Demand Side Management involves consumers using less fossil fuel intensive energy and producing fewer greenhouse gases. The important principles in the search for solutions for climate change can be summed up in the 4Rs of resource conservation, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. This common idea can be part of practical, everyday approaches to lessening your impact on the environment.
Reduce - encourages the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. There are many was to get to this solution such as: waste reduction which curtails greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing garbage in our landfills; decreased auto use lowers other greenhouse gas emissions; and industrial emissions reduction is also a large part of the solution. The combined reduction of greenhouse gases from all sources alleviates excessive cloud cover related to climate change.
Reuse - includes the reuse of everything possible. What you cannot reduce the consumption of, you may be able to reuse. This may mean repairing items instead of replacing them, reusing glass and plastic containers, and purchasing durable, multi-use products. This concept contributes to the overall reduction of waste, thereby lessening your impact on the environment.
Recycle - transforms waste materials into a reusable resource available for the manufacture of new products. Almost all products can be recycled - glass, plastic, paper, metals, rubber, paint, solvents, batteries, grease, oil, organic matter - the list is endless. The recycling of these materials reduces the amount of waste going to our landfills that add to greenhouse gas emissions.
Recover - the recovery of energy from waste products can also be part of the solution. For the homeowner this could involve drain heat recovery systems while for industry it is more likely to involve the capture of gases released as by products of decomposition and industrial activity.
