Here's to a Long and Happy Life

Talk to your friends and family, and make sure your representatives are making decisions in the common interest. By voicing your concerns—via social media or, better yet, directly to your elected officials—you send a message that you care about the warming planet. Encourage Congress to enact new laws that limit carbon emissions and require polluters to pay for the emissions they produce. The main reason elected officials do anything difficult is because their constituents make them. They fear the wrath of voters. Your active involvement can help protect public lands, stop offshore drilling, and more.

Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. That's because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So take shorter showers, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, and switch to WaterSense-labeled fixtures and appliances. The EPA estimates that if just one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year would be saved—avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution.

• ☐   Never pour anything – especially waste oil or leftover lawn chemicals – into a storm drain. It will end up in the nearest stream.
• ☐   Water your lawn in the early morning.
• ☐   Don’t water more than once a week, and then only if it hasn't rained. Established lawns need only one inch of water a week.
• ☐   Use less fertilizer on your lawn. When it rains, excess fertilizer runs off into storm sewers and pollutes streams.
• ☐   Mulch around your landscaping. A three-inch layer of mulch holds moisture and prevents evaporation, reducing the need to water.
• ☐   Don’t do the dishes until you have a full load. Your dishwasher uses 12 gallons of water whether it’s full or half-empty.
• ☐   Wash a full load of laundry. Your washing machine uses 40 gallons of water.
• ☐   Don’t let the water run while you shave or brush your teeth. Every minute the faucet runs, 2.5 gallons of water go down the drain.
• ☐   Take a shorter shower. And switch to a low-flow shower head.
• ☐   Repair leaky faucets and toilets. You can tell if the toilet leaks by putting food coloring in the tank.
• ☐   Recycle. If your community does not offer a recycling program, ask local officials to start one.
• ☐   Save paints, pesticides, lawn chemicals, car batteries, waste oil and similar materials for your local household hazardous waste collection day.
• ☐   Turn in your mercury thermometer and replace it with a digital one. Mercury is a persistent pollutant that moves up the food chain and can cause serious health problems. Never vacuum spilled mercury. If you have mercury in your home, call Ohio EPA (614-644-3469) to find out how to get rid of it safely.
• ☐   Paper or plastic? Better yet, take a canvas bag to the grocery and re-use it each time you shop.
• ☐   Use rechargeable batteries. Many batteries contain metals that are better kept out of landfills. Take old batteries to a battery store for recycling.
• ☐   Give it away, don’t throw it away.

• ☐   Power your home with renewable energy. Coose a utility company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar and has been certified by Green-e Energy. Take a look at your electric bill; many utilities now list ways to support renewable sources on their monthly statements and websites.
• ☐   Weatherize! Heating and air-conditioning account for almost half of home energy use. Seal drafts and ensure all outside walls are adequately insulated. Claim federal tax credits for energy-efficiency home improvements.
• ☐   Actually eat the food you buy—and make less of it meat. Approximately 10 percent of U.S. energy use goes into growing, processing, packaging, and shipping food—about 40 percent of which just winds up in landfill. Since livestock products are among the most resource-intensive to produce, eating meat-free meals can make a big difference.
• ☐   Invest in energy-efficient appliances. When shopping for refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances, look for the Energy Star label and choose the most efficient.
• ☐   Buy better light bulbs. LED lightbulbs use up to 80 percent less energy than conventional incandescents. They’re also cheaper in the long run: A 10-watt LED that replaces your traditional 60-watt bulb will save you $125 over the lightbulb’s life.
• ☐   Pull the plug(s). Taken together, the outlets in your home are likely powering about 65 different devices – an average load for a home in the U.S. Audio and video devices, cordless vacuums and power tools, and other electronics use energy even when they're not charging. Don't leave fully charged devices plugged into your home's outlets, unplug rarely used devices or plug them into power strips and timers, and adjust your computers and monitors to automatically power down to the lowest power mode when not in use.

Gas-smart cars, such as hybrids and fully electric vehicles, save fuel and money. Once all cars and light trucks meet 2025’s clean car standards, averaging 54.5 miles per gallon, as opposed to 28.3 miles per gallon in 2011. Before you buy a new set of wheels, compare fuel-economy performance.

Here are some things you can do today...

• ☐   Carpool
• ☐   Combine errands into one trip
• ☐   Stop idling. Contrary to popular belief, restarting your car does not burn more fuel than leaving it idling. In fact, idling for just 10 seconds wastes more gas than restarting the engine.
• ☐   Maintain your ride. If all Americans kept their tires properly inflated, we could save 1.2 billion gallons of gas each year. A simple tune-up can boost miles per gallon anywhere from 4 percent to 40 percent, and a new air filter can get you a 10 percent boost.
• ☐   Walk or Bike (in Portland check out BikeTownPDX; here's some expert advice and a great source of maps of Portland bikeways and walkways)
• ☐   Take public transportation (in Portland, use TriMet, they'll transport you and your bike)
• ☐   Rethink planes, trains, and automobiles. Choosing to live in walkable smart-growth cities and towns with quality public transportation leads to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in the air. Less frequent flying can make a big difference, too. Air transport is a major source of climate pollution. If you can take a train instead, do that.
• ☐   Telecommute, if possible.

You can offset the carbon you produce by purchasing carbon offsets, which represent clean power that you can add to the nation’s energy grid in place of power from fossil fuels. But not all carbon offset companies are alike. Do your homework to find the best supplier.