The Daily Assignment

MAKING CHANGES: Making changes in your daily routine or lifestyles is difficult. Sometimes you have no choice, and you MUST make changes which is easier. But asking people to make changes to reduce carbon emissions or their carbon footprint is a tall order. Quite often I am asked whether I am driving an electric car and have solar panels on my house. I do not. Those items are major expenses. But that doesn’t mean I am doing nothing to reduce my carbon footprint. I am making other changes in my daily routine and developing more environmentally friendly habits. We have already made a few suggestions which you can read about in our prior blogs. Today, I am pointing out a few possible changes that are much less costly than electric cars or solar panels.

Your stove. When the time comes to purchase a first time stove or replace your existing stove, consider an induction stove. They outperform gas stoves and traditional electric ranges. If not, try an electric range instead of a gas stove. Gas stoves emit potentially harmful pollutants into your home that can cause or worsen respiratory illnesses. “The most common pollutants from gas stoves are nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.

‍Your water heater. Water heaters are about 18% of a home’s energy use. The newer heat pump technology water heaters are better than gas or traditional electric water heaters but are more expensive. But they are also two to three times more efficient and pay for themselves in a few years because of savings on utility bills. You can reduce the flow of water that must be heated by installing more efficient aerators on your sink faucets and showerheads.

Your clothes dryer. Look for dryers with the “energy star” label. These dryers use about twenty percent less energy. “If all Americans switched to Energy Star dryers, that would collectively save $1.5 billion in energy costs and avoid about the same amount of pollution as 2 million cars, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.”

References:

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/07/1015460605/gas-stove-emissions-climate-

change-health-effects

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1196977935/save-money-energy-tips

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