This afternoon, we went out of town to visit our families for the weekend. It occurred to me that our air conditioner does not need to be on at all during that time. So, today we turned it off, and it will remain off until Tuesday night. We also unplugged appliances and other things we won't be here to use but would otherwise continue to use energy while we are gone, such as the microwave and the computer not coming with us. Heating and cooling systems account for around 50% of average household energy use. The major culprits accounting for the majority of the other 50% are appliances, especially the dryer and the refrigerator. The refrigerator we left on for obvious reasons, and the dryer we left off for obvious reasons. See the chart on this page for specific estimates of energy usage culprits.
It's important to conserve household energy whenever possible, especially electric and gas energy, because the vast majority of households are powered by nonrenewable sources, such as coal or fuel from oil. What's more, the use of these energy sources contributes significantly to world air and water pollution. For example, coal creates acid rain when the sulfur dioxide emitted as it burns combines with water. (This, incidentally, further reduces the percentage of the earth's water that can be classified as drinkable.)
The average household is responsible for 11,200 pounds of air pollution a year, and each kilowatt of energy not used reduces this number. By turning unnecessary energy-users off, my apartment's pollution creation should be down by approximately 80% for the weekend! Huzzah!
The average household is responsible for 11,200 pounds of air pollution a year, and each kilowatt of energy not used reduces this number. By turning unnecessary energy-users off, my apartment's pollution creation should be down by approximately 80% for the weekend! Huzzah!
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