Easy Ways You Can Save Energy, Money

You know that cars burn gasoline and send carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is thought to lead to global warming. But power plants also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide by burning coal, gas or other fossil fuels. So using less energy in the home means burning less fuel.

As the Union of Concerned Scientists explains on ClimateChoices.org, just about every product depends on burning fossil fuels, either in the manufacturing process or in shipping it to stores. When we waste less, we consume less, and that means fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

You can hardly give up consuming things. But we can all reduce our consumption of both energy and products. Most of the steps you can take save money and don't require big changes to your life.

Buy Energy Star Appliances

Energy Star is a government program that supports especially energy-efficient appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy work together to maintain very high standards for the products they endorse.

Everything from clothes washers to dehumidifiers are among the approved products, and using them can save a substantial amount of energy and expense. According to Energystar.gov, Americans saved $12 billion in energy costs in 2005. The certified products also kept enough gases out of the atmosphere to equal elimination of emissions from 23 million cars.

Prius facts to hang your hat on

I have been reading negative reports about Prius mileage and cost effectiveness for years. Here is one called "The Hybrid Hoax," written about a year ago. The author propagates misinformation by referring us to another article written in 2004 by a USA Today reporter (Kiley) who drove a Jetta diesel from Detroit to Washington, D.C., and a Prius back from Washington, D.C. to Detroit:

Kiley had to stop to refill the Prius, which ended up averaging 38 miles per gallon, compared with 44 miles per gallon for the Jetta

What this idiot failed to mention is that the Prius actually got 51.7 MPG on the computer mileage gauge, which measures tire rotation and fuel flow precisely and accurately. The accuracy of the computer MPG calculation has also been verified by the EPA, which tests car emissions by measuring similar parameters. The reporter got 38 MPG when he manually checked the mileage. Toyota gave him several reasons to pick from as to why his manual MPG numbers were in error.

The bottom line is this: No Prius gets a mere 38 MPG on the highway (unless you load it up with five people, which explained away one complaint I found by a guy in five person carpool). The idea that Toyota has duped consumers by giving them a rigged mileage computer is asinine in the extreme. A Prius will go 12.5 miles on one quart. So if the amount of gas you think you put in your tank is off by just one quart you would* by enough, you could calculate an MPG of 62.5 or 37.5 instead of 50, which is just what this reporter did. *Note to self, never post after third glass of merlot.