There's been an admirable response to the global climate crisis, to the point where being "green" has actually become chic. Still, as cute as wearing 'stop global warming' buttons and donning cause-supporting jeans may be, or how politically correct it is to award a hybrid SUV to the Super Bowl MVP, the more substantive efforts being made are what deserve the most attention.

With attention comes education, a natural byproduct of keeping people interested long enough to learn something. To that end, I learned something new today about how we can reduce our energy consumption. It turns out that our houses (not our vehicles) are the biggest drain on the energy supply -- to the tune of 25 percent of worldwide energy consumption.

The major reason behind this energy guzzling is a lack of well-insulated homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, only 20 percent of U.S. homes built before 1980 are properly insulated. As much as 20 percent can be knocked off your energy bill by simply sealing cracks with caulking and installing (or reinstalling) insulation that's at least 19 inches thick.