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Energy Wasters

Are your appliances sucking energy even when you’re not using them?

If you have a rechargeable cordless phone, cell phone, power tools or anything with a digital clock display, the answer is “yes.”

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that as much as 5% of the energy use in American households is wasted on “standby” or “phantom energy,” meaning the energy used to power items that may be turned off but are still plugged in. Five percent doesn’t sound like much, but this adds up to about 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, emitting more than 87 billion pounds of excess greenhouse gases – the kind that contribute to global warming.

It also adds a collective $5.8 billion to American power bills.

There is an easy solution, however. When you’re not recharging your batteries, using your computer, listening to the stereo or cooking in that microwave, just unplug it.

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For more information on how to prevent global warming, go to: www.fightglobalwarming.com

www.cleartheair.org

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org