Being green isn’t always easy. There’s a million products and services claiming to be green, many just greenwashing, and knowing where to put your money is tough. But starting with the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions makes a lot of sense.
Electricity and heat generation created 41% of fossil fuel related carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. The average home uses 1000kWh hours of electricity per month, which generates 12420 lbs of CO2 for a PSE customer (PSE is a large Washington state energy utility). PSE power is actually greener than many other electricity providers as about a third of the power is hydro, but the other two thirds is mostly coal and natural gas.
While getting solar panels on your roof is a great solution, it isn’t viable for everyone – you may not get enough sun, have an HOA, live in an apartment, etc.