The Great Falls Group has compiled a list of resources for you to use to learn more about energy use, efficiency, and conservation.
How we produce and consume energy as a society affects our economy, our environment, and the future of our planet and ourselves because of global warming. In the United States, we consume 24% of the world's oil output (primarily for transportation), and emit nearly 25% of human caused carbon dioxide. Approximately 60% of our electricity comes from the burning of coal, about 30% from nuclear power, and the balance from water, natural gas, oil, wind, solar, and biomass. Global warming presents a great challenge to our fossil-fueled economy, but by simultaneously reducing our need for energy while producing more energy from renewable (sustainable) sources, we can meet the challenge. We can greatly reduce consumption through the implementation of more efficient technologies such as compact florescent lighting (CFL), low-power appliances, and more efficient buildings and heating/cooling systems. We can also choose more fuel efficient automobiles such as hybrids or high efficiency turbo-diesel.
CFLs : One of the easiest things you can do to save energy around your home is to replace some of your incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL). These bulbs use only about 25% of the energy of a standard bulb, and last up to 10 times as long, saving about ten times their cost in energy. Here is a website with more CFL info : http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm. CFL's do contain a small amount of mercury : here are the facts. About 4 milligrams of mercury are sealed inside each bulb, for comparison, there are about 25 milligrams of mercury bound up in a watch battery and as much as 2 grams encapsulated in a home thermostat. Also consider this: A 27-watt CFL lights up a room as well as a 100-watt incandescent bulb but uses only one-fourth the energy. This is where mercury comes in again: More than half of all electricity generated in the United States comes from coal-fired power plants, a huge source of mercury pollution. Over a CFL's 10,000-hour life span, the mercury within the bulb, plus the mercury emitted by power plants supplying electricity to the bulb, adds up to about 8 milligrams. An incandescent has a life span of just 1,000 hours, or one-tenth the lifespan of a CFL. To equal one CFL, you would have to burn 10 incandescents, emitting about 17.6 milligrams of mercury. So, a CFL can avoid the release of up to 9.6 mg of mercury. Dispose of CFL's responsibly : ask about disposal at your local Household Hazardous Waste collection site, check for a local site on on this guide, and also check with your local IKEA. Lastly, visit the government's EnergyStar website for more information.
US EPA and Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Star website http://www.energystar.gov This site has information on energy efficient products, appliances, home improvement, business energy management, new homes and home improvement, and more.
Union Of Concerned Scientists website, Global Warming section : http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/ Overview of Global Warming science and solutions.
Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP) : http://www.energytaxincentives.org/ Incentives for homeowners and businesses to upgrade. Many links to other resources such as the database of state incentives for renewable energy : http://www.dsireusa.org
Virginia Energy Sense: http://www.virginiaenergysense.org/