Cool Los Altos

Low Carbon Challenge

Take the Low Carbon Challenge

Here are 15 things you can do to meet reduce your household CO2 emissions by 2000 pounds this year.

  1. Get Out of the Car: Once a week, to get to work, either carpool, or ride your bike, or take public transit, or telecommute and avoid your car.   Savings: 1000 lbs of CO2 per year. 

  2. Student Power: Bike or walk to school an average of 3 days/week throughout the school year.   Savings: 360 lbs of CO2 per year.

  3. Pump It Up: Check the air pressure in your car tires regularly, minimum once a month, and top off the air pressure.   Savings: 360 lbs of CO2 per year.

  4. Install CFLs: Install compact fluorescent lights (CFL) in your home in high use locations.   Savings: For every 5 incandescent lights you replace with CFLs, save 225 lbs of CO2. 

  5. Shorter Showers: Reduce shower time to 5 minutes.   Savings: For each person who reduces daily shower to 5 minutes, annual savings: 300 lbs of CO2 per person.

  6. Low-Flow: Install low-flow showerheads (<2.5 gallons per minute), i.e. Niagara Earth Massage showerhead, at 2.0 GPM.   Savings: 250 lbs of CO2 per year for each showerhead changed.

  7. Turn Down the Heat: Set the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees or the low setting.   Savings: 150 lbs of CO2 per year. 

  8. Switch to Cold Water: Save water heating by switching to cold water wash for all laundry.   Savings: For each load less per week using warm/hot water, save 100 lbs CO2 annually.

  9. Power Down: Turn off your appliances all the way – TVs, DVDs, stereo equipment, monitors, printers, etc, that have a boxy power supply. Plug them all into a power strip and turn off the power strip except when you are using them.   Savings: 250 lbs CO2 per year.

  10. Eat Lower on the Food Chain: Switch one meal per week from meat to vegetarian.   Savings: For each weekly meal that a household switches to vegetarian, save 700 lbs of CO2 per year.

  11. Reduce, Recycle, Compost: Reduce weekly garbage by 16 gallons (Los Altos bins are 32 gal) by making sure all your recyclable waste gets recycled at curbside.   Savings: 1,560 lbs per 16 gal waste reduction. 

  12. Get Off the (plastic) Bottle: Stop buying bottled water; use a refillable water bottle instead.   Savings: 140 lbs CO2 per person. 

  13. BYOB: Bring your own bags. Avoid using new grocery bags for all your household shopping; switch to re-usable canvas totes.   Savings: 0 lbs of CO2 per year.

  14. Eliminate Junk Mail: Sign up with www.greendimes.com and specify the catalogs that you no longer want to receive.   Savings: Reduce by 75% and save about 70 lbs of CO2.

  15. BYOM: De-cup your coffee; bring your own mug. Cut out 5 disposable coffee cups per week and switch to a reusable coffee mug.   Savings: 65 lbs of CO2 per year, per person.