Although Americans tend to travel less than people in other countries and often speak only one language, we have always been concerned with the way the world sees us. Yes, the stereotype of the ugly American is one most try to live down when traveling overseas. But recently Americans have been roundly criticized, as a nation, for their consumption, or really over consumption of the world’s energy. According to the most recent statistics, America is about 4 percent of the world’s population and yet we consume nearly 25 percent of the world’s energy.
This is a particularly embarrassing situation we you consider the fact that many European countries have taken it upon themselves to reduce their reliance on traditional forms of energy, which have been proven to expedite climate change. In fact, the European Union recently announced that they have embarked on an ambitious plan to reduce CO2 levels by twenty percent by 2020. To accomplish this awesome feat, countries that are part of the EU will turn to alternative sources of energy like solar and wind power, which, of course, do not harm the environment. Already countries like Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands have invested billions in these new technologies.
And what was the response from the Americans? Nothing…crickets. It seems that our politicians are too busy arguing over whether climate change is, in fact, a reality to propose any new legislation that might help cut our dependence on traditional forms of energy. But they seem to be missing the point. Even if climate change isn’t a reality, the fact that the United States has 1/25th of the world population and consumes 1/4th of the world’s energy is shameful and embarrassing. It is also true that many forms of alternative energy are more efficient and less expensive than traditional ones.
Since our politicians have failed to lead the country on this issue, the responsibility has fallen to each individual American citizen to make a difference and change the way he uses energy. In this article we will be taking a look at number of alterations you can make to you home or office that will consume less energy, save money on bills and also help the environment.
Solar Power
With the recent increases in electricity prices throughout the United States, it just makes sense to install solar electricity panels at home. Not only is solar power clean, sustainable and free, it is also less expensive to install than it’s ever been. In fact many people with solar panels find that they can depend on them for all or most of their electricity needs. The only drawback is that solar power does not produce electricity on cloudy days or at night. That is why many people who’ve invested in solar panels also choose to put in a wind turbine as well.
Wind Turbines
Wind turbines are nothing more than small windmills that are used for producing electricity. As we mentioned, they are also used in combination with solar electricity and they have proved extremely efficient at producing electricity. That is one reason the Europeans have invested so heavily in them. Another reason is that they are cheap. The average home wind turbine can be installed for only a few hundred dollars. They are nearly maintenance free and will produce electricity whenever the wind blows.
Hybrid Cars
While hybrid cars are currently a bit more expensive than average cars, a hybrid owner will quickly realize he made a wise investment when he sees the money he’s saving on gasoline. On average, a hybrid owner can expect to save up to $1500 a year on gas. Think about it! That means that if you drive your car for a decade you’ll save up to $15,000! itself.
Fluorescent Lights
Replace all of your standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. These bulbs are far more energy efficient and may end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year on your electricity bill. They also last up to 10,000 hours, which is 10 times as long as the average bulb, and when they are spent they can even be recycled.
Energy Efficient Windows
Believe if or not, most of the heat that is lost from your home during the winter is lost because of poorly constructed windows. Making an investment in energy efficient windows is probably the best thing you can do to instantly lower your heating bill.
So there you have it, a few solid suggestions on how each and every one of us can do our part and stop being ugly Americans.
