Since it's Earth Day:Guest Blogger Eric Doucette

Being this is Earth day, I changed my format to being more aware of our envoirmental condidtions. 

I have a guest blogger today, its my son. He knows far more about this then I do but I am learning and he is teaching. so without futher ado...

8 ways to reduce your carbon footprint around the house

• Generate your own Click Here!">power
  
• Get of the grid! Use renewables to generate your own power, It's easy and cheap!!!
  
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• Plant a tree 
  
• Planting trees is one of the easiest ways to offset your carbon footprint and become carbon neutral. Trees absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and wood, both of which are very useful for humans and other animals. Each tree planted "offsets" your environmental impact by "breathing" in about 1 tonne of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.
  
• this is the equivilant of removing  x amount of cars from the road
  
• Ride a bike. 
  
• This sounds like the most obviously overstated yet underused concept in the world. Give it a go. Not only will you be saving planet but you can burn around 500 calories in about 30 minutes
  
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• Use CFLs
  
• You have probably seen them around by now, those funky looking twisted light bulbs. Odd looking they my be but they save loads of power.
  
• Replace any incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) or Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). CFLs are more expensive, but replacing just one incandescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide and, because it lasts eight to 15 times longer than an incandescent bulb, you save approximately US$30 over the course of its lifetime.
  
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• Buy local
  
• Buying goods that were produced locally helps to sustain your local economy and are generally fresher than goods transported across long distances in trucks that expend lots of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gases.
  
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• Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan in the winter. 
  
• During winter, the warm air from your central heating system will rise filling the upper areas of a room first then gradually work its way down toward floor level. Your heating unit will run continuously, unevenly heating the space and wasting energy. It's a good idea in the winter to find the tiny switch located on the motor of your ceiling fan, flip it and sent that hot air down to mix with the cooler air at floor level. This mixing will equalize the temperature at floor and ceiling levels, making the room feel more comfortable while saving you energy and money
  
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• Turn off the lights and TV when you leave the room.
  
• Plug your electronics into a power strip and switch them it off when not in use. Devices like your TV, Cable box, Stereo, and Home Computer System use power even when turned off, combined it's over time it's enough to rival a refrigerator.
  
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• Maximize your water heating efficiency (see 3 ways to get the most out of your water heater)
  
• Adjusting your water heater temperature settings can have a big impact over time.
  
• Find the thermostat nob on your water heater and lower the temperature to around 120° this saves energy and reduces the risk of scalding.