What You Can Do:
Everyday Environmental Stewardship
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Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light creates short, user-friendly info sheets to help you continue and improve your Everyday Environmental Stewardship (EES)!
The Environmental Stewardship Plan
24 Questions: This sheet provides 6 questions in each of 4 key energy usage areas to help you begin to understand where you can get the biggest energy reductions for the least effort
Utility Use & Cost: This brief provides guidance and tips on how to monitor how much energy and what types you are using, an important first step in your stewardship planning.
Energy Actions
Five Fast Fixes: Easy, low-cost steps you can take without hiring a professional that will cumulatively make a noticeable impact on your energy usage.
Home Energy Audit: How to prepare for – and use the information from – an energy audit at your home.
Showering: Hot water is a significant energy consumer. This brief provides tips and estimates savings from reducing water used in showering. Try our Shower Cost Calculator worksheet!
Technical Briefs
Programmable Thermostats: A simple, effective way to reduce heating costs.
Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulbs: Easy, affordable, and fast way to reduce electricity used for lighting by up to 75%
CFL Recycling: Guidance on how to dispose those CFL bulbs in an environmentally safe way when they (eventually) wear out.
Appliances: Tips on how and when to replace old, inefficient appliances to save energy and money.
Boilers and Furnaces: A comprehensive overview of different types of heating equipment with guidance on making the right choice for you.
On-Demand Hot Water Heaters: Learn about these systems long-used in Europe to reduce the energy used in heating water by up to 40%.
Interior Storm Windows: Step-by-step instructions on adding storm windows where replacing a window is impossible, impractical or expensive.
Passive Solar Heating: A primer on the concept of using the free energy of the sun through simple building design and planning.
Vending Miser: If you have vending machines dispensing drinks or snacks, learn about this gadget to reduce their energy consumption and how to get a utility company rebate.
Biodiesel: Learn about this environmentally-friendly substitute for petroleum-based heating oil.
Solar: Learn the key characteristics of solar photovoltaic systems.
Wind Power: Learn the key characteristics of wind turbines
HVAC Maintenance Contract: Regular cleaning and tuning of equipment is essential to efficient operation and long life.
Issue Briefings
Cap and Trade: Learn how this system which is the centerpiece of many greenhouse gas control plans, uses market incentives to reduce emissions.
Carbon Offsetting: What are they and how do they contribute to reducing climate change?
Green electricity: An overview of the green electricity programs offered by most Massachusetts utilities.
Other Environmental Stewardship choices
Recycling: One of the mainstays of reducing your environmental impact! Learn the many materials and programs.
Green Trash Bags: This overview of new biodegradable plastic bags shows how they help reduce litter and gives tips on choosing the best bags.
Carpet: Tips on how to buy and recycle carpets, conserving resources by keeping carpets out of landfills and reducing the amount of carpets produced every year. Includes health tips.
Paint: Learn how to get the most benefits with the least environmental impact from your painting projects.
Wood Fencing: Learn how to get a fence that is as environmentally friendly as it is attractive and functional.
Special thanks to our prolific, inspiring and super-industrious former interns Andrew Siliski and Russell Foxworthy for their contribution to these reports.
Russell Foxworthy |
Andrew Siliski |
