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Climate Change
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Change 5 lights
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Change a light, and you help change the world. Replace the conventional bulbs in
your 5 most frequently used light fixtures with bulbs that have the ENERGY STAR
and you will help the environment while saving money on energy bills. If every household
in the U.S. took this one simple action we would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent
to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified products
When buying new products, such as appliances for your home, get the features and
performance you want AND help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Look for ENERGY STAR qualified products in more than 50 product categories, including
lighting, home electronics, heating and cooling equipment and appliances.
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Heat and cool smartly
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Simple steps like cleaning air filters regularly and having your heating and cooling
equipment tuned annually by a licensed contractor can save energy and increase comfort
at home, and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When it's time to
replace your old equipment, choose a high efficiency model, and make sure it is
properly sized and installed.
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Seal and insulate your home
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Sealing air leaks and adding more insulation to your home is a great do-it-yourself
project. The biggest leaks are usually found in the attic and basement. If you are
planning to replace windows, choose ENERGY STAR qualified windows for better performance.
Forced air ducts that run through unconditioned spaces are often big energy wasters.
Seal and insulate any ducts in attics and crawlspaces to improve the efficiency
of your home. Not sure where to begin? A home energy auditor can also help you find
air leaks, areas with poor insulation, and evaluate the over-all energy efficiency
of your home. By taking these steps, you can eliminate drafts, keep your home more
comfortable year round, save energy that would otherwise be wasted, and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
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Use green power
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Green power is environmentally friendly electricity that is generated from renewable
energy sources such as wind and the sun. There are two ways to use green power:
you can buy green power or you can modify your house to generate your own green
power. Buying green power is easy, it offers a number of environmental and economic
benefits over conventional electricity, including lower greenhouse gas emissions,
and it helps increase clean energy supply. If you are interested, there are a number
of steps you can take to create a greener home, including installing solar panels
and researching incentives for renewable energy in your state.
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Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
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If there is a recycling program in your community, recycle your newspapers, beverage
containers, paper and other goods. Use products in containers that can be recycled
and items that can be repaired or reused. In addition, support recycling markets
by buying products made from recycled materials. Reducing, reusing, and recycling
in your home helps conserve energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gases from
resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal.
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Be green in your yard
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Use a push mower, which, unlike a gas or electric mower, consumes no fossil fuels
and emits no greenhouse gases. If you do use a power mower, make sure it is a mulching
mower to reduce grass clippings (PDF, 8 pp., 1.59 MB, About PDF). Composting your
food and yard waste reduces the amount of garbage that you send to landfills and
reduces greenhouse gas emissions. See EPA's GreenScapes program for tips on how
to improve your lawn or garden while also benefiting the environment. Smart Landscaping
can save energy, save you money and reduce your household's greenhouse gas emissions.
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Use water efficiently
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Saving water around the home is simple. Municipal water systems require a lot of
energy to purify and distribute water to households, and saving water, especially
hot water, can lower greenhouse gas emissions. Look for products with EPA's WaterSense
label; these products save water and perform as well or better than their less efficient
counterparts. There are also simple actions you can take to save water: Be smart
when irrigating your lawn or landscape; only water when needed and do it during
the coolest part of the day, early morning is best. Turn the water off while shaving
or brushing teeth. Do not use your toilet as a waste basket - water is wasted with
each flush. And did you know a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day?
Repair all toilet and faucet leaks right away. See EPA's WaterSense site for more
water saving tips.
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Spread the Word
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Tell family and friends that energy efficiency is good for their homes and good
for the environment because it lowers greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Tell 5 people and together we can help our homes help us all.
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At The Office: Manage office equipment energy use better
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Office equipment and electronics use energy even when idle or on stand-by. To save
energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at work, always activate the power management
features on your computer and monitor, unplug laptop power cords when not in use
and turn off equipment and lights at the end of the day. Consider using a power
strip that can be turned off when you're done using your computers, printers, wireless
routers and other electronics.
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Look for ENERGY STAR qualified products for the Office
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When buying new products for your office at work or at home, get the features and
performance you want and help reduce greenhouse gases and emissions of air pollutants.
Look for ENERGY STAR qualified office equipment, such as computers, copiers, and
printers, in addition to more than 50 product categories, including lighting, heating
and cooling equipment and commercial appliances.
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Ask your office building manager if your office building has
earned the ENERGY STAR
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ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings provide safe, healthy, and productive environments
that use about 35 percent less energy than average buildings. Their efficient use
of energy also reduces the total operational cost of the building.
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Use less energy for your commute
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Switch to public transportation, carpooling, biking, telecommuting and other innovative
ways to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on your way to and from
work. Encourage your employer to offer commuter benefits that address limited or
expensive parking, reduce traffic congestion, improve employee recruiting and retention
and minimize the environmental impacts associated with drive-alone commuting. If
you do drive, find out the fuel efficiency of your vehicle using EPA's and DOE's
fuel economy Web site, and make more environmentally-informed choices when purchasing
your next vehicle by using EPA's Green Vehicle Guide. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycle office paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment and
batteries. Reducing, reusing, and recycling in your office helps conserve energy,
and reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from resource extraction, manufacturing,
and disposal. You can reduce, reuse and recycle at the office by using two-sided
printing and copying; buying supplies made with recycled content; and recycling
used printer cartridges. For your old electronics, investigate leasing programs
to ensure reuse and recycling or donate used equipment to schools or other organizations.
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At School: Students Bring science to life
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Explore the Climate Change Kids Site and watch Climate Animations that bring to
life the science and impacts of climate change. The site also provides games that
help students, their parents and their teachers learn about both the science of
climate change and what actions they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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High school students check your school's climate impact
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High school students can investigate the link between everyday actions at their
high school, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Using EPA's Climate CHange
Emission Calculator Kit (Climate CHECK) (WinZip of Excel spreadsheet, 3.4 MB) students
can learn about climate change, estimate their school's greenhouse gas emissions
and conceptualize ways to mitigate their school's climate impact. Students gain
detailed understandings of climate-change drivers, impacts, and science; produce
an emission inventory and action plan; and can even submit the results of their
emission inventory to their school district. You can also use Portfolio Manager
to compare the energy use of your school with other schools nationwide, and earn
the ENERGY STAR for your school if it qualifies as a top performer.
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Get Involved at your College or University
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College students can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
at their colleges or universities by reducing their emissions from energy they use
in dorm rooms. Students can also work with school administrators to: increase energy
efficiency on campus, reduce their school's greenhouse gas emissions by using green
power, create a campus climate action plan , or develop an inventory of their school's
greenhouse gas emissions.
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Educators: Teach students about climate change and
ecosystems
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Use the Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters
to learn about the science of climate change and its potential effects on our nation's
wildlife and their habitats.
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Engage middle school students in estimating emissions
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Enhance critical thinking skills by introducing the Global Warming Wheel Card Classroom
Activity Kit to middle school students. A hand-held wheel card and other resources
help students estimate household greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage
students to think about ways to reduce their personal, family, school and community
contributions to climate change. If you are an informal educator, simply use the
Global Warming Wheel Card as a part of your field activities.
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Learn from other educators
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Investigate what other schools and organizations are doing to educate their audiences
on climate change by clicking on Educators' Links, a searchable database offering
links to resources such as lesson plans, videos, books and toolkits.
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Administrators: Save money and the environment
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The least efficient schools use three times more energy than the best energy performers.
By partnering with the highly successful ENERGY STAR for K-12 program and using
Portfolio Manager to track and rate the energy performance of your portfolio of
school buildings, school districts can serve as environmental leaders in their community,
become energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money!
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Estimate your emissions and take the challenge
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School Administrators can also work to reduce their school's greenhouse gas emissions
by developing an inventory of their school's emissions or by taking the 2006 College
and University Green Power Challenge.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
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Recycle school or classroom paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment
and batteries. Reducing, reusing and recycling at school and in the classroom helps
conserve energy, reduce pollution and greenhouse gases from resource extraction,
manufacturing and disposal. You can reduce, reuse and recycle at school or in the
classroom by using two-sided printing and copying; buying supplies made with recycled
content; and recycling used printer cartridges. For your old electronics, investigate
leasing programs to ensure reuse and recycling or donate used equipment to schools
or other organizations.
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