Tri-State Green Report - Electricity

Electricity truly powers America. But ask most people and theyd love to cut back. For them its a pocketbook issue. For the planet its a health issue. Anybody who pays bills can tell you, electric rates continue to rise.Thats the hit to the pocket book. Heres the hit to the environment. More than half the electricity thats produced in this country is coal generated. That means atmospheric emissions. Use less electricity and youll kill two birds with one stone. Youll lower your bills and reduce pollution. When it comes to energy for heating and cooling, U.S. homes consume 6 times the world average. You might want to consider an energy audit for your home. You can contact your power company or look on-line. Rich Beasley is with Pennsylvania Power and Light, a major electrical provider in the northeast. He says there are many ways to cut back on the amount of power we use. "If you have a 30-35 year-old heating system thats really costing you a lot of money you might want to consider getting rid of it, getting something thats a lot more energy efficient." "Put your thermostat on an inside wall in the home thats away from any drafts or any heat." Energy efficient storm windows can save electricity too. Its the same story with insulation. And dont forget those small appliances. "Hook your major appliances that have standby power up to a power strip or surge protector and you can turn your power off to those appliances and or entertainment units at the surge protector or at the powerstrip and thus you dont have the energy coursing through a non-working entertainment unit or dvd player." Over time, consumers should start to see those savings add up. 52 percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. Comes from coal. Nearly 20 percent is nuclear, 16 percent natural gas and another 7 percent is from hydroelectric plants.