2. Purchase Only Fuel Efficient Automobiles. Buying a fuel-efficient car you saves money at the pump while saving the environment. A 45 mpg car, such as the the Toyota Prius, emits about half the carbon dioxide of a 20 mpg car and will save you about $2,300 at the pump. If automakers made a 40 mpg sport utility vehicle, you would save about $3,300 at the pump over the life of a vehicle.

3. Purchase Energy Efficient Appliances. Most major appliances now are labeled with their energy consumption. A refrigerator uses the most energy in a home and models today are about 75 percent more efficient than those made in the 70s. The Environmental Protection Agency awards the Energy Star mark to appliances that are highly efficient.

4. Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs. Changing your traditional light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs would avert 1.5 tons of global warming pollution per household annually. You will also reduce your energy bills and need to replace the bulbs less often.

5. Plant Trees Around Your Home. Scientists have found that trees remove carbon dioxide from the air. Trees also provide shade, windbreaks, and evaporative cooling, which will lower your heating and cooling bills.

6. Weatherize Your Home. A small investment will allow you to cut your heating and cooling bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Seal drafts around windows and doors and check for adequate insulation. If you aren't sure how to do this yourself, you can have an energy audit done by your local electric or gas utility.

7. Write to National Decision-makers. As an individual you can make a difference by taking the steps listed here, but also by insisting that the utilities, automakers, and other industries do their part. So visit www.newenergyfuture.com to send a letter to your Senator or express your own opinion by creating your own letter. To find out who your Senator or Representative is and how they vote on environmental issues, visit the League of Conservation Voters.

8. Think Locally. Visit your state PIRG's webpage to find out about local work to achieve a clean energy future. Write to your governor, state legislature and local public utility regulators to ask them to promote energy efficiency, clean renewable sources of energy, and non-polluting transportation alternatives.

9. Write Your Newspaper. Express your own ideas about the need to address global warming by sending letter to the editor of your local paper.

10. Support Public Interest Organizations. Public interest organizations need your help to continue to fight for progress on this issue. By supporting the groups in your area and the national groups, you can help them make a difference. To make a donation to U.S. PIRG, click here. For links to other groups working on this issue, click here.

Go back to the fact sheet or check out the links page.