How to heat your house—not the outside. More than 20 percent of
the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from
energy use in homes. A major source of the problem is heating,
and even though we're heading toward summer, heat is still an
essential element in reducing your carbon load for the year.
Some of us keep our homes warmer than we need to—if yours feels
like an icebox in summer and a toaster in winter, you're
probably in this group. In addition, most houses leak some hot
air (and, in the summer, cool air) from every window, doorway,
and air duct, which means that they're constantly wasting
energy, and thereby upping CO 2 emissions. This is not a
necessary evil. Solar and wind power, which both create largely
emissions-free electricity, can be expensive, tricky, or
impractical. Likewise the newfangled geothermal energy. But you
can stick with regular old oil, gas, or electricity and still
cut down on the amount of energy you use to heat your home.
Weatherizing is an excellent place to begin.