| Most people do not know or follow how much | | | | sends carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Gas |
| energy their homes consume on an average day. | | | | turbine energy makes use of diesel fuel which is |
| The fact is that most of us just use our various | | | | almost as harmful. Atomic or nuclear is a clean |
| utilities and do not pay attention to the | | | | source in the short term but in the long term it is |
| consequences. Not only is this an expensive habit | | | | arguably a harmful substitute. Now the question is; |
| but it also has a negative impact on the size of a | | | | how can we decrease our energy usage and |
| household's carbon footprint, which many people | | | | become more socially responsible? For starters |
| feel obliged to cut down. If we closely monitored | | | | there are many ways to do it, the easiest is |
| how much energy we use each day, whether it is | | | | almost certainly to be more careful with our |
| gas or electricity, we would be surprised at the | | | | usage. |
| amount of waste we indulge in. Whenever we | | | | Nowadays there are many manufacturers that |
| leave a light on or any other electrical appliance on | | | | make clever little gadgets to help us monitor our |
| for longer than we need, it is an automatic waste | | | | daily usage of gas and electriciy. One such gadget |
| of energy. | | | | is the home energy monitor. Home energy |
| Whenever we cook and turn on the gas and | | | | monitors are capable of monitoring your usage in |
| leave it burning for no reason, it is gas wasted for | | | | real time. This means at any given time you will |
| no reason and we end up with a higher gas price | | | | be able to see what your actual usage is. |
| that we otherwise would have done. Needless to | | | | Research has shown that people could reduce as |
| say it does not take a rocket scientist to figure | | | | much as twenty five percent of their energy use |
| out that all we need to do is pay just a little | | | | if they were able to monitor how much they are |
| attention to our usage and we could reduce the | | | | using. This is because when we use an energy |
| amount of energy that is being needlessly used. | | | | monitor we will make necessary adjustments |
| Most of us do not stop and think where we get | | | | during the course of the day. |
| our energy from and how it is produced. The | | | | This kind of reduction in energy usage is huge. If |
| majority of electricity is produced by burning coal, | | | | each person were to use an energy monitor, our |
| gas turbines or by tapping nuclear energy. There | | | | collective carbon footprint could be greatly |
| are other sources such as hydro electric and wind | | | | reduced. Indeed in some countries it has become |
| turbine, but they only produce a fraction of | | | | the law to use such devices in people's homes. |
| electricity needed. | | | | The fact is that our energy reserves are |
| The problem with coal power is that coal is burnt | | | | depleting at a very fast rate and we need to |
| and this is not the most environmentally clean | | | | start doing something now to help make the |
| way to get energy. Whenever coal is burnt it | | | | environment a safer place. |