Incandescent lights are 90% less efficient that CFL.  If every student, faculty, and staff member at Penn changed one 60 watt incandescent to a 15-watt CFL it would be the equivalent of taking 2400 cars off the road per year or retaining over 2800 acres of forest -- a total reduction of 27,720,000 lbs of CO2.

Adjusting your computer's sleep mode to start after 5 minutes of inactivity is quick and can reduce its energy usage significantly. Don’t worry – the surge of energy to turn the computer back on won’t harm it.

It is a myth that it takes more energy to turn a bulb on than to just keep it on. Reduce the amount of energy you use – always turn it off!

Did you know that over 80% of the energy used by a cell phone charger is consumed when the phone isn't plugged in? Most plugs and appliances continue to draw power from an outlet even if they are powered off or not charging. Make sure you unplug all your appliances and defrost your refrigerator before leaving for vacation.

Increasing your room temperature by 2°F in the summer and decreasing by 2°F in the winter will reduce your energy use and reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere!

Keep blinds open during the day to let in natural light (you won’t need to turn on the light) and keep them closed at night to provide an extra layer of insulation to keep your room warm or cool.

A significant amount of energy is used to heat water when doing laundry. Switching to cold water will save about 90% of the energy used. If you need some heat for your clothes, use warm water which requires about 50% less energy than hot water. Most stores sell laundry detergent for cold-water use, so you don’t have to worry about the cleaning power.

Philadelphia’s tap water is held to higher and more stringent standards than bottled water and costs hundreds of times less. If you are still concerned, buy a Brita or other filtration system. According to the New York Times, over 30 billion single serving bottles of water will be thrown away this year – don’t add to that number. Buy a reusable water bottle and refill it at one of the Quench machines on campus or from the tap.

Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, washing your face, or scrubbing dishes. The average faucet uses between 2-3 gallons of water per minute. If you use 2 minutes less water every day you will save around 1460 gallons of water over the course of a year.

According to the USDA, the average piece of produce travels 1500 miles to your plate. Local foods travel less than 150 miles (1/10 of the travel time) and are fresher. Attend a local farmers market, there are numerous located on and around campus.

Meat is a highly carbon intensive food to produce. It uses over 15 times the amount of fossil fuels than wheat or soybeans. Beef production requires over 5,000 gallons of water for ONE pound of beef while a pound of lettuce required only 23 gallons of water.

Over 15% of trash in the US is food waste. Take only what you are actually going to eat. You can always go back for more.

Reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfills. Making an aluminum can from a recycled can requires only 5% of the energy required to make one from scratch. Over 40% of the waste stream is composed of paper, newspaper, and cardboard, you can recycle most of these products!

The average ream of paper (500-sheets) uses 6% of a tree. In one year, the average person uses 2 pine trees worth of paper products.

Since you already recycle your waste paper, why not buy the by product? Recycled paper costs about the same as virgin paper, looks the same (if not better) and uses less energy, trees and other natural resources.

There are over 40,000 students, faculty and staff on Penn’s campus. If each person uses one paper coffee cup each day (during the academic year), Penn would produce 9.6 million cups of waste over 9 months - and this only accounts for one cup! Help reduce the amount of waste on campus by always using a reusable mug. The same goes for your water bottle – buy a reusable bottle and refill it at numerous tap water filters across campus!

Bringing your own bags is not only environmentally friendly, but some stores will reward you for it! Cloth/reusable bags are sturdier than their plastic counterparts (ensuring that you won’t lose anything on your walk back). According to the Wall Street Journal, over 100 billion plastic bags are consumed in the US each year. Help reduce the number that are landfilled by making the switch to cloth.

According to the EPA, in 2006 transportation accounted for 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions. It is the fastest-growing source of emissions. Philadelphia is packed with alternative transportation options that will get you to your destination cheaper (and often quicker) than by car. Walking, biking, and taking public transportation (SEPTA trains, buses and trolleys) are all great options for getting around the city and to the surrounding area. Penn even provides numerous free transportation services that can help you get around University City and into Center City.

Education is the key to change. By taking one of Penn’s many sustainability related courses, you will gain important and relevant information and insight into these issues!