Gas prices may be lower than it’s been the past several months, but thanks to the worldwide recession, more people are opting to stay in most days rather than go out–keeps them from using up gas and blowing money on stuff they don’t really need that much. Staying in sounds like the eco-friendly way to go, but an article on The Observer highlights the high costs of staying in. After all, when people stay at home, they do avoid using fuel, but they end up using a LOT of power nonetheless, thanks to TV, game consoles, and heating, among others.
I spend most of my time at home, and I have to admit that I’m most guilty of having an electric fan and my computer turned on for a good chunk of the day. Sometimes, I leave the TV on when I feel it’s gotten too quiet.
If you stay at home a lot and find that you tend to use too much electricity, then make a conscious effort to keep it down. Try not to channel-surf aimlessly if there’s really nothing on TV that catches your interest. Unplug all appliances that you’re not using. Turn off absolutely everything that you don’t need to use and just curl up with something good to read. If you have to use any gaming consoles, then…yeah, it sounds hard, but try to limit your use to a couple of hours (hey, I’m not unreasonable, and I know a mere hour flies by quickly when playing games).
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