As scientists have informed us of their fears about global warming, concern for the environment has become more pervasive in our society. Most people are concerned about the environment, but don’t think they can make a difference. It seems that we feel overwhelmed by the immensity of environmental problems and we can’t do anything to help because after all, “you are only one person”. Sure, most of us do our part by recycling to reduce our waste, but do you ever feel like that’s not enough?

You may not know this, but it’s the little things you do every day in your home that have a big impact on the environment. Think of it this way, imagine if everyone did one little thing in their home to conserve energy. The cumulative effect would be a huge reduction in energy use globally. It’s doing these simple, easy things to do every day that adds to the big picture of saving energy and can make a big difference even if you’re just “one person.” This is a perfect example of the popular phrase: think globally, act locally.

Many people believe in the myth that turning off the lights in your house when no one is occupying it would not make much of a difference. This is simply not true. If every home made an effort to turn off the lights in rooms that are not being used, the results would be spectacular. If everyone in every home in the United States turned off their lights when they’re not actively using them, we’d see up to a twenty-five percent reduction in the amount of electricity used every day, putting less stress on our utility networks. Energy.

The higher the consumption, the more demand there is for energy, which is a vicious circle. By reducing our energy consumption by simply cutting back on things we don’t need, we would save money that could be better used in other parts of our lives.

Just think about it, a quarter of the energy used right now could be eliminated if people and businesses worked together to turn off lights when they’re not in use. By comparison, if you could cut your monthly bills by a quarter, you would see a significant reduction in your household finances. This is the same standard by which we can measure the difference it would make to our environmental concerns about releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, by reducing the total amount of energy we use across the board.