Are there any tips on how to prevent Global Warming within my house?

Question

OK, I admit living in Alaska I always laughed at people who would tell me about danger of Global Warming until resently I read many articles and actually saw on the news what is happening to our Polar Bears. But how a family can "pitch in" in the fight with Global Warming? What are the steps do to within a middle class family to stop this? Any advises? Thank you.

Answer 1

Yes indeedy! There's plenty you can do. Here's a few things to get you started:

1: Make your home more energy efficient.
Start by making sure your house is properly insulated. Seal up cracks around doors and windows, and consider beefing up your attic and wall insulation.
Also consider reducing your heating hot water temperatures. Reducing them by only a small amount can make a big difference. I don't know what you normally keep the thermostat at in Alaska (I live in Texas, so heating is rarely needed), but try about 16-18˚ C and throw on a sweater.
Depending on how old your hot water heater is, you might want to consider getting a new one. Newer water heaters are up to 10% more efficient.
And of course, showers use much less energy than baths, and if you get a low-flow shower nozzle you can further reduce the amount of water required by half.

2: Use "green" electricity.
Your power company may have an option for to specify that you want some or all of your energy to come from renewable sources.
Also consider generating your own power, but keep in mind that this can become fairly pricey. Your best bet here would be to install a rooftop solar panel to heat your hot water.

3: Be more efficient with appliances and gadgets.
As has been suggested above, you should replace any old fashioned incandescent bulbs with the much more efficient Compact Fluorescents.
Unplug electronic devices that aren't being used. When you think your devices are off, chances are they're only on standby. Some devices will use almost as much energy on standby as they do when being used.
If you have a refrigerator older than 18 years, definitely consider replacing it. As with water heaters, the newer models are drastically more efficient.


There are also ways to reduce your emissions by shopping greener (buy locally grown organic food if you can, and consider bringing a reusable bag with you when you go shopping).
And obviously don't forget transportation. Drive less, walk more. Maybe even consider getting a hybrid when it's time for you to get a new car.


That's about all I've got right now. Hope you find these tips useful!

Answer 2

Well it's the tenth of May and up until a few days ago I was still turning on the heat .That's unusually cool.Last summer was also unseasonably cool.I used to believe in global warming more before I saw an inconvenient truth .It just seemed to me that if all of a sudden politicians are giving a damn about the environment that something fishy must be going on.People have pleaded with them for years to do something about pollution from industry and they do virtually nothing. And now they are going to shove all kinds of "cures" down our throats like banning incandescent bulbs when there is no adequate replacement for them yet.They are going to make us suffer for their complacency! I live in the only district in perhaps the entire world that is actively phasing out coal fired generation but somehow we have to give up our lightbulbs for piece of crap replacements.CFL's don't work outside when it's cold and some folks get horrible headaches and other problems from them.This was done all without public consultation.What's next??? While I have seen the polar bear evidence and it is compelling and sad.Does anyone out there know if the bears weren't drowning before ? Have their numbers gone down substantially because of this? This could be regional warming caused by a thinning ozone layer or could be cyclical.They can't even predict the weather for next week! But they tell us that the climate is changing unaturally all without a definitive study that weighs all the evidence for and against G.W. and gives us a provable verdict. If anyone can find this study give us the link!!! Until G.W is proved I encourage people to fight air pollution instead .At least we know the effects and can prove them.Politicians are not to be trusted and they will use G.W and anything else they can to control us!!! It's good to be skeptical!!!

Answer 3

If you are like most people with the best of intentions, you will do anything as long as it's free. When it gets expensive, we all call a halt.
Some things you can do, for little or nothing, are:

(1.)Turn off lights and appliances when they are not in use.
(2.)As light bulbs burn out, replace them with more efficient fluorescent bulbs.
(3.)Recycle any and everything you can. This will cut down on pollution caused by manufacturing and extend the life of our land fills.
(4.)Turn down your thermostat three degrees.

These simple and inexpensive (or free, possibly money saving) changes in your lifestyle won't save the planet on their own, but they will contribute to the desired outcome.
As you can see, just little things can do a lot. Use your imagination and thanks for being concerned.

Answer 4

There's not a lot you can do besides save energy. Electric cars are impractical where you are. The batteries give off very little voltage when cold. Secondly, solar power would pretty much only work for you in the summer plus a minimum setup fpor solar is around $25,000

Answer 5

In answer to the answer of painting the roofs white. Pv cells on the roofs would be almost justas effective, plus it would give us more power, windmills would work up there too. Insulate your house extrememly well.Dual panel skylights in the ceiling to let more light into the house , reducing the need for more electricty needed for lighting during the day. More windows on the southside of house.

Answer 6

There is one thing. It's actually funny but if a decent percentage of the world painted their roofs white it would reverse the heating of the globe. If everyone painted their roofs white it could bring on an ice age. The white roofs reflect sunlight indtead of it being absorbed and heating up you house. Or of course you could just monitor and reduce your use of power. Ride a bike to the store and cut the length of your showers. But painting your roof white would completely offset your own emissions for years.

Answer 7

Well first you can stop Gass Emmision to atmosphere by finding an electrical cars. Second you can install solar pannels to conserve electricity. Third Recycle because the plastic that is used to hold 6 packs of Coka-Cola takes 200 years to breakdown. Fourth remid the community and get them involved so they can understand that they need to do something to change and save the community.

Answer 8

You said with in your house.OK,a few relatively cheap ways to start.Use low energy light bulbs,turn off lights when not in use,switch TV,satellite,cable,video players,computers and CD players to stand by settings.If you need night lights for bedrooms,landings etc,use low 12 volt systems.You my already use loft insulation,but there is nothing that says you can`t double it up.These things will reduce your energy usage and in the longer term reduce your energy bills.

Answer 9

The first thing you can do is get rid of all your standard light bulbs and replace them with the new spiral fluorescent bulbs.A 100 watt spiral bulb gives the light as a standard 100 watt bulb.The spiral bulb uses 23 watts.The standard bulb uses 100 watts.

Answer 10

we have a TV ad here in Australia that says "to help the environment......just turn off a light!" saving electricity saves coal burning power stations spitting out the CO2 in the first place.