Carolina Alumni Review - March/April 2008

what they’ll buy — decisions that all have an impact on the amount of energy they use and on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

Veazey, who now lives in Knoxville, Tenn., has incorporated the conservation mentality so thoroughly that it seems like second nature, and she finds it hard to list the many strategies she uses to protect the environment. One is living only a mile and a half from her workplace so she can bike to work, which she enjoys. Though she owns a car, she tries not to drive much. She doesn’t use air conditioning at home and tries not to use much heat in winter. Aside from a fridge, she has few appliances — no dishwasher, for instance, and no TV — and she makes it a practice to turn off lights and unplug electric items she’s not using. Consequently, she uses little electricity at home. What she does use she buys from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch program, which produces electricity from wind and solar power and methane gas.

Those are effective moves. Together, home energy use and personal transportation account for 60 to 70 percent of the energy people use in their lifetimes, says Douglas Crawford-Brown, director of UNC’s Institute for the Environment.

“The envelope of their house and how it has to be heated and cooled is much more important than the light bulbs and the fridge they choose,” he said. To lessen their environmental impact, people might also reconsider their mode of transportation. “Are they getting around in a single-occupant vehicle or by public transit? If a single-occupant vehicle, what kind of mileage are they getting?”

And they might consider the embodied carbon of products.

“If you buy something, say a chair, there’s obviously no carbon dioxide coming off it, but it was manufactured somewhere,” he observes — energy was consumed both in its manufacture and in shipping it to the store. The concept of embodied carbon is relatively new, and researchers are still struggling to understand how large its impact is. It also applies to food, which takes energy to raise and transport.

That’s an area where Gantt is trying to improve his carbon footprint, the measure of how much carbon dioxide his choices

What YOU can do…

■ Replace incandescent light bulbs with

compact fluorescent bulbs. ■ Keep your place just a little cooler in

winter and a little warmer in summer. Consider installing a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust temperatures for night and when you’re regularly away during the day.

■ Have a home energy audit, which local utilities will often provide free.

■ Seal air leaks, install energy-efficient windows and make sure your walls and ceilings are well-insulated.

■ Have your heating and cooling equipment tuned annually.

■ Put an insulation blanket around your water heater.

■ When you’re buying a new appliance, choose an energy-efficient model.

■ Use a low-flow showerhead to save both water and the energy used to heat it.

■ Repair toilet and faucet leaks immediately.

■ While shavi ng or brushing teeth, turn the water off.

■ Check whether you can get some or all of your energy from renewable, nonpolluting sources. The Green Power Network at www.eere.energy.gov is one place to start.

■ Consider installing a solar panel.

■ Reduce,

Reuse,

Recycle.

Whether you want to reduce your impact on the environment, improve the nation’s energy independence or just save a few dollars, here are some strategies. Some are easy and free, others take a little more effort. Adopting even one or two beyond those you already follow will lower your energy use and in some cases your utility bills.