国家地理:Green: Living room 客厅节电计划

Hi, I'm Paddy Kim. From home theaters to plush sofas, hands down the family room is the coolest place to relax. But what makes this area such an amazing retreat for entertainment could also be adding dollars to your power bill and be affecting your health. But here are some easy ways to trim energy, and take out toxins 1?

More and more flat screen TVs, digital video recorders and theater sounds systems are becoming essential home fixtures 2. The nest of plugs and wires behind the console is testament 3 to how these gadgets 4 are the fastest growing source of electricity used in the home.

Strangely enough, a good 10% or more of your power bill is actually spent on not using them. What do I mean? Well, if you've got a lot of those electronic devices at home, watch out, 'cause they are, they're kinda like vampires 5, they are sucking power even when they are turned off.

Televisions, computers, set-top boxes and other digital devices all sip 6 electricity to power clocks, easy on features and little glowing lights. You can slay 7 your vampires by unplugging devices when not in use, or use power strips to switch off multiple devices when outlets 8 are in hard-to-reach areas. If you are expanding the whole entertainment system, consider how much electricity you'll be consuming. The biggest power guzzler 9 is the television. LCD TVs generally consume less energy than CRTs, while Plasmas can use as much power as your fridge. And when you add on all the peripherals of DVD players and game consoles, you may be increasing your electricity bill by an extra 10%.

Having a happy living space is also about having a healthy one. Traditionally making family rooms comfortable has included wall-to-wall carpet.

Makes a room feel so much cozier, doesn't it? No wonder people love carpet, but the one thing you might not realize about carpet is that it's actually been identified as a potential health hazard. You see, all the tiny fibers 10 of a carpet can trap things like mold, dust, pesticide 11 and you are gonna love this, droppings of dust mite 12s, yep, I'm totally serious. And all of that can trigger allergies 14 which isn't a lot of fun.

Fibers, backings and glue made from synthetic 15 petroleum 16 products are known to give off volatile 17 organic chemicals and can cause irritation 18.

The key to having a carpet is actually cleaning it and cleaning it thoroughly 19 and often. Using a vacuum cleaner like this one with the true help of a filter is a powerful way to remove those dust particles and clean the air too.

These filters are able to remove 99% of allergen particles. A nice alternative to carpet is hard wood. Wood floors made from renewable sources like Forest Stewardship 20 Council-certified hard wood, bamboo or cortiles are all good choices.

Following these easy little tips will help you and your family breathe easier, and help create a safer and healthier environment. And while you do that, I'm gonna watch the rest of this movie.

To find out how green your family room is, click on the link below to take the quiz.


hands down: (adv.) Unquestionably. 毫无疑问地
slay: (v.) To kill violently. 凶狠
mite: (n.) A very small contribution or amount of money. 很少量的现金，少量的钱
Forest Stewardship Council: a non-profit organization devoted 21 to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. 林业管理委员会