Everyone from politicians to college kids, the buzz about helping reduce your carbon footprint has been thrown around recently. So before we start off, what exactly is a carbon footprint? Basically, the carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by a population or just one person over a certain amount of time. Long story short, the more gasses let into the atmosphere, the worse our environment will get. Does that sound good to you? No? Me either! Here's how we can all help to little by little change the world.
Reducing your carbon footprint from driving.
- Combine errands so you make fewer trips.
- Remove needless weight from your car (look in your console).
- Use cruise control.
- Avoid traffic 1. Sitting in it sucks, and 2. Unnecessary CO2 is created.
- Don't speed. You won't just get a ticket, but the unnecessary acceleration will reduce mileage and waste gas and money.
- Ditch the SUV and hitch a cargo rack.
- Or you could just walk, bike, take a bus, carpool, skip, get a dog sled ... I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, man, just get creative!
Reducing your carbon footprint at home.
- Isolate and seal your home to reduce leaks and cool drafts in the winter.
- When shopping for appliances, products bearing the Energy Star label are the way to go.
- Turn off your lights.
- Don't set your thermostat too high or too low (also if you leave the house for long periods of time, turn your air off or way down, and same with your heat).
- Use CFL lightbulbs.
- Solar panels! Solar Run and Solar City are the top places to look.
- Filter your own water.
- Unplug things that aren't being used.
- Install a ceiling fan.
- Plant your own garden.
Other ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Eat locally produced and organic food.
- Take more Navy Showers.
- Also, shower with cooler showers.
- Reuse and recycle.
- Buy a laptop instead of a desktop.
- Try not using a plastic garbage bag — Click here for more info.
- Create a wormery.
- Use rechargeable batteries.
- Read the newspaper online.
- Plant a tree.
I challenge you to try out some of these tips every day and eventually knit them into your lifestyle. Going green is not only better for your lifestyle, but it is better for the world! Feel free to share your progress with me; you can tag me in a photo over Instagram @victoria_126_ or just use #GoingGreen.
Happy reducing!
P.S. this is what happens when you try and destroy mother nature.
