequate insulation. Many older homes don't have enough, especially in the attic. You can check the insulation yourself or have it done as part of an energy audit, provided by many utility companies.

3. Install Compact Fluorescents

Electricity production is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and lighting accounts for about 25 percent of American electricity consumption. Standard incandescent lights are notoriously inefficient and easily available alternatives can save you money, energy, and pollution. Check your local home-supply store for low-mercury compact fluorescent lightbulbs that fit your various light fixtures (they now come in all shapes and sizes, including ones that look exactly like incandescents). By replacing four standard bulbs with CFLs, you can prevent the emission of 5000 pounds of carbon dioxide and reduce your electricity bill by more than $100 over the lives of those bulbs. If only 1,000 of us each replace four standard bulbs with CFLs, we can prevent the emission of five million pounds of carbon dioxide and reduce our electricity bills by more than $100,000 over the lives of those bulbs.

CFLs last longer than incandescent bulbs, but when they do expire, be sure to recycle them at a CFL recycling center, like Home Depot.

4. Buy energy-efficient appliances

Use your consumer power when buying appliances by shopping for energy-efficient models. You may spend a little more up front, but you'll save a lot on electricity, and you'll reduce pollution produced by power plants. Look for the EnergySTAR label, which identifies the most efficient appliances. You can also use the Energy Guide labels to compare the efficiency of specific models. Remember that refrigerators consume the most electricity in the home. Today's refrigerators consume less than one-fourth the energy of models built 30 years ago, so an upgrade could mean huge energy savings for your household. The Natural Resources Defense Council has a very helpful website showing you How to Reduce Your Energy Consumption - Tips for conserving electricity and cutting your energy costs. http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.asp

5. Reduce Home Water Use

The average household uses more than 22,000 gallons of water per year just for showers and baths. This water is almost always heated, resulting in increased energy consumption. Visit your local hardware store and pick up faucet aerators for $2 to $5 a piece and a high-efficiency showerhead for less than $20. (These devices give excellent showers and are not to be confused with primitive flow restrictors that simply reduce flow.) In less than a year, you'll make that money back through lower utility bills.

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Interested in doing more? The U.S. Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org/) has prepared a helpful list of 16 Ways to Green Your Home. (pdf)

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