Many of our jobs require us to use computers, phones and/or tablets at work and in our homes. These devices also provide us with pleasure, distraction, and connection. Right now, they’re made and shipped in fossil-fuel-intensive ways, but there are ways to power and use them that can reduce their contribution to climate change. […]
Category Archives: Homes
RISE home energy assessments are free, extremely thorough, and available to tenants, homeowners and owners of commercial properties. Our electric bills include charges to pay for this service—let’s get what we’re paying for. Since some of the renovations may be expensive, National Grid also provides substantial discounts if you follow the recommendations in the home energy assessment. You […]
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19% of RI’s energy use is related to residential heating and hot water, and other activities in our homes use fossil fuels as well. We can reduce our emissions by reducing our energy use overall, and by speeding up the state’s transition to renewable energy sources. Rhode Island has invested $80-100 million in helping people […]
We no longer rise and go to bed with the sun, so we need to light our homes and workplaces. Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs give brighter light than other bulbs that use the same amount of energy, lowering costs as well as emissions. Unlike tube and compact fluorescent bulbs, they don’t contain poisonous mercury, […]
Refrigerators save lives—people used to die of food poisoning much more frequently—and dishwashers and laundry machines save the time and sanity of whoever does the housework. But when we use them inefficiently, we’re outsourcing that suffering to people elsewhere and to future generations. These actions do involve some time and work, but you’ll reduce your […]
Rhode Island is well positioned for investments in renewable energy that will add to our energy independence and reduce harmful emissions. Local companies stand ready to help you evaluate opportunities to generate clean energy at your home or business – see the Office of Energy Resources’s list. They’ll tell you about funds that can reduce the […]
We use hot water to clean ourselves, our dishes, and sometimes our clothes—many of us are so used to it, we forget how lucky we are to have it in our homes. But clean, usable water is one of the things that climate change threatens: anything we can do to reduce that threat is important. […]
Here in New England, we need to heat our homes and other indoor spaces in order to get through the winter. As the climate warms, we’re more and more often having to cool those spaces as well. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment powered by renewably generated electricity rather than by natural gas or […]