Keep it Unplugged!!

After doing research and hearing about all sorts of ways on how to reduce my carbon footprint, one I came across surprised to me. One thing I read about was when you leave your phone charger plugged in the wall, even when you’re not charging your phone it’s still using electricity to charge. So you’re pretty much charging the air, which is going to waste and contributing to your carbon footprint.

Another fact I read was that the major parts of your house that contribute the most to carbon emission is the office and entertainment center. These parts of your house are full of electronics and most of the time they are in standby mode. Again, just because these electronics are in standby “phantom” mode they are still eating up electricity. The TV and DVD player use more electricity in a year in standby mode, then they do when you are actually using it.

I think by encouraging college students to reduce their carbon footprint by unplugging their electronic devices; we would see a huge drop in carbon emissions. I don’t consider myself tech savvy or anything, but I do own a lot of electronics. I’m sure there are many college students who own more electronics then I do, and with all the school and homework we do I bet the electronics are all on standby mode. That’s why a “Keep It Unplugged” campaign would be great to target WWU students.

The overall objective would be for student to become aware of the fact that when your electronics are plugged in, you are using electricity even when they are turned off. I want them while their leaving the house to think “Did I unplug my computer…..my entertainment center?”


"Cell phone chargers, TVs, DVD players, stereos, microwaves and other electronics with transformers continue to draw power, even when they're off or not charging anything, as long as they're plugged in. In the U.S., such "phantom electricity" emits about 12 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere a year, according to Conservation International." (Los Angles Times)


So it's easy.... Unplug your appliances when your done with them, or use a power strip and click the off button to save on your electric bill!