How to Cut Fossil Fuel Use at Home and Beyond
Global warming is here. Let’s fight it where we can. The burning of fossil fuels is the largest contributor to climate change. Therefore reducing our use of fossil fuels is one of the best ways to address the climate crisis.
At Home
“Buildings are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally. Building construction and operations are responsible for 40 percent of emissions, totaling 14 gigatons of CO2 per year.”¹ Fortunately, upgrading our homes, even gradually, reduces our use of fossil fuels and saves money over time. Concrete steps:
When air conditioning systems need to be replaced, switch to a Heat Pump Air system: which heats and cools with electricity. [Link to CNEP article]Since heat pumps use electricity instead of fossil fuels, they will get greener over time as the electricity we get from the grid is increasingly made with renewable power. Heat pump water heaters are also efficient.
Smart thermostats - These manage heating and cooling to shape energy usage to your needs. Utilities, like PECO, often subsidize or give these away.²
Switch to LED lighting: Your lightbulbs can be changed to use 1/6th the power and produce better color lighting, with less heat.
Retrofitting / rebuilding: Adding better insulation to the home using new insulation, better wall sealing, tighter windows, reflective roofing, and closing air gaps all save energy. Good energy contactors can test and recommend a variety of solutions.
What about solar on my house in PA? Except for short recent periods with very high state and federal incentives, home solar in PA will take a longer time to earn a return on investment. High electricity price increases could improve the paybacks, which are now over ten years, so think about how long you will be in your home and run the numbers to see if it makes sense financially for you to go solar. If not, there are other ways to increase your use of solar: Subscribe for a solar farm share and advocate for community solar. Push your utility to adopt more solar. Push your legislators for more renewables and more incentives for solar.
Landscaping: Shade trees are a real help for reducing summertime heat, both within the home and in the neighborhood. They reduce the “heat island” effect and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Induction stovetops: These convert electricity into heat directly in the iron or steel pots and pans in contact with the stove's surface. These are quick to heat, quick to cool off and add no combustion fumes to the kitchen.
On the road:
Walk where you can. Bicycle. Take Public Transit.
Some distances or destinations make this impractical. Electric Vehicles (“EV”s) often are up to the task. EVs are much simpler vehicles as they don’t rely on thousands of explosions per minute³ burning gas or diesel. Charging infrastructure is improving and battery costs are falling rapidly. EVs cost less to maintain than gas cars. Ride-sharing? Uber or Lyft with an EV.
Flying: There are few good substitutes, when one must travel by air. Kerosene, also called Jet Fuel, is a high energy-to-weight fossil fuel product that makes flight possible. Fly less, video call more. If you fly, fly with many other people. Consider taking a train.
In what we buy:
Some of this is ‘easy’: Consume less plastic, and other energy-intensive products: Concrete, aluminum, paint, tires, metals, polyester, packaging. From drinking straws to disposable medical devices, less use is truly more savings of CO2 and other hydrocarbons.
As the pending Iran war energy crunch will show us, the distance that products must travel from their source make them more expensive. Organic melons from Mexico, Argentinian Cabernet, rattan furniture from Thailand: All may be plastic free and made by hand. But all require fossil fuels to arrive at our shops or homes. “Buying Local”, that is, purchasing what is locally made, grown or processed tends to lower the fossil fuel burden on what we eat, drink, wear and use.
In how we use our time:
Our children and theirs will look back on us and remember us for what we did, didn’t do and how we used our time here: what we built, or failed to build. Formula One racing is at the top of my own “wish they didn’t” list. Our spending as consumers shapes the economic feasibility of products and services: drinking straws, car racing, motor boats. Only by voting against fossil fuel sponsored politicians do we reduce fighting wars, destroying infrastructure and discharging methane.
Not only will we be remembered for what we did or didn’t buy or consume but also for our advocacy. Did we support and vote for candidates committed to protecting the environment and reducing fossil fuel use? Did we really push those already in office, through emails, calls, letter writing, lobby visits and even organizing and demonstrating, to enact and enforce laws to phase out the use of fossil fuels and support renewable energy?
In how we educate our people:
Some basic science needs to form a part of every education. For example, Economics of “The Common” and externalities of pollution; the Laws of Thermodynamics; the complexity and subtlety of an ecosystem, the mathematics of probability, and basic oceanography and weather. These are under-taught and misunderstood by many.
Beyond sciences, the ethos of living on Earth needs a common language: Respect for the ecosystems of Earth, shared stewardship of resources for future generations, giving back more than we take. These are inherent in most ancient and religious social systems, but are overlooked as grades, egos, bonuses and ‘packages’ are dangled to subordinate the collective good to individual excellence and material achievements.
Five things for today:
Run major appliances overnight - power is less in demand.
Bring your own grocery bags to the store and buy more to save a trip.
Buy local and seasonal produce: drop them right in the basket - no bags.
Negotiate a day a week of “work from home”.
Make two or three video calls instead of a customer visit.
And tonight, Check out a used EV? Now that EVs have been on the market for a while, the used EV market has lots of excellent choices, especially since many rental EVs are now hitting the used car market. Also, EVs leased two to three years ago are now coming off lease, increasing the number and variety of lightly used EVs on the used car market.
The more we reduce our use of fossil fuels, the more we reduce the effects of the climate crisis.
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