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Green Facts
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You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.
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A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
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Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.
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In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.
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Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
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You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.
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In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
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Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months
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A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.
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Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.
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Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
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Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.
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States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.
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A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.
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Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.
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Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.
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Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.
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You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.
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Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.
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One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
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Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.
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82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.
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Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.
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A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.
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Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.
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American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.
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Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.
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Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.
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It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
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Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.
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The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.
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77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.
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If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.
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Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.
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For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.
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An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!
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Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.
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Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
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Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.


Investing in energy efficiency projects is good for everyone. Unfortunately, high upfront costs have historically prevented large entities and low-income customers from addressing energy inefficiencies. One innovative new workaround is something called on-bill financing. In this model...

Today, innovations in both technology and financing are making it increasingly easy for you to install solar panels on your home. Essentially, as long as you have a sunny roof, and live in a state that believes in solar politically, you can install solar today. Not only can you reduce...
25 Energy Saving Tips Under $25! With energy prices on the rise, heating your home and running your appliances are costing more than ever. As this list of the top 25 energy saving tips under $25 demonstrates, there are many ways to cut down on your energy costs and reduce...
The problem a lot of people have with trying to make their home or apartment more energy-efficient is that energy efficiency is deadly boring. As a municipal energy management consultant, I know how quickly eyes start to glaze over when I start talking about heating systems...
Did you know that a significant portion of your energy bill is caused by your kitchen refrigerator system? It comes in right after your air conditioner expenses at 13.7%! Moreover, many of the fluorine gases—which account for 17% of the planet’s global warming impact—come from the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in our modern refrigeration...
Washing machines can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year to run depending on your washing machine type, whether or not you use hot, warm, or cold water, your energy company’s prices, water company’s prices, and the number of loads you run per week! Most significantly, roughly ninety percent of the energy used by washing machines...
A motion-sensing light is one that is activated by a motion sensor rather than by a conventional light switch. A motion-sensor can either replace conventional light switches or be placed onto an existing lighting fixture. While motion-sensing lights are normally associated with outdoor lighting applications, they are becoming increasingly...
Using a stationary bike is good exercise, but wouldn’t it be much cooler if you made it generate free electricity for you? Converting your old bike into a bicycle generator is great for the environment, beneficial for your health, and protects your peace of mind.
Right now, wind energy is the fastest growing energy resource in the world. Wind energy is quickly becoming so affordable and accessible that you could start your own wind farm. That thought may have never crossed your mind... However, if you own land in a windy, rural area, there's a good chance that your land could be generating a lot...
In general, water heating accounts for 13% of your home utility bill. Most homes maintain their hot water heaters at a pre-set temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much higher than needed. By lowering your water heater to around 120°F, you can cut down the cost of your utility bill and enjoy some other unexpected benefits...
Yes, you can build your own air conditioner that is eco-friendly and wallet-friendly! I would like to thank my good friend Black Khachatoorian, who is the sole genius behind this creation. He allowed me access to 100% of his design, techniques, and list of materials, so that I could share his handiwork in an effort to decrease national energy...
You may not have heard of them before, but tankless water heaters are the most common type of water heater in Europe and Asia. By contrast, in the US, the most common type of water heater is the storage tank water heater. Although they are still quite rare, tankless water heaters are slowly gaining popularity in the US. Why? It's because...
While a lot of people have heard about the benefits of Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs), not as many have heard about or are as familiar with many have heard about Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). If you are not as familiar with CFLs, or you would just like a quick brush-up, you can read the GreeniacsGuide on CFLs...
The personal vehicle revolutionized transportation, but it was a step in the wrong direction for environmental stewardship. Today, more than half a billion cars travel on roads worldwide and the number is expected to double within the next twenty years. With the average car releasing more than six tons of CO2 annually, transportation is a...
A compact fluorescent light bulb is an energy efficient alternative for your conventional incandescent bulb. If every American changed just one light bulb in their home to an Energy Star certified compact fluorescent bulb, we would save enough energy to light three million homes for a year. This same action would also eliminate greenhouse...
A home energy audit is an evaluation performed on homes to determine areas where energy can be used more efficiently. You can solicit the services of a professional to conduct the audit or you can do it yourself. Professionals are equipped with specialized tools to carry out a highly detailed analysis of energy use and they will...