10 Cool Climate-Saving Actions

1. Save Energy
Save money and help the climate. Switch to ENERGY STAR qualifying compact fluorescent light bulbs, draft-proof your windows and doors, turn in your top loading washing machine for a new, efficient front-loader, and air dry your laundry (check out www.laundrylist.org). For home improvement resources which go beyond draft-proofing windows, visit the ENERGY STAR web site: www.energystar.gov/homeimprovement. Also, consider ceiling fans that push warm air to the floor in the winter and help circulate cool air in the summer. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and water heaters can be energy hogs. If you are in the market for a new appliance, look for the ENERGY STAR label-these appliances use 20-40 percent less energy than standard products. There are over 35 product categories that bear the ENERGY STAR, including light bulbs, ceiling fans, and appliances.

Procurement resources are available for businesses, municipalities, and colleges to help them buy ENERGY STAR products.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has more on improving saving energy at home.

2. Think Before You Drive, and Offset Your Car's Emissions
On average, every gallon of gasoline burned emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide - which adds up to several times your car's weight in carbon dioxide every year.

• First, don’t idle; turn off your car even while doing quick errands (it’s better for your car, anyway!) Likewise, skip the drive-through; park and go inside instead. Try walking, taking public transportation or riding a bike. Make a personal pledge to cut down on unnecessary car trips and have your vehicle serviced regularly to keep the emission control systems operating at peak efficiency.
• When it comes to your vehicle, opt for non-petroleum fuels like biodiesel, made from waste vegetable oils and better for diesel engines than regular fuel. Shoot for 30 miles per gallon the next time you buy a car - consider perhaps a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle that get as much as three times as many miles to the gallon.
• Even after you do the items above, you’ll still be putting a lot of CO₂ in the air.  Visit www.CoolDriver.org, a partnership of Clean Air-Cool Planet and NativeEnergy, to learn how easy it is compensate for your car’s emissions, by helping build new Native American and family farmer-owned clean energy sources.  The clean energy projects you help build with CoolDriver^SM will reduce emissions on your behalf, eliminating your car’s contribution to global warming.  You can Put the Brakes on Global Warming!^SM

3. Recycle
It really makes a difference. Make the extra effort to rinse out your spaghetti sauce jars, soup cans, and plastic soda bottles. Composting food waste for the garden helps return valuable nutrients to the soil. Remember, the more you recycle, the less waste goes to the landfill.

4. Buy Recycled Products
In many cases, products made from recycled materials require less energy to produce as compared to those made from virgin materials. For example it takes 75% less energy to make steel items from recycled steel. Another thing to look for is the recycled content of office paper-look for a minimum of 30 percent POST CONSUMER WASTE, not just recycled. And finally purchase the goods with less packaging-this means less energy to produce the package, less waste that goes to the landfill, and fewer trips to the curb to dispose of your trash.

5. Choose Green Electricity
Most electricity comes from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. In states with electricity deregulation, you can choose the company that supplies power to your home or business. Many utilities are beginning to offer consumers the choice to purchase green electricity, which is generated by wind and solar power. Call your utility and see if this option is available to you. Ask to be notified when it is. If you can’t buy green electricity through your utility, support renewable energy development by offsetting the pollution caused by your electricity use.

Learn more about how can get the benefits of renewable electricity at the websites for Green-E and NativeEnergy.

6. Use your Consumer Power
You can make a big difference just by making informed choices about the products and services you buy. Use businesses that make an effort to protect the climate and which stock climate- friendly products. Be sure to let them and their competitors know why you make the choices you do. Buy local produce whenever possible. When food does not have to travel great distances by road or air fewer greenhouse gas emissions are emitted during transport to market. Think before you Buy.

Want more information on what companies or products are the most environmentally and socially responsible? Check out these great resources: The Green Guide and Ideals Work.

7. Educate Yourself about Climate Change
Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers or see on the television. Some Washington lobbyists spend a lot of time and considerable amounts of money trying to confuse the issue. Use Clean Air - Cool Planet's website our Science and Policy, Additional Resources, and Program pages to get started and in find ing out what scientists, business people and economists are really saying.

8. Let Your Elected Representatives Know You Care
Write to your representatives in Congress and in the state legislature and tell them that clearing the air and slowing global warming are important to you. Urge them to support actions to reduce carbon pollution, save energy and expand the use of renewable energy.

Don’t know who your officials are or how to contact them? Get all of the info you need from Capitol Advantage.

9. Create a Climate Friendly Environment
Initiate a Green Group on the job or in the neighborhood to investigate issues such as recycling and energy efficiency. Look into the assistance available through The EPA's Green Lights or Climate Wise programs. Make sure office equipment like photocopiers and computers are Energy Star compliant. Ask your employer to consider employee benefits for commuting by bicycle or mass transit.

10. Get Involved
Give a talk, or invite a guest speaker to your local school, place of worship or library. Start a local initiative aimed at reducing the community's impact on climate or get the issue on the agenda for a town meeting discussion. Support environmental non-profit groups working to slow global warming. You can become a member, take part in events like Earth Day or participate in letter- writing campaigns. Of course you can also support Clean Air-Cool Planet by making a tax-deductible donation.