What if Everyone Greened Their Home?

There is no such thing as a 'small action' when it comes to impacting our environment. Don't believe it? Read on to see what could happen if everyone in America made just seven simple changes.

One of the most frequently heard excuses for not making environmentally friendly changes is 'I'm only one person, my actions don't make a difference in the larger scheme of things.' Another argument is that until the government starts to take some real initiative in dealing with climate change, individual actions count for very little. But the beauty of simple changes is that if we all take time to make them, they can become huge, world-altering changes.

 

Green Action	Cost	Environmental Savings Per Household	Environmental Savings Total For All Households
Replace 5 regular bulbs with CFLs	$2 to $15 per bulb	500 lbs. of CO2 emissions	55.5 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions
Adjust thermostat 2 degrees	Free, or $30 to install new thermostat	2,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions	222 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions
Seal air leaks, add insulation to attic	$300 and up, depending on home size	2,650 lbs. of CO2 emissions	294 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions
Replace old fridge with new Energy Star fridge	Varies	1,100 lbs. of CO2 emissions	122 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions
Repair or replace dripping faucets and toilets	Varies	1.1 million gallons of water	122 trillion gallons of water
Turn water heater down to 130 degrees	Free	500 lbs. of CO2 emissions	55.5 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions
Recycle your paper, plastic, and aluminum	Varies, depending on community	2,400 lbs. of CO2 emissions	266 billion lbs. of CO2 emissions

 

Total Environmental Impact		6,750 lbs. of CO2, 1.1 million gallons of water per household	1.1 trillion lbs. of CO2, 122 trillion gallons of water for all households

Table derived from information supplied by Energy Star, the E.PA., the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Geological Survey

Admittedly, the table above illustrates an unlikely scenario. Not every household in the U.S. will undertake these changes. What it does illustrate is that individual actions can add up, and that even if some of the 111 million households in the country made these changes, it would have a positive impact on the environment.

Change Equivalents

When we look at the chart above, the numbers in that last column are impressive. But merely stating that we would save 55.5 billion pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere may not mean much to the person reading it. What exactly does 55.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas mean? And would it really change things? To get an idea of the impact of preventing all of those greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, consider this:

• Preventing one million pounds of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere is the equivalent of taking 98 cars off of the road for an entire year.
  • Extrapolating from that number, we see that if everyone in the U.S. simply replaced 5 regular bulbs with CFLs, it would be like removing 5.4 million cars from use for one year.
• One million gallons of CO2 is the equivalent of nearly 52,000 gallons of gasoline.
• If everyone repaired faucet and toilet drips, we would save nearly the equivalent of one Lake Michigan (the Earth's 6th largest freshwater lake) every single year.
• Preventing 133 billion pounds of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere (which would happen if everyone in America recycled just half of their paper, plastic and aluminum) would have the same positive environmental impact as adding approximately 400,000 acres of pristine forest to the planet.

Source: U.S. Climate Technology Cooperation Gateway

Final Analysis

The fact of the matter is that most of these solutions are simple and inexpensive to implement. Aside from replacing appliances and insulating the attic, every one of the changes outlined above would take less than $100 and minimal home improvement skills to accomplish. If we can change our thinking, starting to realize that there is no such thing as a small change and that the power of individuals acting together can create enormous change, then we can begin to have a really positive impact on our environment.