Reducing My Carbon Footprint - 10 ways to make a difference in your carbon footprint

A typical U.S. household family spends close to $1500 a year on energy and consumes 500 gallons of gasoline every year, according to the US Department of Energy. This number is expected to increase in the next 20 years if we don't change our driving or energy consumption habits.

With just some small changes, we can reduce our energy costs, our contribution to global warming, and our dependence on fossil fuels.

So what can we do in our daily lives?

1. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. An average household dedicates 5% to 10% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%.
2. Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.
3. Use power strips for your TV and DVD players, and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. 75% of electricity used for home electronics is consumed while the products are actually turned off. Monitors, TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power.
4. Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use. Consider buying a laptop for your next computer upgrade; they use much less energy than desktop computers.
5. Install a programmable thermostat and set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer.
6. Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F. Washing your clothes actually uses more hot water on average than showers or baths.
7. Use and support public transportation, carpool, walk, or bicycle. Your car emits more carbon than your house - which isn't surprising given that the average American drives enough miles to go around the world once a year. By using alternative transportation, you can reduce your emissions by up to 60%.
8. Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline. It can lower your highway gas mileage by 33% and city mileage by 5%.
9. Look for the ENERGY STARŪ label on home appliances and products. Efficient products can reduce energy use by 30 to 50 percent. A typical household equipped with Energy Star products can reduce its yearly energy bills by about $400.
10. Reduce, Reuse, and recycle - Less packaging, reusing, and recycling saves natural resources needed to make products and reduces energy needs for mining, refining, and many other manufacturing processes.