52 Ways to Reduce Your Emissions

 

1. Insulate your house.

2. Conserve heat by caulking around vents and window and door frames, sills, and joints (and any objects that penetrate exterior walls).

3. Plug gaps around pipes, ducts, fans and vents that go through walls, ceilings and floors from heated to unheated spaces.

4. Install weather-stripping on windows, doors, and attic hatches.

5. Apply shrink-film to windows and glass doors.

6. Move furniture, rugs, and drapes away from air grills and heating vents so that heat can circulate efficiently throughout the home.

7. Install energy-efficient windows.

8. Install heavy curtains on windows and glass doors to keep in the heat.

9. On sunny days, open south facing drapes and let the sun in, a natural source of heat. If you have large windows that don’t receive direct sun, keep the drapes closed.

10. Close your drapes and blinds at night.

11. Close the damper in your wood-burning fireplace, and ensure that the damper fits properly, so heat does not escape out the chimney.

12. Turn down the heat in your home by two degrees in the winter (and save on home cooling by turning it up by two degrees in the summer).

13. Turn down the heat by three to five degrees Celsius at night and while on vacation.

14. Turn off the heat in your garage, and turn it on only prior to using it.

15. Install an Energy Star programmable thermostat.

16. Use your microwave or an electric heating element instead of a gas element when heating food.

17. Buy a high-efficiency furnace with a variable speed motor, such as one certified by EnergyStar.

18. Get your furnace tuned up annually.

19. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket.

20. Set your water heater to 49 degrees Celsius.

21. Install a solar water heating system to heat your water.

22. Wash your dishes in cold water when possible.

23. Wash your clothes in cold water.

24. Install low-flow shower heads and faucets.

25. Take shorter showers.

26. If washing clothes with hot water, use a front-loading washing machine, which saves water.

27. Hang your laundry to dry instead of using a gas clothes dryer.

28. Compost organic waste at home in your garden or with a worm composter if you live in an apartment.

29. Use a rake or an electric leaf blower instead of a gas-powered one.

30. If planting trees near your house, plant deciduous trees to the south of your house.

31. “Grasscycle” – leave grass clippings on your lawn instead of bagging them and sending them to the landfill.

32. Use your own mulch or compost on your garden instead of buying fertilizing products.

33. Walk, cycle or inline skate to work one day a week.

34. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents.

35. Buy an electric bicycle or scooter instead of a car. This reduces vehicle emissions.

36. Take transit to work one day a week (or carpool).

37. Join a car sharing co-operative instead of owning a car.

38. Walk or cycle with your children to school, instead of driving. This reduces vehicle emissions.

39. If driving, do many short-distance errands at once so your engine stays warm.

40. Purchase vehicle fuel mixed with renewable ethanol.

41. Drive below 90km/hr.

42. While driving, drive moderately and accelerate slowly.

43. Maintain proper tire inflation for your car; check your tires weekly.

44. Schedule regular maintenance checks for your car.

45. Turn off your car instead of idling for periods longer than 10 seconds.

46. Travel by train instead of air when possible.

47. Buy products that are recyclable.

48. Buy products that have recyclable packaging.

49. Buy products that are reusable.

50. Buy good-quality, long-lasting products that you will not have to replace so soon.

51. Recycle as much waste as possible.

52. Plant a tree.