Recent Green Weeks:
September 5:
Cook More Efficiently
August 29:
Use Cold Water for Laundry
August 22:
Find New Uses for Old Phones
August 8:
"Bee" Kind to Pollinators: Limit or Avoid Pesticide Use
August 1:
Reduce Waste: End Junk Mail!
July 25:
Encourage Pollination: Help Bees!
July 18:
Use Less Oil: Walk or Bike at Least Once this Week Instead of Driving
July 11:
Water Lawns and Outdoor Plants in the Morning or Evening Only
July 4:
Practice Safe Souvenir Buying
June 20:
Reuse Paper Scraps
June 13:
Safely Dispose of Hazardous Wastes
June 6:
Give New Life to Old Stuff
May 30:
Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaners
May 23:
Find Ways to Consume Less
May 16:
Reuse your food scraps and yard waste: make compost!
May 9:
Make Sure Your Seafood's Sustainable
May 2:
Use a Low Flow Showerhead
April 25:
Reduce Weight in your Vehicle
April 18:
Use a Reusable Water Bottle
April 11:
Switch to Fluorescent Bulbs
April 4:
Buy in Bulk
March 28:
Unplug Your Appliances When They're Not in Use!
March 21:
Turn Off Your Engine Instead of Idling Your Car
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Idea of the Week: Unplug Your Appliances When They're Not in Use!
What to do:
Unplug electronics and appliances whenever you're not using them.
For convenience, you can plug several devices into a power strip and then turn off the strip instead of unplugging.
Why it Helps the Earth:
Most electronics and appliances drain power even when they're turned "OFF."
This electricity drain is sometimes called "standby power," "phantom load," or—more colorfully—"vampire power."
Vampire devices that suck power whenever they're plugged in include TVs, cable, TiVos, computers, DVD players, video games, and kitchen appliances.
The fossil-fuel burning power plants that produce most of the United States' electricity are one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gasses. So prevent your household vampires from wasting this costly resource!
What the Research Says:
The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
estimates that standby power accounts for 10% of residential energy use.
For more tips on preventing vampire power and more information on their research, search the term "standby" on the Berkeley lab page.
If you'd like to find out even more,
the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's condensed online guide to energy saving
has a section on consumer electronics that explains
power modes and provides a chart showing how many watts are used in each mode.
Why it Helps You:
Because nobody likes getting a big electricity bill!
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Last Revision: July 6, 2010