We are all looking for ways to save energy, save money and reduce our carbon footprints. Our motivations may differ from saving the earth for our kids and grandkids to saving some money on the next quarterly bill. The general consensus however is that climate change requires a global solution, but that solution will require action from every individual.



Conceptually, we all have a pretty good idea as to why we need to cut back on our greenhouse emissions. This has been drilled into us – and rightly so – over the last 20 plus years. All we need is a practical guide to saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions around the home. We need to take this long list of DON's and turn them into ‘Do this instead'. When it comes to tackling climate change, people often ask, ‘What can I do?',

Well, there are lots of things that we, as individuals, can do to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at home.

There has never been a more important time to save energy. Not only is it becoming more vital to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but the pressure on energy prices will be putting an increasing strain on households across the world.

Just how much energy and money a person can save depends on their current energy use and the number and types of changes they can make. It's up to them. It is possible to cut their energy use without too much impact on their lifestyles.

Each of us should set ourselves the objective to measure and reduce our individual carbon footprint in all aspects of modern living, including:

•simple energy-saving tricks around the house

•maximising a home's potential for easy heating and cooling

•ways to save on shopping and transport

•making the most of gardens

•tips for building and renovating homes.

Some interesting facts that may help you to appreciate the scale of the issues that we face are.

•Two dripping taps is like having an additional person in the house taking a shower every day

•Hot water can account for about a quarter of your energy use and solar hot water can save about half to three-quarters of your hot water energy use

•A cold water wash reduces your washing machine greenhouse emissions by up to 80 per cent

•Every dollar we spend shopping produces roughly five garbage bags of CO2-e

•Shade trees can reduce your cooling energy costs by up to 30 per cent

•Australians now recycle 2.5 billion aluminium cans a year, but we still throw away a billion cans a year – enough to construct 200 jumbo jets.

•Australian households use enough water every year to fill Sydney Harbour four times

So lets all pull our collective fingers out and start leading ourselves rather than waiting for governments and corporations to lead the way. Lets grab a piece of paper and a pen and start listing all the ways in which we use energy and other resources throughout our day and see if we can find some fat to trim staring today.