Easy Energy Conservation

The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers. This week’s tip was written by Nika Nazarizadeh.

Americans consume 25% of the world’s energy. That’s a lot of energy being used by only 4.25% of the world’s population.

While most of this energy is in the form of electricity and most of us don’t think of using electricity as inherently bad for the environment, California generates nearly half its electricity from natural gas—a massive source of carbon emissions. But there are many simple ways we can reduce our consumption of electricity.

Firstly, only use machinery when it is necessary. We use a variety of unnecessary energy-consuming machinery.

Why not try more efficient floor/ceiling fans as opposed to air conditioning? In the winter, consider how long your heating system is running relative to how cold it really is. (And think about putting on an extra layer first!)

When shopping for appliances, look for the ENERGY STAR logo. ENERGY STAR stickers are federally certified to use a significantly lower amount of electricity and water.

My family reduces our electricity consumption by washing our dishes instead of using a dishwasher. Of course, we use the dishwasher on occasion. But on most days, it’s more important to us to save electricity than time.

Then there’s the electricity we consume from lighting. LED lights use 75% less electricity than traditional incandescent light bulbs and last longer.

Consider the electricity-guzzling lights used to make our houses sparkle for the season. Setting timers on lights or unplugging them when you aren’t admiring them helps conserve electricity and reduce emissions.

Before resorting to lamps and light bulbs, take advantage of the sun. Natural light is the best option to light up a room while also saving energy.

The simplest way to reduce electricity and emissions without changing your lifestyle is unplugging appliances when you aren’t using them. Unplugging appliances that use standby power, like TVs, microwaves and printers, adds up to help conserve energy.

Some electronic device chargers consume energy even though they aren’t charging anything. Easy switches like unplugging chargers are a small step to make a big difference.

Happy holidays from all of us at Resilient Palisades.