Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

What is a carbon footprint? It is the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide (a major contributor to greenhouse gas and global warming) that goes into the atmosphere as you go about your daily living. Below is a list of simple things you can do immediately to minimise your footprint:

  • turn off all lights when not in use
  • turn down your central heating by one or two degrees
  • unplug your mobile phone as soon as it is finished charging
  • do your shopping in a single trip
  • fill your dishwasher and washing machine with a full load
  • if you need to replace your car, consider an energy efficient model, ie hybrid or diesel
  • try to recycle paper, cans, plastic bottles, clothes, shoes, etc.
  • ride-share to work
  • try to buy items made closer to home
  • try to buy fresh fruit and vegetables in season otherwise they may have been flown in
  • look for "Energy Star" certified products when purchasing appliances (dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines or dryers)

3 comments:

  1. As an environmentally consciuos person I feel better about my personal contributions to stop the global warming. I do all that daily things listed in this post. Unfortunately, I cannot convince myself that is is really helping globally.
    msobol@rollins.edu

     
  2. Small steps always add up to big steps. Even though it seems globally we are not changing anything dramatically, we are helping to scrape off some damage. I am trying to instill in my middle school students the need to be green. Not only for our planet but for our health. They are currently coming up with 100 ways to be green on an interactive wikispace. It is really neat to see how conscious they are.

     
  3. Yes, I know what you mean. I feel the same way too sometimes. Most of the time however I am confident that no matter how small my effort it will make a difference very similar to the "butterfly effect": a butterfly moving it's wings can cause a ripple in the atmosphere that can alter the weather pattern in a different part of the world.