A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted as a result of an individual’s activities or other entities like buildings. The gas is emitted through food consumption, burning of fossils, clearing land, and other services.
Increased carbon footprint spurs further climate change. There are several steps that can lower carbon footprints and this will reduce carbon footprints’ contribution to global climate alleviation. The main focus of this article is to explain some of the simple tips to reduce carbon footprint. These include the following;
Food
Eating foods that are grown locally helps reduce the carbon footprint caused by shipping foods. Consuming foods like fruits grown in a local firm significantly reduces the environmental cost. The reason you need to avoid imported foods is that they have fewer nutrients with low quality.
The produce takes a long before reaching you, explaining the fewer nutrients in imported foods. Avoid processed foods as well. These types of foods can cause health issues like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. These types of foods are also significant polluters of the environment.
You also need to eat less or quit eating meat. It is a considerable step to mitigate climate change. Cutting meat portions in your meals can make a difference. The meat is from animal agriculture, which is contributing significantly to water scarcity.
A single pound of beef takes about five thousand gallons of water, which is the same amount used by one consumer of water in the world.
Home
Unplugging devices is another way that helps lower the carbon footprint in your home. Electronics use energy, whether plugged in or powered down. Plugging in an electronic draws energy from the supply even when it’s not charging.
Make sure you unplug all electronic devices before leaving the house. The other way to reduce your carbon footprint is by doing an energy auditing which helps you identify energy-efficient ways to implement. Another effective way is to replace fans with air conditioning to use less energy.
The other step you can take to reduce your carbon footprint in your home is to have a natural swimming pool instead of the artificial one. Water entering the pool is filtered using gravel that ensures the removal of microorganisms and nutrients.
The process frees it from algae and bugs. According to professionals from https://www.beeco.green/blog/natural-swimming-pools-guide/, natural swimming pools pursue better electricity consumption and improve energy efficiency, which is advantageous as it cuts energy costs as well as reduces the overall emissions of carbon.
Clothing
When shopping for clothes, avoid buying fast fashion clothing. These types of wear are trendy and always come at a low price. Buying such clothes causes a pile-up in our homes, this is quantity over quality.
These stylish clothes go out of fashion and get dumped where they decompose, producing methane, that is harmful to the environment. Most of them are sprayed with pesticides causing contamination issues to the environment.
As a result, it may cause harm to human health. You can go for alternatives like locally handmade clothes, vintage, or swapping clothes with friends and family. Washing clothes with cold water is another way that helps lower the carbon footprint in our homes.
Using cold water saves a lot of carbon dioxide pounds every year. After washing, line dry your clothes instead of using a clothes dryer to save energy, lowering carbon footprints.
Transportation
Many people opt to cycle to work as a step to reduce their carbon footprint. Nations are doing their best to avoid driving by investing in the necessary infrastructure. The number of cyclists on the roads has drastically increased over time.
The public transportation sector has also grown over the years. Bus routes are switching to solar power, hybrids, and other eco-friendly ways. By using public transportation, you help save millions of carbon emissions yearly.
A single car emits about five tons of carbon every year, which explains public transport recommendations. Air transport is known to emit the most carbon into the environment. Avoid flying and use other alternative means.
If you find it hard to avoid flights, take offsets for your travel. Offset is a certain amount of money paid to a project for reducing greenhouse gases.
Shopping
When shopping, try to pick recycled items. You should also shop using a reusable bag. Plastic bags might tear up and all to the ground. In case you are buying a computer, choose a laptop as it uses less energy than desktops.
For appliances, look for energy-efficient products. The best option is to buy from a company that is sustainable and responsible.
The tips mentioned in this article are practical and easy to implement. Our actions can make a difference in mitigating our carbon footprint. It is the responsibility of everyone to take the necessary steps in fighting climatic change caused by carbon footprints.
