Most of us believe that we are not responsible for global warming and environmental changes, but the truth is each individual contributes to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The amount of greenhouse gases each individual release in the atmosphere during their day to day activity is their carbon footprint.
Once we can accept that we do contribute to these gases we can bring some changes in our lifestyles to make a difference as mentioned below;
1. Eat Less Meat:
The most effective way to battle climate change is to eat less meat. We are not suggesting you stop eating meat as that would not be possible for many and will go unheard. When we talk about global climate change issues, we focus only on topics such as the reduction in the use of fossil fuels and switching to renewable sources but the main culprit of carbon dioxide emission which is agricultural farming. Increase in the number of cattle and poultry means more use of water and oxygen and emission of carbon dioxide which is adding on to the carbon dioxide footprint. Reduce the quantity of meat you eat, and this will help in reducing your carbon footprint.
2. Drive Less:
Here comes the next biggest culprit of global warming which is the use of fossil fuel such as gasoline for your vehicles. Every house owns a car or two nowadays which means everyone is contributing to the carbon footprint. While we are not asking you to discard your car, but we suggest you walk or ride a bicycle to reach nearby places. Car-pool or ride public transportations as much as you can. If you have the money, switch to hybrid cars which uses both electricity and gasoline to run and emits lesser carbon dioxide. The lesser you drive your car, the better for the environment.
3. Unplug Your Devices:
You must not be aware of the fact that every time a wire is plugged in a socket, it is drawing energy even if the device is not charging. How many of us just unplug the phone from the charger but forget to switch off the power supply? Imaging the number of devices in our home and how many times a day we do this? Leaving chargers and cords in power sockets while it is switched on is adding to your carbon footprint. You can easily unplug your devices along with the charging cords from the socket to reduce your contribution to the carbon footprint.
4. Buy Energy Efficient Appliances:
Every appliance has been given a power efficiency rating. The higher the rating the lesser power it will consume which means you will be saving a huge amount of electricity as we know that most of our electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, we will be reducing our carbon footprint. Higher energy efficient appliances may cost you more but a little extra money to help reduce carbon footprint is worth the investment.
5. Plant a Garden:
Planting your own garden is a very efficient way to reduce your carbon footprint as the plants will absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. If you are living in an apartment, you can still plant a few potted plants in your home for the benefit of the environment. If you have a house with a backyard or a garden then you can create your own mini farm by planting trees which can produce vegetables and fruits which will reduce additional carbon footprint as you will not need to buy any more food from the market and eat right out of your own garden. Do not forget to protect your valuable plants by adding garden fencing from Critterfence.com – garden fences to keep out animals can help protect your precious plants from critters which will aid in reducing your overall carbon footprint.
6. Eat Local Produce:
Eat food locally produced in and around your area instead of eating exotic produces from around the world. The longer the food travels, the lesser its nutrients. Sticking to food which grows locally will preserve the nutrients and reduce the carbon footprint created due to the shipping and transportation of the produce.
7. Use Minimum Appliances:
Line drying clothes instead of using a dryer can save a lot of energy which reduces your carbon footprint. Similarly, try to use less of thermostat as well as water heater as all these appliances adds on to carbon footprint.
Spread as much awareness about carbon footprint in your area as you can so that every individual can make these small changes in their day to day life which will result in a combined big difference, reducing a large amount of carbon footprint from our environment.
