Earth Hour March 29, 2008 March 28, 2008

On March 28 from 8 pm to 9 pm, you can join millions of people around the world by turning your lights off for an hour for Earth Hour. The event, started by the World Wildlife Fund, is a statement about climate change. 

Earth Hour started last year in Sydney, Australia, when more than 2 million people and thousands of businesses turned out their lights. Power consumption dropped more than 10 percent in that single hour.

This year, 25 cities in seven countries have joined World Wildlife Fund as official partners. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Sign up for Earth Hour 2008 by clicking here.

More than an hour…

Lighting

1. Turn off lights when not using them. My father always said we didn’t own the electric company. I believed him – to this day I can’t go by a light-switch without turning it off.
2. Change your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs where fixtures are on three or more hours a day.
3. Use low-wattage bulbs in closets or hallways.
4. Keep light bulbs and fixtures clean. Dirty fixtures reduce light intensity by as much as 25 percent.
5. Turn off your television when not viewing it.
6. Turn off your radio/stereo when not listening to it.
7. Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on only at night or when someone is present.

Electronics

1. Turn off your PC when not in use for more than one hour. Many people believe that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. This incorrect perception carries over from the days of older mainframe computers.
2. If you’re in the market for a new computer - a laptop computer uses up to 90% less energy than bigger desktop models. 
3. Turn off your monitor when not in use. A screen-saver does not save energy no matter how cute it is.
4. Give your printer a break – print double-sided or don’t print at all.
5. Plug home electronics, such as televisions, stereos, CD and DVD players, computers, and kitchen appliances, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.
6. Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.
7. Use rechargeable batteries instead of throwaway.

Heating/Cooling

1. Turn up your air conditioner thermostat to 78° F. when you are at home and to 85° F. when you are away from home.
2. Turn off your air conditioner when you are not at home.
3. During cooler weather, set your thermostat to 68° F. during the day and 55° F. at night or when you are not at home.
4. Use a programmable thermostat to set your furnace/air conditioner to come on 30 minutes before your arrive home.
5. Clean or replace your air conditioner and furnace filters once a month.
6. Don’t block registers, baseboard radiators or cold air returns. Keep them clean.
7. If you have a wood-burning fireplace, close chimney dampers when you don’t have a fire.
8. When it’s cold outside, keep drapes and shades open on south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to enter and closed during the night to prevent heat loss.
9. When it’s hot outside, keep drapes and shades closed during the day to prevent solar gain.
10. Consider weatherstripping your friend.

Appliances

1. Set your refrigerator to 37°-40° F. and the freezer at 5° F. A separate freezer for long-term storage should be set at 0° F.
2. Discontinue use of a second “beer and pop” refrigerator.
3. Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator so the compressor doesn’t have to work so hard.
4. Run your clothes washer with only full loads. Fewer loads reduce energy and water use
5. Wash and rinse your clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy use in a clothes washer goes to water heating.
6. Clean your dryer lint filter after every use. Make sure the outside dryer vent is clear.
7. If your dryer has a moisture sensor, use it to dry your clothes.
8. Line or air-dry your clothing. My sister hangs most of her clothing instead of tossing it in the dryer and she always looks sharp.
9. Run your dishwasher only when full but not overloaded.
10. Scrape, don’t rinse, food off plates. Dishwashers don’t require pre-soaking or pre-rinsing to get dishes clean.
11. Use the air dry or no-dry option on your dishwasher. You don’t need to bake your dishes to dry them.
12. Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean; they will reflect the heat better, saving energy. Besides your stove-top will look nicer.
13. Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; it’s faster and uses less energy. Oh, and don’t watch it, either.
14. Unplug small appliances when not in use, e.g., toaster, toaster-oven, coffeemaker, hairdryer, styling iron. Not only will you save energy but small appliances can be fire hazards. A friend had a plugged-in hairdryer start a fire in the bathroom at her place of business. Fortunately she was there to put it out with a fire extinguisher.

Water Heating

1. Set your water heater to 120° F. Anything hotter and you risk scalding yourself and family members.
2. Turn your water heater to the lowest setting when you’re away. Water heating accounts for about 13% of home energy costs.
3. Take a shower instead of a bath – time it keep it down to 5 minutes.
4. If you do take a bath, fill the tub to no more than 3 inches.
5. Install aerating, low-flow faucets and shower-heads.

Driving 

1. Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions. This includes picking your kids at school or at the drive-thru. Turn your car off! And stop driving around and around in the parking lot trying to find a parking spot 2 places closer to the door. Park it and walk, you know you need the exercise!
2. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking) wastes gas. Besides, it pisses everyone else off.
3. Use cruise control on the highway to help you maintain a constant speed.
4. Avoid high speeds. Above 60 mph, gas mileage drops rapidly. See fueleconomy.gov to see how driving speed affects gas mileage. Of course, if the speed limit is 75 mph, you better keep up or you’ll get run over. My grandfather once got a ticket for going too slow. It’s called “impeding traffic” and isn’t safe for anyone.
5. Clean out your car. Extra weight decreases gas mileage. This one is for my daughter. Her car is always full of “stuff”.
6. Seek out alternatives to the single occupancy vehicle – carpool, public transportation, vehicle-sharing service, e.g., Zipcar or Flexcar, bike, walk.

Want to save more?

• Alliance to Save Energy
• Federal Trade Commission
• Flex Your Power - California Energy Efficiency and Conservation
• U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Savers

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