GreenUpSeattle.org
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One of the easiest ways to make a big dent in reducing your personal carbon emissions doesn't require changing a single thing you do on a day-to-day basis.
Provided that your electricity provider has a green energy program (and more and more of them do) all you have to do is sign up to switch over your electricity from the normal service your utility provides to the renewable energy supplied through their green energy program.
One call or email is all it usually takes to switch from greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. It costs a little bit more per month -- some programs charging as little as 1 cent more per kilowatt-hour -- but the carbon emission savings are significant.
And need I mention to peace of mind that comes from knowing that your electricity usage isn't contributing to global warming?
Seattle City Light's Green Up Program
Compared to some other cities if you live in Seattle your choices for getting some green power are quite simplified. For example, if you live in New York as I do you have to sort through the five or six green power options Con Edison provides.
In Seattle however, Seattle City Light, through their Green Up program, clearly presents and describes your renewable energy options.
What Source & From Where?
Seattle City Light owns a share of the Stateline Wind Project in eastern Washington and Oregon. All of the power that Green Up currently supplies comes from this source.
What happens when you sign up for Green Up is that you are purchasing Renewable Energy Credits in an amount equal to the amount of wind energy required to offset your normal electricity usage.
The actual electricity entering your home is no different than that of a neighbor who doesn't participate in the program, as the electricity generated from wind power just gets mixed in with electricity generated from all other sources in the transmission grid.
What's more, any net program revenue from Green Up go to support other renewable energy projects in Washington, Oregon and Idaho: A small-scale hydro electric, one biogas, and one landfill gas project have received contributions to date. So not only are you greening your electricity, by participating in Green Up you are supporting other renewable energy projects as well.
So How Do You Sign-Up?
Signing up for Green Up is easy; the whole procedure is done through Green Up's online registration form.
On the form you select the level of participation you want (i.e. how much of your normal electricity service you want to replace with wind power): 25%, 50%, or 100%.
The greenest option of those is obviously choosing 100% wind power. This will add $12 to your monthly electric bill. If you find that such a payment increase would be financially burdensome, switching 50% of your electricity to wind power costs $6 extra per month, while a 25% offset costs a mere $3.
Sign up for what you can afford, but the greenest option is 100% wind power. And while given the current financial climate you may be inclined to not want to increase your bills at all, $12 per month works out to a mere $0.40 a day.
If you've got more specific questions, Seattle City Light's Green Up FAQ page is a good place to start, and provides customer service contact information.
One Last Thing
As I've said before, just because you've signed up for a renewable energy program which offsets all of your fossil fuel generated electricity doesn't mean that conservation isn't important. Even if it's green, we all should do everything possible to use as little of this resource as possible.
Both Planet Green and TreeHugger have plenty of great tips on ways to conserve electricity. Check 'em out:
How to Green Your Electricity
Green You Electricity: Take Steps to Reduce Your Energy Usage
Find Out How Much Electricity You Use, Then Cut Back
Answers to All You Electricity Questions Have Save Energy
Learn about getting green energy in your city:
Seattle City Lights Green Up
Renewable Energy in NYC
How-To: Get Renewable Energy in Chicago
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