Electricity is a non-negotiable necessity in modern life. Unfortunately, currently most power plants still use fossil fuels such as coal which are not environmentally friendly, because on the one hand burning fossil fuels produces energy, and on the other hand produces carbon dioxide.

Every year, the amount of fossil fuel combustion to produce energy continues to grow along with the increase in people's electricity needs. In 2015 alone, Indonesia consumed 82 million tons of coal for power generation. This amount exceeded the use of coal in 2014, which reached 70 million tons. By 2019, when all power plants from the 35,000 MW project are operational, coal demand will reach 200 million tons per year. Imagine the amount of carbon emissions that will be generated by burning this much coal.

If people do not do anything about this, climate change will accelerate and the impact in tropical countries will be very miserable. Therefore, saving electricity has become very urgent.

Tips to Save Electricity
Reducing electricity use is actually easy to do as long as it is accompanied by serious intentions. This can be done anywhere including at home and work. The simplest ways are to turn off lights and unplug electronic devices after use. When using the AC indoors, avoid opening windows or doors, and use a timer for those who often forget to turn off the AC. For those who like taking hot showers, turn on the electric water heater for bathing just before use and turn it off immediately when not in use. Using the refrigerator properly can also save electricity. For example, do not open the refrigerator door frequently and do not keep it open for too long as the lights on when the door is open consume energy. Keeping hot or warm food in the refrigerator also makes the machine work harder and wastes electricity. When you want to wash clothes, look at the number of clothes first. In order to save electricity, you should only wash with a washing machine when there is a lot of laundry. If using a dryer, make sure the washer is capable of spinning at 1600 or even 1800 rpm, as a spin machine is more efficient than a dryer with a heat pump. Most importantly, use energy-efficient lighting at home such as LED lights. Unlike fluorescent lights, LED lights do not contain mercury and have the most efficient way of working where more than 50% of electrical energy is converted into light. They also have a long lifespan of up to 50,000 hours. During the day, light usage can be reduced by utilizing sunlight coming in through windows and skylights.

Participate in Earth Hour
Turning off lights and electronic equipment for one hour can reduce hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This is the goal of Earth Hour every year. If people turn off at least two lights for one hour during Earth Hour 2016, this seemingly small action can have a very real impact on saving the earth from climate change.

As we welcome 2016, it would be a good idea for people to start reflecting on the importance of taking concrete actions to participate in saving the Earth from climate change.

WWF Indonesia invites you to save electricity as a resolution in 2016.