Top 15 Things You Can Do to Stop Global Warming

15. Use a push mower to cut your lawn instead of a power mower. CO₂ reduction = 80 lbs/year

14. Buy food and other products with less packaging, or reusable/recyclable packaging instead of those in nonrecyclable packaging. CO₂ reduction = 230 lbs/year

13. Replace your current washing machine with a low-energy, low-water-use machine. CO₂ reduction = 440 lbs/year

Wash clothes in cold water, not hot. CO₂ reduction (for two loads a week) = 500 lbs/year

12. Turn down your water heater thermostat; 120 degrees is usually hot enough. CO₂ reduction (for each 10-degree adjustment) = 500 lbs/year

11. Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. CO₂ reduction (by replacing one frequently used bulb) = 500 lbs/year

10. Install a solar water heater system to help provide your hot water. CO₂ reduction = 720 lbs/year

9. Recycle all of your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass, and metal. CO₂ reduction = 850 lbs/year

8. Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket. CO₂ reduction = up to 1,000 lbs/year

7. Caulk and weather-strip around doors and windows to plug air leaks. CO₂ reduction = up to 1,000 lbs/year

6. Leave your car at home two days a week (walk, bike, or take public transportation to work instead). CO₂ reduction = 1,590 lbs/year

5. Ask your utility company for a home energy audit to find out where your home is poorly insulated or energy-inefficient. CO₂ reduction = potentially 1,000’s of lbs/year

4. Insulate your home, tune up your furnace, and install energy-efficient shower heads. CO₂ reduction = 2,480 lbs/year

3. Drive a fuel-efficient car (rated up to 32 mpg or more). CO₂ reduction (fuel-efficient car) = 5,600 lbs/year –or buy a new hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle that gets 50 to 70 mpg.

If your family did all of the items above, you could cut CO₂ emissions by more than 15,000 lbs/year! (Visit the Bonneville Environmental Foundation at www.b-e-f.org and consider investing in green energy to help offset your CO₂ footprint.)

2. Tell your representatives climate protection is important to you. Your elected officials make critical decisions in your name that either hurt or help the fight against global warming. In the U.S. Congress and in the statehouse, your representatives need to hear that you want action!

To find your state senator and state representatives contact information, click here.

To find out how to contact your federal representative, go to: www.house.gov

To find out how to contact your federal senators, go to: www.senate.gov

1. Learn more and tell your friends, family, and colleagues. Sign up for an online e-bulletin, such as NW Climate Connection, to stay informed about climate protection in the Northwest.

For a customized estimate of your household’s CO₂ output, use the following formula: units x conversion factor = total

1. Estimate gallons of gasoline purchased per month (from last month’s gasoline receipts, or number of miles driven monthly divided by your car’s miles per gallon).

____ gallons x 20 = _____ lbs. CO₂

2. Find your electricity bill from April or October (as an average for the year) and find kWh used, or total your electricity bills for the year and divide by 12.

_____ kWh x 1 = _____ lbs. CO₂

3. If you use natural gas, find your April or October bill (as an average bill) and find how many therms you used.

_____ therms x 12 = _____ lbs. CO₂

4. If you use heating oil, estimate total gallons purchased per year and divide by 12.

_____ therms x 12 = _____ lbs. CO₂

Monthly CO₂ emissions from household = ______ x 12 = ______ lbs. of CO₂ (annual CO₂ emissions from household)

Source: Climate Solutions.