I think one of the problems is that people believe that they would have to make huge and $$$ changes in their lives in order to have a positive impact on the environment. The truth is that you can make many small and inexpensive changes that make a big difference in the end. As a family, maybe you could consider making one change a month in your home, and build up your energy saving over time. Some ideas would be:
1) Change to compact fluorescent light bulbs (especially in rooms where the lights are on a lot).
2) Buy a programmable thermostat.
3) Use a drying rack instead of your dryer for items like towels and jeans (give 'em a quick 10 minutes in the dryer after they are dry to loosen them up).
etc etc etc....

Other actions which you could do to decrease global warming would be:
1.Switching from coal and charcoal to a lower carbon fuel such as propane(clean, efficient, reliable and less expensive)for say, barbecuing.
2.Switching from incandescent to more efficient compact fluorescent or LED lighting like Mr. Clintberg said.
3.Choosing a more fuel-efficient car, and using alternatives as often as possible.

Is it really benifical right now to buy a hybrid vechile. Granted, gas prices are extremly high I heard on the news that it was about $4000 more exepsive in the long run to buy a hybrid.

So Tyler said it costs $4000 extra to own a hybrid. I am assuming this is taking into consideration the money saved on gas. Not a lot of middle class families have $4000 kicking around. Maybe if they really budgeted and saved up that much. It's possible but too people with poor money management skills(which is a pretty big chunk of the population) it's tough to save that much money for something that they may see as not that beneficial.

If you have $30 000 to buy a hybrid i think that you can affford to pay the extra $4000.

hmm i feel and argument coming on about money and thats not what this is about..come on...you already forgot about the environment...thats a classic example of whats actually going on

Kudos to that observation... its true

yay hybrids.. yay yay yay.. BOOO it broke down.. BOO it costs more for you to have it fixed.. but yes i would buy one.. who cares? eventually everyone will be buying new ones and better to buy one now while they're cheap before everyone wants one and the production company jacks the price up

Well if you guys dont care about money why dont you all go out and buy a solar panel system for your house. so that your house can run off solar panel. Oh ya thats right because its costs $10 000. At this point in time it is cheaper to pollute using gas running cars and gas powered houses.

Yes that is right it does cost an outrages amount of money for a solar power system for your house. But if you were to spend the money think of the benefits. You could be making money because on nice sunny days you would be producing more energy then you could use. So you would end up putting the extra energy back into the power grid so your energy bill would be a lot less and if you were really luck the power company might just end up giving you money instead of you giving them the money. And solar panels are getting cheaper just look Canadian tier has those portable ones that can charge cell phones and run other electronics. Just wait some time the cost of the solar panel systems will go down.

I am sure that the price will go down but for now its too expensive. And if you do produce more energy than you consume on sunny day they energy is stored in batteries and does not go back into the power grid. and those solar panels that can run your cell phone and small things only can charge a cell phone for a couple of hours.I bet in 10 years most houses will run off solar power but not anytime soon.

i was wondering if solar pannels would be a good alternative to natural gas in edmonton. we all know that we don't have the longest days or brightest days.

I don't believe solar panels are the way to go UNLESS you do solar panels in the summer, but have other methods during the winter because it is so COLD!!! Back to the environment vs economics, since when have major govt decisions ever been purely about the environment... Some philosphers believe that human beings are naturally greedy and I have to agree. There is no human being that is 100% purely giving. I know some people may argue Mother Teresa, but I still think that there is at least a teensy tiny part of everyone that is greedy! But I do hope that more and more people begin to conserve energy and become more environmentally aware!

Here are a few more ways to conserve energy!
1) Keep curtains and blinds closed at night to keep cold air out, but open them during the day to let the sun warm the room

2)For hardwood or tile floors, add area rugs to keep your feet warm

3) If on vacation, lower the thermostat to 55 degrees. This will save energy while preventing water pipes from freezing

4) This one may seem simple but plant a tree. One well-placed shade tree can reduce your cooling costs by 25 percent. To achieve the maximum benefit, place leafy shade trees to the south and west, and evergreens to the north

5) Use ceiling fans to help circulate air throughout the house. A ceiling fan should run clockwise during the summer, and counter-clockwise during the winter.

6) For all us females who enjoy our bubble baths...take showers, not baths! A five-minute shower will use about 7.5 gallons of hot water, while filling a bathtub can use up to 20 gallons!

7) Use lids on pots and pans to reduce cooking times, and don't put a small pan on a large burner.

Clean the lint screen on the dryer every time you use the machine. A clogged lint screen can make your dryer use up to 30 percent more energy - and it can be a fire hazard!

9) Dry one load of clothes immediately after another. This will minimize heat loss, reducing warm-up and drying times.

10) Dust light fixtures regularly. A heavy coat of dust can block up to 50 percent of the light output!

These are really simple ways to not only cut the energy bill but help the environment...so it is a win win situation! And...they are not inconveinent or inpractical!

well in the long run we should try using renewable and clean energy now before its too late.. i mean eventually we are going to HAVE to use renewable energy because we would have wasted all the dirty power

Exactly we have to smarten up and get with it. We have to start using better more fuel-efficient cars like a hybrid. And the way technology goes for pricing I bet it will be about 5 years till most people will start running there homes off of solar panels. And what I said about the power going back into the grid there is a guy in Edmonton what was on the news about 2 years ago that did that and on sunny days he would put powered back into the grid but once the batteries were charged.

I totally agree and think that it is so true that we should be smarter about the energy and waste us humans use..but it isn't going to be that easy to just say "ya I'm going to buy a hybrid car." Most people do not have that kind of money to spend. Some people are barely making their car payments on time, and now we have to worry about emissions and all that jazz? But it is so true that when you buy that hybrid, you are probably saving sooo much money with the lack of needed gas and all. It would probably be a super smart thing to do...but I honestly do not know anyone who has done it. How much do these hybrids sell for? I heard that they were super expensive..do any of you know? Do you also think that there is limited seating inside of it?

In the long run a hybrid costs less! I am not speaking hypothetically. My uncle has a Toyota Prius. Yes, it cost more to initally buy it, but he immediately saw a savings in gas. He gets (on average) about double the clicks that I do on my Toyota Corolla with a tank that is almost exactly the same size. A repair bill could be higher, but there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary for him yet (he's had it for about 3 years I believe). The big cost will come in about 5 more years when the main batteries have to be replaced at a cost of a couple grand. All said, he's done the math (and he's a nerd like me so I trust it), and it will be costing him less (by a bit), while at the same time giving smiley faces to the environment.

hmmm maybe i'll ask my parents for a hybrid for a grad/birthday present. its a long shot but maybe. i'll tell them i want to be a good enviromentalist

Haha that is a good idea!! Maybe I will try that too.....mommy, daddy....I want to save the environment, so please buy me a hybrid car!! Haha.....Mr.C, how many seats does your uncle's car have? Are the hybrids built smaller than a regular car? Would it be good for a family to own....if there is limited space inside the car?