Natural resource conservation and cutting back your consumption of electricity, gas, propane, and introducing solar and photovoltaics.
Do you remember the oil embargo of 1974, when gas was rationed out every other day? When oil prices are up, everything goes up. For some, it was an early lesson in conserving natural resources and saving money.
Before this historic event, no one thought of how finite fuel resources were. We drove to town whenever we needed something. We'd go in the morning to the post office, then later for banking, and after school for groceries for dinner. In 1974, we as a society rethought that routine. We started doing our errands in one trip. We started driving slower and eliminated unnecessary trips.
This saves gas, which in turn saves oil The concept of supply and demand works here. Prices stay low if demand is low. Of course, using less gas also saves money. A small import vehicle saves gas. If you drive a full size vehicle, you pay dearly at the gas station, and waste valuable resources. The convenience of a larger vehicle is not offset at the gas station.
Gas is not the only place to save money. We need to conserve our resources. There are far too many people occupying the planet, and most don't conserve water, gas, and electricity. Close the lights in rooms you don't use. There's no reason for the whole house to be lit up, if only 2 rooms are being used. Use compact fluorescent bulbs. They have the brightness of an incandescent bulb, but uses a fraction of the energy, because they're fluorescent. Use them in rooms that get the most use at night, such as the kitchen and living room.
To further save electricity, there are efficient refrigerators that are meant to be used with solar panels. They are now made AC and plug right into a regular outlet. This can cut your electric bill in half! If you go solar, buy an inverter to make it DC.
Not everyone is going to go out and buy a new fridge as a means to an end. It would help a lot, though, especially if it was powered by solar. But there are other ways to reduce your electric bill. Use low watt bulbs. Most need only be 60 watt, except where you need to see well, such as in the kitchen. Use 75's here. There's no need for 100 watt bulbs, except in a workshop.
An iron stays warm when it's plugged in and turned off. It uses electricity always. Put your iron and small kitchen appliances on power strips. The toaster and coffee pot use juice simply by being plugged in! Turn them on to use them, then turn off the power strip. The alternative is to simply unplug them.
Tv's with remote controls should also be put on power strips that gets shut off when the tv is not in use. Because of the remote, the tv has to stay on all the time. It uses power when no one is home or no one is watching tv. Unplug the telephone answering machine, and replace it with voice messaging provided by the phone company.
Utilize the sun as much as possible for light and heat. Install big south-facing windows to heat the house all day in winter. The rooms will be bright enough by day to not need lights turned on, even when it's cloudy or rainy. If you add thermal mass (something to collect the heat), it will radiate the day's heat slowly all night.
Turn the temperature down on the hot water heater from hot to medium. This water is hot enough for dishes and showers. If you need it hotter for a bath or something else, turn it up beforehand and down when you're done. Just a few extra steps like that can save money and natural resources.
For those of you who cook with propane or natural gas, save money with a stove that has an electronic ignition instead of pilot lights. Pilots waste gas and add heat to the room in summer that then needs to be cooled. It's a vicious cycle! An electronic ignition uses very little energy in relation to the amount of gas wasted by pilot lights.
To save on your heating bill, turn down your thermostat. This will actually have dual benefits. Too many people have very warm houses, which can make you ill. The cooler your house is, the healthier you will stay. It's a shock to your body to be toasty inside and step outside to where the temperature difference can be 50 degrees or more! Use extra clothes and blankets instead of extra fuel. Sunny windows will help heat your house, too.
Make sure there are no cracks for heat to escape. Caulk around doors and windows, and use weather stripping around outside doors. Hang heavy curtains over your windows, and be sure to close them at night and on cloudy days.
The oil embargo of 1974 was a wake-up call, and we should answer it. We should be driving fuel-efficient cars and watching where our energy waste is in our everyday lives.
