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Resources to reduce your carbon footprint |
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Want to reduce your energy use and carbon emissions? We’ve got the links for you! Our resources are organized by the following categories: cleaner energy, home & personal resources, greening your car, energy efficiency @ work, green recreation, and our favorite global warming sites. |
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Clean Energy: If you live in Connecticut and would like to switch to the Connecticut Clean Energy Option, click below! To learn more about “clean power” go to http://ctcleanenergyoptions.com If you live outside Connecticut, click here to find out how you can get clean energy. Another way to buy clean energy is through “energy offsets.” Click on Native Energy to learn more. Wood-burning and pellet stoves are also a great way to cut your carbon emissions. When you burn carbon neutral wood or pellets, you use less fossil fuel for heat. Check out these links for more info: Already own a wood stove? Here is a link to a wonderful CT company that makes eco-friendly “Bio Bricks” that burn more efficiently in wood stoves and fireplaces than cordwood does and are made entirely out of sawdust. Support the U.S. and Connecticut economies! |
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Home Resources & Buying Green: Info. about the ReDirect Guide Visa - a credit card that helps prevent climate change with every purchase & offers you discounts from green businesses: http://www.redirectguide.com/visa/index.htm Awnings and other passive solar cooling solutions: www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/homes (click on “solar”) whole-house fans: www.fypower.org/res (click “product guides”) & swamp coolers (they use 5% less energy than a/c): www.eere.energy.gov/consumer (search for “evaporative cooler”) ...or search on “air sealing” for info. on weather stripping, or add /your_home to the url to get info on cellulose insulation (40% more efficient than fiberglass insulation) want more info on home insulation? Go to www.greenhomeguide.com and click on “energy efficiency” in the “know how” section Making your home more energy efficient is a great way to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. For do-it-yourself projects, check out http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/documents/pub/phtv_yh_di_index.hcsp You can also learn how to heat/cool your home efficiently at http://www.cl-p.com/clmres/indexclmres.asp Check out CL&P’s incentives for installing a new, more efficient A/C system at http://www.cl-p.com/clmres/energy/air/indexair.asp or click on www.energystar.gov to search for efficient appliances and this mail in rebate for energy-star washing machines! http://www.cl-p.com/clpcommon/pdfs/companyinfo/publications/washer_rebate.pdf and NEW, check out these awesome carry bags made from recycled BILLBOARDS. We have seen them in person, and they are VERY hip (and from a CT company)! |
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Fuel Efficient Cars: In the market for a new vehicle? The most fuel efficient cars may have a higher purchase price, but between tax credits and fuel savings, you’ll save money in the long run. Click HERE to check out a very cool video made by a seven year old homeschooler about his dad's biofuel VW! Way to go Carrick! NEW! Carrick and his family will be traveling the country next spring (2009) in their veggie fuel car to promote energy conservation. Their site for the trip is: www.OurRenewableNation.org Great work, guys! Most efficient trucks, SUVs and sedans of 2008 Most (and least) fuel efficient cars by class Federal Tax Incentives for Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles Another Guide to Federal Tax Incentives Alternative Fuel Vehicles available now And check out this NEW COOL THING: this is a great, free ridesharing program in CT, NY and NJ – you can earn points by participating, which you can redeem for prizes! (What could be better than saving gas money, helping the environment, AND getting free stuff?) |
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Be Green at Work: www.Sierraclub.org/greenoffice And on Vacation! A great way to get outdoors in the Appalachian Mountains is to join the Appalachian Mountain Club. They have great vacation packages for families of all sizes and types at a variety of lodges and huts in pristine wilderness. Relaxing and educational, these lodges have great amenities, as well as being dedicated to conservation and greenhouse gas reduction. Go to www.outdoors.org to learn more. |
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GLOBAL WARMING: Want to calculate your own carbon footprint? Click HERE to see how many pounds of greenhouse gasses you emit. Check out Vice President Gore’s web site here: http://www.algore.com/index2.html And these are the CCC’s favorite sites on global warming: An Inconvenient Truth homepage: http://www.climatecrisis.net/ This is the homepage of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth movie. This site features information on global warming and its effects, a carbon emissions calculator, advice on political activism, information on ways people can reduce their carbon emissions and a link to buy the DVD. The Sierra Club Homepage: www.sierraclub.org This site features a plethora of information on global warming, environmental activism, wildlife conservation, and many other environmental topics. There is also an online store for many Sierra Club products, such as books, calendars and gift memberships. The IUCN Red List list of species threatened by climate change: http://www.iucnredlist.org The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List is a list of species in danger of extinction. Click on “search,” and select in the list on the bottom of the page “global warming/oceanic warming” and click “search” again. You will be directed to a list of species that may soon go extinct due to global warming (including whales, albatrosses, iguanas, penguins, and many, many more species). On a more pleasant note, there is a link to the photo galleries for various editions of the IUCN Red List, including a photo of a sharkray, Verreaux’s Sifaka lemur, yellow-eared parrot, black-footed ferret, and a common hippopotamus! The NRDC Homepage: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/default.asp This is the homepage of the National Resource Defense Council. There are, among other things, petitions to sign, information on a wide variety of environmental issues, and links to many other resources. The Connecticut Fund for the Environment: http://cfenv.org The CFE is a great state organization, and you can even read about me on one of its pages: http://cfenv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=81 BBC homepage: http://Bbc.co.uk This site has excellent news information on global warming and information about its current effects. |
