Is your house considered green and environmentally friendly? Many of us have plenty on our minds these days and although the push for environmentally conscious living is on, the overwhelming majority of people in the industrialized nations continue to waste fuel and natural resources simply because they can afford to do so. This is wreckless behavior that will ultimately cost us our only place to live. Pollution and wasted energy are as common as ever and many misconceptions about home energy use still ring true despite so many earth-conscious advertising campaigns. The recent rise in energy and gas prices has sparked concern and plenty of public relations.

Celebrities have taken it upon themselves to make it their own personal cause and do the right thing. But how many of us are actively pursuing energy saving techniques and habits that will put a dent in our energy use and reduce pollution? The power used in our homes generates an alarming amount of pollution and this is where we need to begin our critical green living. Education can and will help the cause. Residential energy use can be reduced substantially worldwide with a bit of effort from every homeowner.

Every house needs heating and lighting for comfort and safety. Every human being enjoys hot water for bathing and showering. These comforts come at a cost. Homes are traditionally heated, powered, and fuelled by electricity, fuel oil, coal, wood, natural gas, or a combination of these. What many homeowners don't know however is that natural gas in particular is the cleanest burning of these fuels. Natural gas produces 45 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than electricity which has been generated by coal, and approximately 30 percent less greenhouse emissions than fuel oil. Although the primary concern of homeowners in a tough economy is usually utility prices, facts are facts and this is valuable knowledge.

Usually these statistics are sounded by natural gas company executives as a marketing and sales pitch, but to hear the cold, hard facts on natural gas emissions from a third party without financial motives seems to carry more clout. The reduced emissions from the use of natural gas over other fossil fuels are not to be taken lightly.

Let's use a typical home water heater for example. Just by converting an electric water heater to a natural gas water heater can actually save the same amount of carbon dioxide emission over the period of one year as recycling 1.5 million tons of waste. In other words, natural gas water heaters emit more than two and one half times less greenhouse gas than electric hot water heaters. If you heard that statistic on a natural gas tv commercial you may not even pay attention to it. This however is a remarkable difference in the amount of pollution generated from a single residential water heater.

Natural gas which is usually advertised as inexpensive fuel to attract new customers. What many people don't see however is the substantial amount of reduced greenhouse gas byproducts. As reported by the US department of Energy, a whopping 90 percent of natural gas delivered to a residence is useful energy. Compare it to electricity in particular, which loses an estimated 66 percent of its useful energy between the actual generation of power and its delivery through the power grid. More interesting emissions statistics include the amounts of both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from natural gas. They are also both substantially less than electric or oil in particular.

Natural gas use also produces no solid waste or pollution of our water ways. These little known facts about natural gas seem to make it a more viable fuel for household use, especially when we consider that our future depends on our ability to exist on earth. The house is the best place for us to make use of this cleaner burning, lower cost (depending on location) fuel for many of our everyday needs like cooking, keeping our water warm and comfortable, as well as general home heating. We can invoke and immediate environmental impact by using natural gas in place of other fossil fuels and depending on your location, maybe even save some cash in the process.