Fossil Free Your Life – Participate in our monthly Eco-Challenges!
Throughout 2016, 350 Colorado is rallying supporters to take part in a monthly Eco-Challenge designed to start us on a path to a Fossil-Free lifestyle. Join the movement and participate with us! Each Eco-Challenge is designed to be an easy and fun way to remind ourselves that each of us CAN contribute and make a difference starting NOW.
Won’t you join us? Click here to sign up for the monthly Eco-Challenge!
MARCH ECO-CHALLENGE: Reduce your energy consumption! Did you know that ~82% of electricity generated in Colorado is from fossil fuels? “In 2014, 60% of the electricity generated in Colorado came from coal, 22% from natural gas, and 18% from renewable energy resources.” (US Energy Information Administration) This electricity represents 25% of a Colorado home’s energy consumption. The other 3/4th are to heat the house and the hot water. This heating comes dominantly from natural gas (methane – increasingly from fracking), and from propane or electricity in rural areas. (US EIA)
Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Lower your thermostat: You may save as much as 3 % on your energy bill for each degree you lower your thermostat! Use programmable thermostats to turn down the temp at night and while at work. Try lowering 1 degree a week in March.
- Wash laundry with cold water: Save 90% of energy used by the washing machine by switching from hot to cold water.
- Air dry those clothes: A clothes dryer accounts for 12% of electricity use in an average household! This action alone could meet this month’s Eco-Challenge!
- Replace incandescent bulbs: Use high efficiency lights, like LEDs. 90% of the energy for incandescents goes to producing heat, not light. If you can buy U.S.A. made do so.
- Power strip it / turn it off: Video games, always-on TVs, modems, cable boxes, desktop computers contribute to 17% energy use in typical household. Plug these appliances into a power strip and turn it off when not in use to minimize these “phantom loads”.
- Seal up the house/apt: Sealing leaks can reduce energy costs by 15-30%. Learn more about energy efficiency rebates here.
These are mostly small changes we can make in our home to reduce our use of energy. Hopefully this list inspires more home improvements. And here are the bonuses you can do!
BONUSES:
- Get a home energy audit – it’s a great way to learn the most cost-effective energy conservation measures for your home.
- Plant a tree to provide shade on the sunny side of your home. Buy local.
- Inquire about solar panels for your home.
- Install aerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads – available at home improvement stores.
- Replace older, inefficient appliances with more energy efficient options.
Share your bonus idea with the rest of 350 Colorado on Facebook!
For more resources and energy-efficient ideas, check out these helpful websites:
Good luck with March’s challenge. We hope this month’s challenge sheds a bit more awareness around our own energy consumption and how to reduce energy waste. We can’t wait to hear your successes and how you did it! Share your stories with us via email, Facebook, Instagram.
Did you successfully complete last month’s Eco-Challenge? Fill out this report form to be entered into a prize drawing at the end of the year!
Fossil Free Your Life one small step at a time. Together, we can make a big change.
Thank you!
350 Colorado Team
P.S. Here’s more info about how the Monthly Eco-Challenge works:
- At the start of each month we will announce the month’s Eco-Challenge via Facebook, Instagram, and email. Take up the charge – sign up below and get started!
- Extend your personal impact by sharing the Eco-Challenge with at least five friends (via Facebook, Instagram, email, or word of mouth). Share your ideas, successes, and struggles in upholding the challenge on social media to inspire others.
- With each month’s new challenge, we will also ask you to let us know if you successfully completed last month’s challenge to be entered into a prize drawing at the end of the year. We will email you with a quick form to fill out (honor system reporting). We have great prizes donated by Patagonia and others! Each successfully completed month will get your name in a jar.
- Some months there will be extra credit for bonus challenges for an extra chance toward year-end prizes!
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Please share the graphic below on Facebook! Thank you!