Preparing for the Future Essay examples

C) And of course we can't forget the three R's. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Only buy what you need , ruse whatever you can, like containers and paper, and recycle what you cannot reuse. It's really as simple as that.

On the daily basis I use numerous energy resources from residential, commercial, transportation to industrial. First, I use residential and commercial the most. At home I have gas heating, stove and fireplace; gas pretty much runs my house. Right now in the winter month’s gas heating is the greatest energy usages in my resident. Then on top of that we have space heaters. The heaters are intended to cut back on the gas usage but I’m not seeing much of a difference. Usage of electricity is also a huge abundance in my residents. A normal routine of using electricity varies from everything like lights

As I acknowledged earlier, heating is the highest percentage of usage in the home, however homeowners can take steps towards reducing that. For example, buying a heater or two can definitely help in reducing the use of heat. The second highest electric usage in homes is cooling, which can also be reduced if homeowners invest in a fan, leave windows open, or even install a ceiling fan. Buying both heaters and/or fans may be a bit pricey but worth it in the long run. Another thing that ups the electric cost is the use of electronics and appliances. Today, our society revolves around electricity. We leave the television on in an empty room, leave on the computer when we don’t use it, etc., consequently raising the electric price. We also rely on many appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves, blow dryers, etc., which also raise the price. By simply remembering to turn off the television when leaving the room and also turning off the computer when not in use will help reduce the electricity cost. Also, chargers for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in even when they are not in use, and should be unplugged. Even though lighting is only 11% of electrical usage every little bit helps. Such as, remembering to turn the light off after leaving the room and

Efficiency is not always the answer. David Owen explains that society is headed in the wrong direction, believing that to be greener we need to make our everyday lives more efficient when in reality we need to change our behavior. We as consumers want to be sustainable and take care of the Earth we live on while ironically expanding our collection of trinkets. Everything we believe in being efficient and green is misrepresented and to save the Earth the truth needs to be heard.

The average household in Northern VA spends nearly $1,584 on energy consumption. This is higher than the national average but similar to our neighboring states (EIA.gov, n.d.). This is due highly to a lack of energy conservation education provided by the state and lack of government backed refunds and tax breaks for using energy efficient appliances. States like California and Maryland have started these governments funded programs and experienced great strides in lowering energy consumption (Cluett, Amann, & Ou, 2016).

According to Nielsen, in the United States approximately 40% of residential consumers are using less energy than consumers in 1970 (Consumers Want Energy Efficiency, 2015). Approximately 76% of consumers plan on doing something about their high utility bills in the next three years. Consumers are planning on spending up to $240 million to do just that (Consumers Want Energy Efficiency, 2015).

Some of the ways to spend less money on energy is to use Energy-Star appliances. Their energy efficient and can save 30% to 80% on our electricity bill. Thats adds up to $50 or more than $100 in annual savings.

It is inevitable that comes one day, finite source of energy will be depleted, and for this reason, there is a need to shift to a renewable source of energy. On the other hand, renewable source of energy is not the current solution because of technology and capital hindrance. However, there is nuclear power as an alternative of a clean finite source of energy. On the other hand, McCright and Dunlap (2011) argue that people should implement measures that cut the amount of energy required. These measures include recycling and reusing, change lighting and use that conserve energy.

Limiting the use of our utilities is not only beneficial to our budget but also to the environment as well. Here are several useful and lesser known tips in conserving energy while you are in the kitchen. While being in the kitchen, the stove is one of the main items that will use up the most energy, so it is important to be wise with your energy consumption when cooking on it. Adjust the burners when using a gas-based cooking top so that the flames just barely touch or are a tad lower than the bottom of the pans you are cooking on. Flames that curl around a pan waste more energy. However, if you are using an electric cook top, put the pan on a coil that is similar in size. Place the pan so that its bottom lies absolutely flat on the burner. This will conserve a great deal of energy. Also, when using an electric stove, set the burners on high first and then proceed to lower it to finish the cooking. For dishes that aren't pans, turn off the burner completely at the end as the element will hold the heat for several minutes. In addition to your stoves, the oven vent on an electrical range can be very useful. If you are using an oven vent on an electrical range, you will find that the vent is under one of the burners. While the oven is in use, you will be able to feel the hot air flowing through the vent. For dishes that you would like to warm, set them on that burner. This will minimize the use of a microwave and will also optimize the use of your burners. Now, for dishes that need to cook for long periods of time, particularly over an hour, there is no need to preheat your oven (unless you are cooking a turkey that needs a crisp skin). For dishes that must be cooked just under an hour, extend the cooking time for a little bit. The only preheating that is required is for dishes that have a short baking time. Although this seems like a very obvious tip --

What do we know about our energy sources and how our energy choices affect the environment? Many people still do not put much though into this topic or pay any attention to the amount of energy they use or where it comes from. For some it is just willful negligence, but for many others it may be due to a lack of knowledge on the subject. Perhaps it is a good idea to pay closer attention and educate ourselves so we can make informed decisions that may lead to less stress on our wallets and on our environment. In order to make a change, we should observe our currently used energy sources in everyday life, the impact of increasing energy uses, and observe all of the alternative options available to us.

Support for these claims are documented through extensive research into numerous practices that individuals could take part in to diminish their carbon footprint and greenhouse gases emissions. These small changes include of catching public transport more regularly, replacing regular incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) which use 60% less energy than a regular bulb and buy more locally grown and produced foods.

For one thing, simple lifestyle changes can save kilowatts of electricity. One of these involves turning off the lights and electrical appliances when leaving a room. Shutting off computers can save watts – turning them off at night, and having them hibernate during the day if not in use is a good way to save energy

In addition, as humans learn more about the planet, and how it is being affected by certain things, they are most likely to change their habits in order to save their home. Therefore, although this is the cheapest option, with global warming taking place, more people will turn to renewable energy sources. If a client

This is the only way, in my opinion, to reduce how much energy we use. Our society works off a unique set of rules and priorities that all come down to one thing, money. Making things so expensive or giving incentives for using less is the only way to get our attention.

Humans today are using much more electricity than we need to in our houses and this is impacting our world more then we realise. Although electricity is a huge advantage to humans it has the complete opposite effects on our environment. By using more electricity, we are using more of the earth’s resources and if we keep going down this road then we are going to run out. The solution for this mass overuse of energy is to build houses which are more energy efficient. Features like LED lightbulbs, insulating and even positioning your house in the correct position for natural airflow instead of using air conditioning are all ways we can help improve this problem.