BILL NYE, educator, engineer, comedian, television personality, best known for hosting the children's show "Bill Nye the Science Guy." He is also executive director of The Planetary Society.
Idea: Let's launch a kilowatt revolution
Mr. Nye writes: Everything that you do affects everyone in the whole world because we all share the same atmosphere. There are several things we can do to fight climate change.
For instance, we squander about 30 percent of the energy in our homes. What's surprising is the amount of heat we lose through the area behind electrical outlet junction boxes. Insulate it and the rest of your house. Put in double-pane windows filled with inert gas. It lowers your electrical bill immediately and also makes your home much quieter.
There are economic advantages, too. You're paying someone to insulate your home and those materials are nominally manufactured in the US. It's what people these days call a "multiplier." We should have solar hot water systems. If you go to Beijing, every building has solar hot water on the top. Not because they're a bunch of hippies trying to live off the grid, but because the heat's free.
The car is the biggest decision you make with regard to the environment. Right now I'm driving a Chevy Volt hybrid car. Yesterday, I got 140 m.p.g. Plus, the pickup in an electric car is unbeatable. Why? Because the most torque an electric motor has is at zero speed. Very few gas-powered passenger cars can beat the Chevy Volt off the line.
It would be even better if we didn't rely on cars so much. I bet you know more than one person who drives his car to the gym to run on a treadmill to nowhere, and then drives back home!
We have to do everything all at once when it comes to climate change. If you save one kilowatt-hour, it's not that much. But if you have millions of people doing that every day, it adds up in a hurry.
