Even though there are simple ways to challenge yourself to reduce your carbon footprint every day, it is more common these days to hear people have discussions about climate change and how much of a mess carbon pollution is turning the planet to. Some of the effects of carbon footprint range from the food insecurity and the terrible storms that all result from the change in weather patterns.
These are enough evidence that the carbon footprint we leave is destroying our home.
You may be wondering if there’s anything you can do to change the narrative. True, the icebergs are melting and tornados are becoming more frequent and that is too much for one person to fix but there are little things and actions you could do every day to help preserve the life of the planet for several future generations.
Simple Ways to Challenge Yourself In Order To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
These are some of the little ways you can help to reduce your carbon footprint and make the planet better.
1. Replace Your Lightbulbs
You may not be the type who gives a thought about lightbulbs except turning them on and off whenever you want it. But did you know that you can affect the health of the planet by switching every bulb you have in your house to the firm fluorescent bulbs? When you change a bulb, you have succeeded in lowering the carbon dioxide pollution by 1300 pounds. Think of what will happen if every house in your state changes their bulbs. Only a little amount of electricity will be used eventually and this will reduce the pollution effect if done continuously.
2. Leave Your Gadgets unplugged
Your gadgets are not the only things that benefit from a power off. The planet does too. You should also learn to unplug your chargers whenever you are not making use of them. Turn off your cable box and make sure your computer is placed in sleep mode if not in use. You could even save money by cultivating these habits.
3. Carpool with Friends or Use a Public Transport Service
For every day you spend in a car, the car emits as much carbon dioxide as it weighs.
When you carpool, you use one car instead of two or three and it saves gas. Also, when you use the public train or bus to your destination, there is a reduction in the number of cars that ply the road. Additionally, you could even use a bicycle to commute to shorter distances.
4. Replace your desktop with a laptop to reduce your Carbon Footprint
The designers of laptops focused more on battery life and made it energy efficient. A laptop saves up to 80% more energy than any desktop. Some of the tools incorporated into laptops to make them better include hard drives, LCD screens, adaptors and CPUs that are all energy-efficient too.
5. Make little Changes To Your Thermostat
When you make small changes in your house temperature, you are able to help the planet in your little way. If you can keep your house a little warmer during the summer and more cooler during the winter, then your energy bills can really dropdown. You can save more money in your energy bill also if you start putting off your thermostat when you are away.
One other thing you can do is to open up your curtains in the daytime during winter for the little sunlight it sneaks in while you close them at night to retain warmth. You can do the opposite during summer by shutting the curtains in the daytime and keeping them open during the night time to make the temperature fine. You can even take it up a notch and buy energy-efficient curtains in the market.
More Ways To Challenge Yourself in Achieving Carbon Reduction
Now that you know some simple ways and efforts aimed at reducing carbon footprint: things as simple as replacing your lightbulbs and making little changes to your thermostat to reduce carbon footprint, here are some more ways to challenge yourself.
6. Practice DIY water purifying
The planet is being harmed by the consumption of packaged bottled water. The plastic waste places a huge burden on the environment. The tap water in your house especially if you live in developed countries is good for drinking and you can even use a filtration pitcher.
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7. Purchase Locally Grown Foods
There are fruits that you may love eating but they are not always in season or even grown in your area. When you buy foods that are locally grown and in season, there will be less emission from vehicles that transport these foods all over.
8. Plant Trees
This is one sweet and old way of appreciating the environment. It is also one very trusted way of cutting down on carbon emissions. The trees absorb the carbon dioxide and they give off oxygen. They also help to give us shade. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by young trees keeps increasing as they get older. Planting trees will make us have more oxygen.
9. Which is Better, Print or Digital News
There has been a lot of debate going on concerning which of the various news forms have more negatives impact. Newspapers produce quite a lot of carbon emissions while browsing the internet also gives off energy according to the size of the device. The only way to access news without harming the environment is by being careful. If you still use the newspapers try to recycle them after use. If you would rather use online news, then read from an unplugged laptop instead of plugging your device for a long time while you browse.
10. Be Energy-efficient Even In the Kitchen
You may not really know this but you are better of microwaving your food. While it is faster, it also uses lesser energy than a stove would use. Also, if you use a shorter time to cook your meal with the microwave, you’re also saving up on your energy bill. The good thing about swift cooking is that there is no difference in the taste.
Now that you know all the simple ways to challenge yourself, I challenge you to reduce your carbon footprint every day for the next 30 days by making changes with your light bulbs and thermostats, unplugging your device, eating local foods, being energy efficient in the kitchen, planting trees and following some of the other tips listed above.
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