In class, we talked about how many people don’t take environmental actions because they don’t think about it. Often this is tied to not really knowing how things worked. One student said his sister complained about the rising price of gas, but didn’t know that gas came from oil – and how she didn’t know electricity came from outside the house. As an environmental educator, this makes me roll my eyes and groan, but, the rest of our discussion gave me hope.
People all over America are turning off lights when they leave the room. Some do this for environmental reasons such as climate change 0r knowing that the electricity you use is tied to mountaintop removal mining. Others do it from thriftiness, tied to parents actions or high electricity prices. These turn-off-the-lights people may never agree on any political or economic topic – but they agree to turn off the lights, and that is a good thing.
Should you turn off the lights when you are not using them? Yes!
When?
- Incandescent – always
- Compact fluorescent – if gone for 15 minutes or more
- For Earth Hour – Saturday, March 31th at 8:30pm
While you are at it, here are a few other basic, every time items that people can agree on (thrift plus green equals good):
- Unplug your phone charger – it’s warm when its plugged in and that should be a hint
- Turn off the tap – when brushing your teeth, washing your hands, etc., especially when you’re using hot water
- Turn your thermostat down at nights
- Wash clothes in cold water (and air dry if you are able)
Image from Power Generation, Inc.
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