Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

An average American’s carbon footprint exceeds 20 tons or 40,000 lbs – an astonishing amount.  This is 5 times more than a Frenchman and an unimaginable 20 times more than a person living in India.  The challenge then, for anyone even modestly interested in saving the planet, is how to reduce our carbon footprint.  Below are listed a number of ways we can all contribute to this important, 21st century issue.  

And when you’ve reduced where possible and you want to pull some CO2 out of the air and put it back into nature – like a large green tree, for example – you can try this.

Ways to Reduce:

  1. Include a renewable energy source like solar or wind generated electricity for your home.
  2. Switch to a certified renewable energy provider.
  3. Walk or ride your bike or carpool or use public
    transportation. 
  4. Reduce your energy consumption via:
    1. More efficient heating, cooling, home appliances and water heating.
    2. Add insulation and weatherstripping around doors and windows.
    3. Buy a used car or an electric / hybrid car or a bike.
    4. Better yet, choose a car-free lifestyle:  if you live in the city, you’ll be surprised at the possibilities…
    5. Unplug unused electronics to minimize standby power consumption.
    6. Turn off your engine at RR crossings, red lights and while waiting for a passenger. 
    7. Wash your clothes in cold water and let them air dry.
    8. Turn your lights OFF when you leave the house or put them on timers.
    9. Install a programmable thermostat with reasonable highs and lows.
  5. Try a clutter-free, minimalist lifestyle – ask yourself: what have I NOT used in 1 year? 2 years? 5 years?  Donate your used items, appliances, clothes, tools, electronics, furniture, toys………EVERY donated item used by another person is one less thing to manufacture – and this means less energy, fewer natural resources, less transportation and delivery costs, less CO2.  Less is more.
  6. Buy used cars, bikes, clothing, electronics, furniture, household items – thousands of tons of perfectly good clothing, furniture, house & garden items are discarded annually in favor of something newer, prettier, more modern, different.
  7. Switch to LED bulbs.
  8. Buy locally sourced, unprocessed, organic fruits and vegetables and refuse to buy products that are shipped to your area from thousands of miles away. Consider Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and support farmers markets, green restaurants and health food stores. 
  9. Eat less, or no meat or meat by-products and replace it with vegetables.  The impact of the animal agriculture industry on the environment is enormous – for more details, see here.

  10. Minimize food waste by planning ahead and saving the excess for another meal.

  11. Choose and support green hotels.

  12. Recycle as much as possible. In countries like Germany where I live, recycling is a normal fact of life. We recycle glass (3 colors), plastic and packaging items, household waste, paper, batteries, compost – everything has its place and it is a respected, time-honored tradition. In my neighborhood, the waste that is not recycled and that instead goes to a landfill is weighed at the time it is picked up and I am invoiced annually for the cost.

  13. Avoid plastic packaging as much as possible: buy products wrapped in paper, or bring your own containers.

  14. Compost your food waste.

  15. Fly less – understand how much CO2 goes into the atmosphere with your vacation flight to the islands – and remember, the shorter the flight, the more intense the emissions / passenger.

  16. Buy trees: If you must fly, consider buying trees that absorb CO2, and with the addition of sunlight, turn it into sugar and cellulose and lignin – wood as we know it. Here is one viable option for reducing your carbon footprint by buying trees that pull more CO2 out of the air than any other tree.

  17. Vote like your future depends on it – because it does – and if not yours, then that of your children and grandchildren. Make sure your elected officials support carbon free policies and seek to provide incentives for companies and individuals to reduce carbon emissions.

    If you are interested in calculating your carbon footprint, you can do it at this website:

    https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/CarbonFootPrintCalculator.php

    or here:

    https://www.footprintcalculator.org/signup?gclid=CjwKCAjw7MzkBRAGEiwAkOXexDm1Heum2bSoL0aj9N7efFz3UB_OjXVLaTiwi8hNGaE9mUBqqQv81xoCHPgQAvD_BwE