| We've all had this question at one point or | | | | bill by a notable percentage. Not only is it more |
| another. EnviroCitizen.org says, "Yes!" By turning | | | | economical, but you will reduce the amount of |
| off lights in your home (and at work) when you | | | | energy you're consuming. |
| don't need them, you can reduce your carbon | | | | As EnviroCitizen.org mentioned earlier, |
| footprint. We want to reduce our environmental | | | | environmental challenges can be intimidating. It's |
| impact as much as possible and there are a lot of | | | | sometimes easy to get discouraged and feel as if |
| big environmental challenges, like global warming, | | | | you can't make a big enough difference. Switching |
| to motivate us. Though it may be a bit | | | | lights off, using more energy efficient light bulbs |
| discouraging when you look at all of the | | | | and unplugging appliances are good examples of |
| environmental challenges that we are faced with, | | | | small changes that can make a huge difference. |
| by changing the things that we can control, such | | | | It's important to do these things for two reasons: |
| as turning off lights, you can make a difference! | | | | to reduce your environmental impact and to |
| When it comes to energy conservation, you can | | | | empower yourself to make a difference. |
| do more than just turn off your lights. Consider | | | | Once you have made these small, easy changes, |
| getting rid of your incandescent light bulbs and | | | | consider what else you could do. Maybe you could |
| replacing them with compact fluorescent light | | | | help your neighbors to make these same changes. |
| (CFL) bulbs. By making this small change, you'll | | | | You could organize a community light bulb day, |
| notice a huge reduction in your electricity bill and | | | | where you commit your neighbors to change at |
| energy usage. Your carbon footprint will shrink, | | | | least one light bulb and replace it with a CFL bulb. |
| too. You can also try taking advantage of natural | | | | If every home in the United States replaces |
| light. Open your curtains and blinds during the day | | | | incandescent light bulbs with CFL bulbs, we can |
| to reduce your need for artificial lighting. | | | | reduce the need for as many coal-burning plants |
| You can also try unplugging appliances, electronic | | | | which accounts for over 40% of the mercury |
| devices and lamps when you're not using them. | | | | released into the atmosphere! |
| By unplugging these items, you are preventing | | | | Switching to CFL bulbs is easy and extremely |
| them from continually drawing energy (which they | | | | effective, check out EnviroCitizen.org's variety of |
| do if they remain plugged in, even if left off). By | | | | CFL bulbs and start lowering your carbon foot |
| doing so, you can reduce your monthly electricity | | | | print today! |