SAN FRANCISCO: Of all the pollution in the United States that contributes to global warming, one-fifth comes from the energy we consume at home. Making a few choices at home can save kilowatts and keep pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air. And what you do sets an example for your family and friends. Here are five ways you can reduce America's carbon footprint.Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Thirty-seven percent of the electricity used in most California homes is from lighting. Not only do CFL bulbs last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, they save an incredible amount of energy. If all of California's 12 million households changed five incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, we could save 6.18 billion kilowatt-hours and keep 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air - that's the equivalent of taking more than 400,000 cars off the road.Turn the thermostat up in summer, down in winter.

The average household produces about four tons of heat-trapping pollution every year. It sounds small, but by setting the thermostat two degrees higher in summer and two degrees lower in winter, you could keep 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air every year.Unplug it. Even when turned off, your television, DVD player, coffee maker, phone charger and other electronics are sucking energy with those tiny red, green and yellow "vampire lights." Taken together, they can use as much power as your refrigerator. If half of all California households (about six million) unplugged just five electronic devices, we could save over 900 million kilowatt-hours and keep 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the air every year. Make it easy by plugging electronics into a power strip so you can switch them all off at once.

Turn off your computer. Shut down your computer when not in use, rather than putting it in sleep mode. If you can't turn off the whole computer, turn off the monitor and printers. If half of California households simply turned off a home computer when it's not in use, we could save more than 120 million kilowatt-hours and 45,000 tons of carbon dioxide. And tell your coworkers!Use less hot water. Heating water requires a lot of energy.

Install a low-flow showerhead and wash clothes in warm or cold water. When you're buying a new clothes washer or another appliance, look for the Energy Start label to choose the most energy-saving model. And imagine this: if all California households with 10-year-old clothes washers (about 1.8 million) upgrade to Energy Star qualified models, that's the equivalent of taking about 30,000 cars and their polluting emissions off the road.

Of all the pollution in the United States that contributes to global warming, one-fifth comes from the energy we consume at home. Making a few choices at home can save kilowatts and keep pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air. And what you do sets an example for your family and friends. Here are five ways you can reduce America's carbon footprint.1. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Thirty-seven percent of the electricity used in most California homes is from lighting. Not only do CFL bulbs last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, they save an incredible amount of energy.

If all of California's 12 million households changed five incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, we could save 6.18 billion kilowatt-hours and keep 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air - that's the equivalent of taking more than 400,000 cars off the road.2. Turn the thermostat up in summer, down in winter. The average household produces about four tons of heat-trapping pollution every year. It sounds small, but by setting the thermostat two degrees higher in summer and two degrees lower in winter, you could keep 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air every year.3. Unplug it.

Even when turned off, your television, DVD player, coffee maker, phone charger and other electronics are sucking energy with those tiny red, green and yellow "vampire lights." Taken together, they can use as much power as your refrigerator. If half of all California households (about six million) unplugged just five electronic devices, we could save over 900 million kilowatt-hours and keep 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the air every year. Make it easy by plugging electronics into a power strip so you can switch them all off at once.4.

Turn off your computer. Shut down your computer when not in use, rather than putting it in sleep mode. If you can't turn off the whole computer, turn off the monitor and printers. If half of California households simply turned off a home computer when it's not in use, we could save more than 120 million kilowatt-hours and 45,000 tons of carbon dioxide. And tell your coworkers!5. Use less hot water. Heating water requires a lot of energy.

Install a low-flow showerhead and wash clothes in warm or cold water. When you're buying a new clothes washer or another appliance, look for the Energy Start label to choose the most energy-saving model. And imagine this: if all California households with 10-year-old clothes washers (about 1.8 million) upgrade to Energy Star qualified models, that's the equivalent of taking about 30,000 cars and their polluting emissions off the road.

This column was sponsored by Flex Your Power and produced by New America Media for its ethnic media partners.