in the wake of both earth day and the oil spill in the gulf of mexico, we wanted to share a few helpful tips for things you can do to cut back on oil usage in your everyday life. sure you might have heard it before, but it never hurts to have it top of mind…
replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or even cutting-edge light emitting diodes (LEDs). turn off lights and other devices when they’re not needed. candles are great at night!
eliminate electronics that sleep on a standby setting – they continue to pull a current even when “turned off.” AC adapters on many power cables pull current too, so those should be taken out of the wall when not in use. your best bet is a “smart” power strip, or a power strip that can be turned off at night.
when looking for new appliances, seek out the most energy-efficient models, and charge your MP3 player, laptop, PDA, cell phone, and camera with a portable solar charger.
keep your house cool with natural ventilation instead of air conditioning as much as possible. use in-room, ceiling, or whole-house fans to move air throughout the house. blocking sunlight during hot hours of the day can also help.
clothes driers gobble up a lot of power, so line drying can be a great energy saver.
buy locally grown food, or if you have a garden, grow your own. transport uses oil.
whenever you can, walk, bike, use public transportation or carpool. i am guilty of this just as much as anyone, but it is so, so important!
have a wonderful weekend :)
click on images for source.
Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!
Thumbs up, and keep it going!
Cheers
Christian, iwspo.net
i’ve been reading your blog for quite a long time, and i think this is one of the best ever. THANK YOU…
mother earth is the ultimate source of beauty (& love & power) we’ve got, and cutting our oil consumption is one of the best ways we can love her for what she gives us!
a wonderful book to read and to gain more insight about energy-saving ideas is “Better Off- Flipping the Switch on Technology” by Eric Brende
it is a wonderful work of nonfiction in which the author describes an idea he and his wife put into practice- where they went almost completely without technology for about a year. Its entertaining and informative. he gives practical applications throughout the book, but especially towards the end.