Many household appliances, including air conditioners, water heaters, and refrigerators, use a lot of energy.  In the US, Energy Star rated appliances are more energy efficient and provide information to help compare brands and types.  Many other countries have similar rating programs to help consumers understand the energy efficiency of an appliance before they purchase it.  In addition to saving energy (and money) over the lifetime of the appliance, you may be able to get a rebate from your utility company or local government when you purchase qualifying energy efficient appliances.  For instance, right now my electric utility company offers rebates on specific energy-efficient items, including certain air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters, electric heaters, refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers.   There are also basic differences in how appliances operate, such as the difference between a tank-type water heater and an on-demand water heater, that will affect the overall energy efficiency.  By checking around, you may be able to save both money and energy. 

Items such as cooking pans require input of heat to become warm enough to cook the food.  These cooking pans remain hot for quite a while after the food is cooked and the stove burner is turned off.  The residual heat in the pan will finish cooking the food.  The stove burner also remains hot for quite a while after it is turned off and contributes to finishing the cooking.  If you wait to turn off the stove burner until the food is completely cooked, that residual heat in the burner and cooking pan is wasted.  In the summer, if your air conditioner is running, extra energy is then needed to remove the heat from the house, compounding the waste of energy.  This same principle applies to the oven, to an outdoor cooking grill, and other heat-producing appliances.  Even in the winter, the stove burner may not be as energy efficient as your regular source of heat, so it’s still important to turn appliances off as early in the process as possible.  How many of your heat-producing appliances could be turned off a few minutes early?

In 1962, Rachel Carson published a book titled “Silent Spring”.  It has been called “the single most influential book on the environmental conservation movement”.  The concepts and information in this book influenced large numbers of readers to become concerned about environmental issues.  This public concern led to laws regarding air pollution; water pollution; production, use, and disposal of hazardous chemicals; and other forms of environmental protection.  The actions of one person CAN make a difference, whether large or small.   When you look on the Internet, you will find a lot of good, scientifically sound information on environmental issues, as well as information of questionable accuracy.  Find trustworthy sources of information (websites, books, or magazines), educate yourself, and then decide what you personally can do.  I found a very nice summary of “Silent Spring” and some of the main concepts (which are still relevant) from the book.  See the link below. 

https://www.treehugger.com/legacy-silent-spring-continues-60-years-publication-5186985