With so many simple alternatives available we can all take a few steps this year towards decreasing our personal energy use. Why not get the family involved and challenge yourselves to decrease each energy bill and see if you can make this your lowest year for energy yet!
With concern about the future of our climate increasing, now is a good time for each of us to evaluate our role in contributing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The majority of energy we are responsible for comes from moving ourselves, moving goods we consume, what we eat and heating or cooling our homes. Here some ideas for what you can do personally or around your house to decrease your contribution to climate change.
Your tips to stop climate change
1.Reduce your transport based on fossil fuels. Leave the car at home and opt for riding your bike or taking public transport to work at least once a week. Skip that cheap flight and weekend away for a more local bike ride through a National Park.
2.Keep your vehicle well maintained. When driving cannot be helped use a well maintained vehicle with the right tyre pressure – this can make a big difference on the amount of petrol you use when driving.
3.Buy products made in Australia – not shipped all around the world! Better yet support your local market economy and shop at markets near home to reduce both your own travel and the distance products have moved to get to you.
4.Eat in season – avoid the added food miles of transporting produce around the globe and enjoy the freshest, locally grown options you can get and enjoy a wonderful variety year round and appreciate the seasons again!
5.Switch to solar hot water – it is a great way to knock 30-40% off your home energy bill and with government rebates still available now is the time to do it! And while you are at it reduce your shower times – the longer you are in there you are not only wasting precious water but also the energy to heat it!
6.Go Veg! If you cannot bear to go fully vegetarian at least cut meat and dairy products down and opt for lower energy intensive products like free range chicken or kangaroo over beef and lamb.
7.Buy for quality! If you need to buy a new appliance buy the best quality you can afford. Appliances are very energy intensive to make and create a lot of waste at the end of their life so don’t think of them as short-term items. For expensive, low use items think about purchasing with a few friends and sharing.
8.Reduce your washing. Doing the laundry is very energy intensive and while it can be hard to reduce with a family try and keep it to a minimum. Why not designate a set of play clothes the kids can use over and over and pull out that old apron to save your clothes while doing household chores?
9.Cut down on your kettle use. Heating up a full kettle uses the same amount of energy as driving a small car a few kilometres. So cut down on your cups of tea or just boil the kettle with enough water for what you need and when you are ready to use it.
10.Invest in insulation, not air conditioners and portable gas heaters! Heating and cooling your home will account for most of your household energy use. During these hot days many of us rely on air conditioners. Try setting the thermostat a few degrees warmer or set them on intermittent and this will result in less emissions and a much lower electricity bill. A difference of just one degree can reduce your energy consumption and greenhouse emissions by 10%!
With so many simple alternatives we can all take a few steps this year towards decreasing our personal energy use. Why not get the family involved and challenge yourselves to decrease each energy bill and see if you can make this your lowest year for energy yet!
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