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The Northwest Illinois Audubon Society, in partnership with the Highland Community College Student Servant Leadership Program has developed a program to put households and communities in northwest Illinois on a 'Low-Carbon Diet.' A community education effort called Low-Carbon Diet—A 30-Day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds is the core of this regional effort. Using a self-study guide and local resource people with training from Audubon members, families and groups take a systematic look at their 'carbon footprint' and discover ways of saving money, saving energy and saving the planet. Families participating in pilot Low-Carbon Diet projects have cut their carbon output by as much as 60,000 pounds per year! The average CO₂ reduction for participating households has been more than 6,300 pounds per year—more than two and a half tons per family—and a reduction in utility bills of hundreds of dollars annually! Calculate Your Carbon Footprint Use the Carbon Footprint Calculator to discover your household's (or your organization's) contribution to the global CO₂ problem. You will need to gather some preliminary data—such as your utility bills, automobile use and travel records—but actually calculating your total footprint will only take a few minutes. Don't be too surprised when you find out what 'size' you are. Many of our 'normal' lifestyle choices have been more costly to the environment than we might think. But there is hope. Contact us for a copy of Low-Carbon Diet and we can show you how to reduce your footprint by thousands of pounds per year—and save big money while you do it! Form a Low-Carbon Diet Group If you and some of your friends and associates want to really make a difference in our region's carbon footprint, the Northwest Illinois Audubon Society will help you begin your Low-Carbon Diet. We will work with groups of six to eight families in a challenging but fun curriculum that can be completed in four sessions of about two hours each. Previous 'diet groups' have averaged more than six thousand pounds of CO₂ reduction and saved hundreds of dollars annually for each participating family! Contact us for more information and assistance. Record Your Results... Once your group has registered on our Low-Carbon Diet, we'd like you to become a 'Participating Team' and record your results. Our goal for 2009 is to reduce regional CO₂ emissions by at least a million pounds!	CO₂ Reduction Our Total to Date! 576,950 lbs. Tip of the Month I was surprised at how many appliances draw so much power even when they're 'off.' It's nice to know that plugging them into a simple power strip and turning that 'all the way off' can save so much energy. Freeport - Prince of Peace May 2010 Highlight of the Month We had more than 20 people from our congregation participating and we had some great discussions. Thanks! Freeport - Prince of Peace May 2010 Participating Teams Aquin High School Dakota High School Elizabeth - Pearce Forreston - Aikins Forreston High School Freeport - Library Freeport - Luthin Freeport - Prince of Peace Freeport High School Galena High School Highland - Grahame 1 Highland - Grahame 2 Lena Winslow High School Orangeville High School Pearl City High School River Ridge High School Scales Mound High School Stockton High School Warren High School West Carroll High School
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