Save a kilowatt and maybe a mountain

Take a look at your electric bill and ask yourself, do you have an opportunity to save money and electricity . . . and maybe even a mountain?  
If your bill is equivalent to the 2007 national average in America, you are likely consuming about 936 kilowatt hours per month (according to the Department of Energy).  According to the Environmental Defense Fund, coal is providing 55% of our electricity needs in the United States.  Additionally, 70% of electricity generated is lost in transmission so much more is generated to bring your monthly supply to you. The burning of coal is the single largest source of the global warming pollutant, carbon dioxide.   In addition to the damage caused by burning coal for electricity, extracting the coal also takes an enormous environmental toll.  According to Jeff Barrie, Producer/Director of the movie "Kilowatt Ours, A Plan to Re-Energize America", one pound of coal is burned to generate approximately one kilowatt of electricity. To get the coal, Barrie's film takes you to the quaint hills of West Virginia, where mountain top removal to extract coal is happening on a daily basis.  In Central and Southern Appalachia, 2500 tons of explosives are used daily to blow up mountains and remove the coal.  As of 2007, over 450 mountains had been blown up in this region. 

So, if learning this information gets you fired up (pun intended), you can take immediate action to eliminate wasted electricity in your home. I encourage you to take the challenge and get your whole family engaged.  

Start with the easy stuff... look for all the electronics in your home that are wasting electricity when you think the appliance is off.  Check all of the outlets in your home.  If you have large "chunky" plugs that are warm or hot when you touch them, or if you have a clock on an appliance that you don't use, they are drawing electricity constantly.  Unplug all cell phone chargers, DS chargers, electric keyboards, water fountains, coffee makers, and whatever else is drawing electricity when the item should be off.  Now look at your computer and entertainment centers.  If you leave your computer and the peripherals on, they are all drawing electricity all the time. 

Consider these simple technological solutions to reducing your electricity consumption:

1) SmartStrip power strip - Automatically shuts off your peripheral devices when you shut off your computer or TV.  SmartStrips even have two "always live" outlets so you can plug in items (a clock, phone or cable box, for example) that you want to stay on at all times.  A recent study shows that simply turning off all peripherals while your computer is asleep save an average of 294kWh per year; and the device pays for itself in energy savings in four months on average.   

2) PowerCost Monitor™ is a wireless energy monitor for your home. It can tell you at a glance how much electricity your home is using from moment-to-moment and in total and how much it's costing you. It's a great way for everyone in the household to become more aware of your power usage and cost, and become involved in reducing that usage.