Lenten Carbon Fast

Day 10: What you can do today Dry your clothes on a clothesline instead of in an electric or gas dryer.  Electric dryers use up to 10% of residential electricity in the United States.  The average household can save more than $100 a year by foregoing the electric clothes dryer and using a clothesline.  A recent study by Cambridge University's Institute of Manufacturing found that 60% of the energy associated with a piece of clothing is spent in washing and drying it.  Over its lifetime, a T shirt can send up to 9 lbs. of carbon dioxide into the air.  Read more.  (If you must use a dryer, consider installing a diverter valve to the vent so that during winter, the hot air exhaust can be used to help heat and humidify the house.)