Everyone in my family is a big fan of warmth. I live in Houston, Texas. The weather here is often warm and humid. When winter arrives, the cold isn’t something we enjoy. We enjoy cozying up near the fireplace or turning on the heater and watching movies. Unfortunately, this draws a large carbon footprint. For most Americans, heating is the number one household carbon emission. A fireplace that uses gas also gives off a significant amount of carbon. At certain points, a heater is necessary to prevent stress or hypothermia. In other cases, we do it just for our own comfort. I had an idea that my family could agree upon. If the temperature is under 62 degrees Fahrenheit outside, we would put on the heater. If the temperature is over 62 degrees Fahrenheit outside, we would use thicker clothing and more blankets to keep us warm. This agreement can help lower the carbon emission and prevent the rise of global warming. Here is a reference that talks more statistically ab out the amount of carbon given off through heaters as well as the global warming dangers: http://www.forgreenheat.org/issues/cool … hange.html

I feel the same as you do. My family and I had a quite large footprint compared to peers in my area. During the summer, we use the AC a lot and turn on fans throughout our house. We sometimes use it, but others it is used almost excessively. For example, when it may not be that warm, we would turn on the AC to cool down our house. Also, in the winter we turn the heater most of the time. We use it for our own comfort. Sometimes we could also just put some blankets over us or put a jacket on with some pants.
I have to say, I am guilty, I don't have a reason to do so, I just do. I should try to at least see if I can change my body temperature any other way. This is a way to easily create more CO2 in the air. We need to soon think of ways to lower the amount of CO2 we put into the air. If we continue to put as much CO2 in the air as often as we do, it could be critical to the air we breathe.

Unfortunately, my family relies heavily upon the heater/ac as well. In California, especially of late, we have been using ac to change the temperature by 1 degree several times a day. I know, it's horrible. Mostly it's for my benefit, too - I overheat quite easily. And when it's hot I can't stand it. So this brings me to a realization. I have recognized a few electricity-free ways of keeping at the right temperature. First, when it's hot, don't be attached to a particular outfit when you're at home. If you are wearing layered clothes, or stuff that's made of a thick material, exchange it for something lightweight and take your shoes off! It'll help a bit. Second, if the sun is shining in (and you don't want it to), pull the blinds - the less light warming your room, the cooler it'll be. Thirdly, keeping doors open inside helps the flow of air. THEN - all of this applies to warming up, too - just reverse all of those. Get rid of draughts, let the sun (if there is any) in, wear socks and everything else you can think of. How much change in temperature can YOU stand?

My family uses the ac and heater a lot.  In California, especially during the late summer months, it gets really hot and we rely on our ac to cool us down.  We always turn it down throughout the day, we rely heavily on it.  During winter, we always use the heater.  Here is California, it doesn't get really cold, but for us it seems like it does.  My family uses the heater all throughout winter. 

Instead, we could use the ac just during the afternoon hours and open windows at night to let in all the cool air, this way we won't use the ac as much.  We could do the same for the heater, just run a wood fire, put on heavy clothes, or use lots of blankets.  There are many ways to keep yourself warm, we just need to use them.  We need to learn to regulate our body heat with relying on the ac and heater.  This is one factor towards climate change, heating and cooling systems release carbon into the air, which then contributes to your carbon footprint.  Be resourceful and use things around the house keep you warm or cool you down.  Don't rely on the heater and the ac.

Yes my family hates the cold also and we use up our heater to its maximum capacity. I think if we just started huddling up with blankets and use the fireplace that we would help our carbon footprint. Nice entertaining post.