Take Action

On this website, pages relating to Energy, Recycling, Food and Water (see menu) provide information that will not only help your household save money and improve quality of life, but in many cases will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Here are other suggestions to help you reduce your carbon emissions and save money:

Top Actions You Can Take In The Home 

• Make your home more energy efficient by taking advantage of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Energy Rebates, Loans & Weatherization Programs.  AHFC Energy Programs or do your own home energy assessment at Energy Star Home Energy Yardstick
• Car share to work, school/childcare or social events. Ask your employer if they will start a work car share program or get together with friends/colleagues to start your own.  For information on how car sharing works, see Anchorage Carpooling FAQs
• Drive less – organize your errands and your food shopping into fewer, more efficient trips.  Do what tasks you can online instead of driving.  
• Fly less – if you fly for business, can you teleconference instead? Can you travel on vacation by other means or take fewer trips?
• Use less energy at home – keep your water heater at 120°F, and lower when you are away; insulate your water heater and pipes.  
• Buy the best energy rated appliances you can when replacing old home appliances and electrical goods. See Energy Star Products
• Buy a power strip or two and plug in your appliances, then switch them off with one switch.
• Consume less – buy fewer products with less packaging; buy bulk foods.
• Buy, sell or give away second hand or recycled products through garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales, Craigslist or consignment stores.  Recycling Resources
• Choose your food carefully, buy as seasonal, local and organic as you can – the less distance the food has to travel the better; grow what you can. 
• Sign up for the local recycling curbside scheme at home. If there isn’t a recycling program at work, see if you can get one started. See our Recycling Resources pages in the menu.
• Bring your own cup to the coffee shop and carry your own bags for shopping.
• Turn off non-essential office equipment at work when you are not using it.
• Switch to environmentally friendly cleaning products at home and businesses and ask your employer to do the same at your workplace.  Greener Choices

Top Actions in the Garage or Outside

• Store oil, grease, household chemicals, pesticides, and other potential contaminants in secure containers and dispose of them properly at CBJ’s Household Hazardous Waste events. To see when these disposal events occur throughout the year, visit the CBJ website: Juneau Hazardous Waste
• Take your car to the car wash instead of washing it in the driveway.
• Check your car for leaks and recycle your motor oil at CBJ hazardous waste events.  Juneau Hazardous Waste
• Have your septic tank pumped and the system inspected regularly.
• Put dog waste, grass clippings, garbage, ashes, and yard trimmings into your garbage can and not into streams, ditches, or areas that drain into the storm water system.  If possible, compost.
• Snow from driveways and streets can contain sediment, de-icing chemicals, oil, and other pollutants harmful to streams. Store snow away from any streams, preferably on grassy areas where pollutants are filtered from the melted water before it flows into a stream.
• Use fertilizers sparingly and sweep up driveways, sidewalks, and gutters.
• Never dump anything down storm drains or in streams.
• Use the least toxic pesticides, follow labels, and learn how to prevent pest problems.
• Use permeable materials for driveways, direct downspouts away from any paved surfaces and consider a rain garden to capture runoff.

For more ideas, go to Portlandonline.com