10 ways to reduce your carbon footprint

By Jack Hornsby​

​If you are like me, then you are an environmentally conscious person that loves to do little things to reduce your carbon footprint, but don’t want to or can’t do a complete lifestyle change to get your carbon footprint to absolute zero. Fear not! Today I’m going to share 10 steps that you can easily integrate into your life to reduce your carbon footprint. None of these are even going to require that much effort from you so we truly believe that you can do these all! 

1. The first step I’ve got for you involves you checking those light bulbs around your house! Do you know what you are currently using? Most people go to the store and either get the cheapest option or grab the first bulb they see. Something as small as the choice of lightbulbs in your house can actually be a pretty big deal and make a big difference for you. Buying Halogen, CFL, or LED bulbs can take 25-80% less energy to keep on in your house. On top of that, these bulbs are proven to last much longer! So, less energy usage, less waste (because these bulbs last a lot longer), and you get to save some money on your energy bill. There’s really no down side to this one! 
2. The second great energy saving tip is to use a smart thermostat. It takes a load of energy to heat or cool a house during those crazy summer or winter temperatures. Using a thermostat that you can easily turn on and off when applicable is sure to save a ton of energy in the long run. You can also put them on a timer so when you are gone throughout the day, your heat won’t be running! 
3. This next one seems incredibly obvious, but is easier said than done- drive your car less! It’s estimated that the average car in America releases 4.6 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every single year, which is crazy if you think of all the individuals in the world with their own cars and how many people you see everyday on the road. Many people live in areas where they are required to use their car a lot, and hey I’m even required to do a lot of driving around my area to get anywhere, but recently I’ve been trying to walk places whenever I can. Walking places really is a great excuse to get outside and stay active, especially important during Quarantine while we’re all stuck inside all day.
4. Continuing with the theme of transportation, just taking better care of your car can actually reduce your carbon footprint! Making sure you keep your tires fully inflated, keeping up with vehicle maintenance, and removing unnecessary weight from the car can improve your vehicle's fuel efficiency by up to almost 10%! Understanding the mechanics of your car more can help you discover more tips on how to take the best care of it while saving energy and money! 
5. Our fifth great way to reduce your carbon emissions is to shop smarter! We already have an article on shopping smarter here on the Green Living Blog, but I’ll give a quick rundown in case you haven’t seen it yet. Basically shopping local and supporting ‘green’ brands actually has a massive impact and is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint! Reusing, reducing and recycling is not limited to products; it’s relevant to your clothing as well! Get rid of old clothes- repurpose them, donate them, or make them into new unique clothing pieces! 
6. ​Next, we’re going to talk about  your food choices! This is another one that we have a great blog post about already, but I'll go over the basics again with you guys! The livestock industry produces A LOAD of greenhouse gasses and has many other adverse effects on the environment, so if you can change your diet to include less meat, you’re decreasing your carbon footprint already! Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint in this same vein is to shop local. Shopping local ensures that the food you’re buying is not flown or driven in from somewhere else (creating greenhouse emissions along the way). It also gives you the opportunity to support your local farmers and growers and buy their produce instead of farm factory materials. 
7. ​Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint is by looking at how you dress. Believe it or not the fashion industry is the culprit behind 10 % of the greenhouse gasses emitted by humanity every single year. Doing things like thrifty, donating clothing, and shopping smart for your clothing make it possible to cut down on the yearly emissions from the fashion industry as an individual. As with the last couple tips we did an article about shopping smarter and thrifting that you should definitely check out if this tip interests you!
8. For this next one, I’m going to package a couple tips into one here, and just label it as ‘things you can easily do around the house’! First, using less hot water is always a plus because it takes energy to heat up the water, whereas colder water doesn’t need to be heated. Turn the lights off around the house when you aren’t in the room or when you don’t need them, leaving them on is just wasting energy. I’m personally a big fan of candles around the house as lights, gives a nice relaxing ambiance. Taking shorter showers (or cold showers for that matter) or installing a low flow shower head can save a load of water (up to the equivalent of 350 pounds of CO2 if you really keep at it for a year).
9. Next, try and produce less waste! This was a hard one for me because I would go on big shopping trips and get a bunch of groceries, but a week later some of it would have gone unused and spoiled. Fast forward to today, and I plan all my meals out ahead of time so that I only buy things that I know for a fact will get used that week. These saves me money, creates less waste to end up in landfills and makes for more mindful meal planning! 
10. Finally, look into carbon offsets! I definitely encourage you to do your research here and make sure to only support very reputable businesses that will use the money you give them in a way that you find worth donating to. I’ve obviously got a couple of my own favorite carbon offsets to buy, but this is definitely a thing that one should research themselves!
    And there you have it- 10 steps on how to reduce your carbon footprint! There are so many  reasons for being conscious about conserving your energy including cutting down on carbon emissions, saving money, and ensuring better quality of life for future generations. Time for you to get started! 

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