There are an estimated 60 million existing homes today that are under insulated. Of that total, about 40 million are single-family homes. With today's energy prices, literally millions of hard-earned dollars are going right through the roof each winter. If every one of those under-insulated attics were simply to go from R-19 to the U.S. Department of Energy-recommended level of R-49 for many areas, we could reduce CO2 emissions by about 41 million tons, and use 51 fewer supertanker shipments of oil per year*.

Some people are surprised to learn that buildings today consume 40 percent of the total energy use. That's more than both transportation and industrial activity. And just as significant are the findings in a recent study published in The McKinsey Quarterly that reached an unequivocal conclusion – the single most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gases is building insulation. Period. For information about how to save money and help the planet by upgrading the insulation in your home, go to the Owens Corning micro-site, www.insulateyouratticnow.com.

* With an estimated 60 million under-insulated homes in 2006 (based upon a 2003 Harvard School of Public Health study, The public health benefits of insulation retrofits in existing housing in the United States), 51 represents the number of supertanker shipments saved annually, holding a total of 103 million barrels, if all under-insulated U.S. homes were insulated to DOE standards. The CO2 emissions reduction is an estimate based on the same data.