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The world's most abundant and richest energy supply is conservation.Developing energy efficient lifestyles are the first step in reducing the environm...
Compact fluorescents are a type of fluorescent lamp that uses less energy than a normal incandescent. They have a longer life than incandescent light...
Heating and cooling is responsible for a large percentage of a household's energy consumption. Turn up your thermometer in warm weather. An average ...
As a future college student, my brother, my sister, and I receive about 5 letters a day regarding colleges. We usually do not read most of them becau...
As you are brushing your teeth, washing your face, washing your hands, etc... turn the water off when you are not using it. Brushing takes two minute...
The use of compost for planting, adds water-holding organic matter to the soil. it feeds the soil micro-organisms that help the soil and the plants s...
Unplug your electronics when you are not using them. Believe it or not, your television uses energy when it is on standby. Unplug your television ov...
Plant a tree! What a novel idea! Especially because it absorbs a ton of carbon dioxide over it's lifetime!Trees also produce shade, which can lower ...
Buy locally grown and produced foods. The energy used to transport foods from all over the world is extremely high. By buying locally, you save fuel...
Driving 10 percent less, by walking, biking, carpooling, or taking public transit, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.2 to 0.8 tonnes per year, ...
Driving with deflated tires reduces your gas mileage by up to 3%. You will get to your destination faster, and you will have less of a carbon footpri...
Instead of using the energy of your clothes drier, use a clothes line to dry your clothes.A great clothes line recommended from Tim O'Reilly and Saul ...
Thanks to iwilltry's instructable on turning the pilot flame of your gas furnace, this is a good tip!From his instructable:Most gas furnaces in operat...
Purchase a tote bag to take with you when you go shopping. Use these so you do not have to waste the paper or plastic bags.If you do use plastic bags...
Install sink and faucet aerators to conserve water. Installation is easy, and the effects are great! You can reduce your home water consumption as m...
Fill your loads of dishes and clothes in their cleaners. They use a good amount of water, so use them to their fullest potential. Air dry your dis...
Excess weight in your car decreases the gas mileage your can achieve. If you have golf clubs, equipment, people... Anyway, extra, unnecessary weight...
Why can't I recycle bottle caps?From Harvard Law's Facilities Management Website:Removal of the cap allows for evaporation and prevents retention of r...
This is a pet peeve of mine. I hate it when people leave lights on when they are not using them. 30% of a home's energy usage comes from the lightin...
Purchase appliances that have the Energy Star logo (below) on the product. It means that the appliance meets or exceeds standards set by the U.S. Dep...
Air sealing is when you close all potential gaps, where heating and cooling can escape. Doing this can stop drafts, reduce noise, but most importantl...
Insulating your walls can save you hundreds of dollars on heating and cooling costs each year. Insulating the attic will help people in both warm a...
Maintain your air-conditioning and heating systems by changing air-filters and keeping your air-conditioner coils clean. Energy is lost when air cond...
Do you have an old house? Use nice oriental rugs for inexpensive insulation.
Use power strips for easy on/off switching of televisions/stereos/DVD players/cable boxes/etc...Their standby consumption can be equivalent to that of...
Enable the "sleep mode" feature on your computer, allowing it to use less power during periods of inactivity. In Windows, the power management setting...
If allowed, print and photocopy on both sides of the paper. I hate it when I get a test at school that has just one side printed on. Save a few tree...
Paper products are the most widely used products in society today. We cannot forget that paper is made from one of the most valuable resource on the ...
Dusty coils (at the back of your refrigerator) make it work harder than necessary. If you just dust them off, or clean them, their efficiency will i...
Brooms before Hoses man! Using a broom to sweep sidewalks, driveways, and other walkways will save 150 gallons or more of water each time. If you ...
Long showers feel great, but long energy bills do not. Shorten up your showers, estimates show that even a one or two minute reduction can save up to...
Using more detergent = more rinsing water.Use as little detergent as you can. Just add a some more elbow grease!
Set lawn mower blades one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation. Saves 500 to 1,500 gallons each month. As much as you like short grass, ...
If you choose to wash your car, do it on the lawn. Not only will your car be clean, it will water the grass. Your other alternative is to go to a ca...
When you play with the hose for unnecessary reasons, you are wasting 10 gallons of water per minute.
Not defrosting your frozen foods with water saves 50 to 150 gallons a month. Defrost it on your counter, and take that time to read some new Instru...
Rinse and wash clothes using your clothes washer's cold water cycle. This reduces the energy needed to heat the water up.
Dehumidifiers take the humidity out of the air, and give you fresh water! I use ours during the summer, and the amount of water we produce is amazing...
Keep the freezer full of something, such as loaves of bread or milk jugs filled with water, to keep the cold air from "falling out" when the door is o...
Try to use pressure cookers and microwaves whenever possible. Pressure cookers cut time by 66%, while microwaves uses less than half the energy than ...
Reduce the heat of your spas during the day when you are not using it. Raise the heat when you feeling like using the spa. Keeping it hot all day us...
Get your ducts tested, as well as your attic and insulation. An expert can probably do a better job than you, so just use an expert to get tips on ho...
Wherever you can, try to use low wattage light bulbs. Low wattage means low energy. Your energy company charges you for kilowatts/hour, so don't be ...
Try to use non-toxic products around your house. Toxic chemicals poured into the ground are harder to purify than non-toxic ones. Try to use water-b...
Trips back and forth to soccer practice and dance recitals and lacrosse practice takes a toll not only on the car, but also on the carbon emissions. ...
Tuneups improve performance as well as gas mileage. Make sure you go to your scheduled maintenance dates. Some other ways to improve your gas mil...
To reduce the pollution that is caused from your vehicle, you should accelerate and decelerate smoothly. Anticipate stops and starts at traffic light...
After you mow, you usually have grass clippings sitting on top of the freshly mowed lawn. Leave those clippings on the grass, and let them decompose ...
You can make mulch from yard clippings, shredded wood, and old leaves. Mulching prevents weed growth, helps you retain water, and it adds nutrients b...
Instead of using plastic water bottles, you can use a Nalgene bottle, or any other reusable water bottle.
Did you mess up on your document, or picture for work/school? Reuse that paper as scrap. Use it as note paper, make it a check list, practice math p...
From http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html, and thanks from Slickdeals.net user Bostonthrifty for supplying me wi...
Use washcloths instead of paper towels to clean up spills and other messes. They are reusable and can easily be washed over and over again. Paper to...
Instead of wasting all the tissues that are at school, bring a handkerchief to school. You just throw away the tissues, and they are often wasted. S...
Rebuying is when you buy items that have already been used, but are still useful. What is the need in purchasing something brand new, when you can ge...
Contact your energy provider, and inquire about rebates for being energy efficient. PECO is selling CFLs to their customers for a half-off price. Ju...
Instead of purchasing items that will sit in closets after the holidays, donate to different organizations in your receiver's name. Or, Make your ow...
Purchase E-books if you can, or attend a Used Book Sale to find books that are well...used. If you see a book that is in print that is used, buy it. ...
Purchase this device called the Kill-A-Watt.You can use this to find out what appliances are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect these a...
Purchase a Rain Barrel to collect rain water in substantial amounts.A good amount of water does not reach your wells/reservoirs/public water lines, so...
Make gifts for your family and friends that are homemade. Lord nows that you have unwanted supplies lurking in your drawers. Use them! Think of som...
Phone books are 100% recyclable, and they are often used to make new books. Many, however are mixed in with other materials to make the pages stronge...
It may be a little unsanitary, but if you go pee, leave it be. If you go #2, flush that floater down. It just reduces the amount of water being used...
Try not to use Styrofoam cups very often. They are often thrown out, and they sit in landfills for a long period of time. Bring a coffee mug to work...
Thanks Bostonthrifty for this tip:Instead of buying those plastic pieces of junk, buy recyclable toys, often homemade with wood or other recycled mate...
These include chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides on your lawn or garden.The runoff from these toxic chemicals can enter streams, ponds, o...
Use cloth diapers on your babies. These can be reused, and you don't have to continue throwing away those plastic diapers and spending your money on ...
Snip the plastic rings of the 6-packs of sodas, including the inner diamond. The rings can often get wrapped around the necks of wildlife.
Clean the lint screen in your dryer after every load, or every other load. This will increase efficiency.If you want to be even better, check out #11...
Use refillable containers for hand soap, dish soap, sanitizer, and other household products. Of course if you do not use refillable containers, it is...
Close your refrigerator door promptly once you are finished with it. It just uses more energy to re cool, and the cold air is released if you leave t...
Batteries contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment when disposed of. Non-rechargeable batteries must be disposed of often. Using recha...
Do not throw out your old clothes. Donate them to Goodwill, or to a local mission. They can easily use them for their own needs even if you have no ...
Paint your home with climate friendly colors. The color of your home can have a large affect on the cost to heat and cool your home. Light colors re...
You can use a white board or a chalk board for phone messages, notes, homework, and any other note type of writing. It just limits your use of paper....
Recycle the card board tubes from the toilet paper rolls. Just think about it, there are billions of people who use it every day, and the rolls can r...
Buy organic foods, because the processed foods are well...processed. Organic foods do not go through the energy consuming processes and they are heal...
When you go to purchase eggs, purchase the eggs that are in the cardboard flats. They are made from recycled newspaper, and they are quick to biodegr...
Instead of using expensive, loud, energy consuming choppers, use a knife to chop your fruits and vegetables. The machines used to chop take up spac...
Contrary to popular belief, your deodorant containers can be recycled. Use them to the bit, and recycle them. Save our drinking supply and recycle t...
Chinese/Japanese/Vietnamese restaurants give out chop sticks for free, and they are used to be disposable. Reuse these chopsticks by a simple cleanin...
Use reusable coffee filters instead of the paper ones. You can buy mesh filters that last quite a long time, rather than throwing out paper filters e...
Try not purchase refillable lighters. Zippos are refillable with Butane, and instead of throwing your empty lighters out, refill them.There are usual...
Rent yourself an environmental friendly vehicle. Actually, don't rent one, buy one! Companies are coming out with more and more environment friendly...
When your car goes in for service, recycle your air conditioner coolant. Recycling is the environmentally friendly alternative because it keeps ethyl...
When you can, work from home. If you have a day off, but you need to get something done, work from home. Take client calls from home, do computer wo...
Try to become a 1 car household. Of course this is hard with multiple children and working parents. But for a couple that may be living near the job...
Recycle your ink jet cartridges when you are finished using them. Throwing them out increases the risk of water pollution, and they are definitely no...
Are you staying in a hotel for a week or so? Request that your towels and linens be washed every other day. If they are going to be used twice a day...
When you go out walking with your pet, clean up after them. First of all, it is disgusting for a passerby, and second, it can contaminate the local w...
As hard as it may be to cremate your loved relatives, and pets, cremation uses less energy than a burial. Burials use backhoes, and digger trucks, an...
For your own feeling of satisfaction, as well as the environment's approval, pick up litter and dispose of it properly. Who knows, maybe if you pick ...
Teach your acquaintances about environmental friendly ways. Make sure they fix their mistakes if you see them litter, or if they don't recycle. Tell...
Join an environmental friendly club, such as Habitat for Humanity, or your school's Earth Club.Sign up for your area's Freecycle, which organizes peop...
If you care a lot about the environment, vote YES in your community's environment votes. Encourage others to do the same. Support local, state, as w...
If you have an opinion on an issue in your community...contact your local representative. They have lots of power over your community, and voice your...
Do you not have curbside recycling? Lobby for it in your community. Recycling is one of the single most important duties of a community, and if your...
You can't spread information if you do not know it. Research renewable energy sources in your library, read books about solar, wind, geothermal, and ...
Upgrade your current computer, instead of going all out and purchasing a completely new one. Load it with new software and anti virus, graphic cards,...
Try to use your email as often as possible, and reduce the amount of snail mail you use. Letters which are already on the computer should be sent via...
Instead of using #2 pencils that are used in a week to two weeks, use a mechanical pencil. Thats way, you can refill your mechanical pencils, and not...
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2.5Kg x 3.7 = 9.3Kg of CO2.
It seems impossible that a gallon of gasoline, which weighs about 6.3 pounds, could produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned. However, most of the weight of the CO2 doesn't come from the gasoline itself, but the oxygen in the air.
When gasoline burns, the carbon and hydrogen separate. The hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water (H2O), and carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2).
CO2 molecule with one carbon atom (atomic weight 12) and two oxygen atoms (atomic weight of 16 each)A carbon atom has a weight of 12, and each oxygen atom has a weight of 16, giving each single molecule of CO2 an atomic weight of 44 (12 from carbon and 32 from oxygen).
Therefore, to calculate the amount of CO2 produced from a gallon of gasoline, the weight of the carbon in the gasoline is multiplied by 44/12 or 3.7.
Since gasoline is about 87% carbon and 13% hydrogen by weight, the carbon in a gallon of gasoline weighs 5.5 pounds (6.3 lbs. x .87).
We can then multiply the weight of the carbon (5.5 pounds) by 3.7, which equals 20 pounds of CO2!