YES! I take the Pledge to Save Money and Save the Planet!

We understand that all of the following actions may not be appropriate for all pledgers or that you may have completed several actions already. We nevertheless encourage you to take the pledge and complete as many of the actions as you can.

• Getting a Home Energy Assessment
  For most Montclair residents the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (also known as your "carbon footprint") is your home. The first step toward making your home more energy efficient is to conduct a professional home energy audit to find out where you may be losing money and how you can improve the performance of your home to save energy and money. There are many ways to get an audit and the small cost in time and money is generally paid back quickly through savings on your energy bills. There are even state programs available to help arrange the audit and pay for the cost of upgrades to your home.
• Retiring an Outdated Refrigerator or Freezer
  Instead of driving to the Township of Montclair's Department of Community Services and paying them for a sticker to remove your old refrigerator, why not earn money to get rid of it instead?
  
  The Refrigerator/Freezer Recycling Program is a NJ Board of Public Utilities-sponsored initiative designed to encourage residents to recycle their old refrigerators and freezers by offering financial incentives to the owners of these appliances.
• Choosing a Fuel-efficient Vehicle when Replacing Your Car
  Transportation encompasses a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions. In Montclair more than a quarter of our carbon footprint comes from automobiles (28%). If the types of vehicles we use are more fuel efficient, a large impact can be made on reducing our carbon footprint in town.
  
  We are encouraging residents to make their next vehicle purchase from among a list of fuel-efficient models. Specifically, this effort focuses on getting consumers to purchase only vehicles that have a government calculated fuel efficiency rating of "35 MPG highway" (or greater). A list of 2006-2012 fuel-efficient vehicles is available on this website.
• Purchasing ENERGY STAR appliances
  Appliances account for 17% of an average household's energy consumption. Upgrading to ENERGY STAR® products will result in saving money, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions. ENERGY STAR® products typically use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models and there are many rebates and incentives that make them the most cost-effective choice.
• Making Green Energy My Power Choice
  With deregulation of the New Jersey energy market, the list of energy providers to choose from has greatly expanded, including clean renewable providers. Purchase your power from a clean renewable provider and decrease your dependence on fossil fuels. When switching energy suppliers, you're only changing the company that supplies your energy. Your local utility company will still handle the distribution. For the "It's In Our Power Montclair" campaign, we ask you to purchase clean power from a provider that gets at least 20% of its energy from renewable sources. Renewable energy provides numerous environmental and economic benefits including improved air quality, conservation of natural resources, job creation, and stabilized energy prices.
• Replacing 5 Incandescent Light Bulbs with Energy-efficient CFL or LED lights
  If every American home replaced just one old-fashioned incandescent bulb with a light that's earned the Energy Star, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about 0 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars. It is an EASY way to make a big impact.
• Switching to Sustainable Landscaping Practices
  Each weekend about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation's air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a new gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution in one hour of operation as 11 new cars driven for one hour.