Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Recently United Nations (UN) reported that human activity is changing the climate in an unprecedented and sometimes irreversible way. A UN chief stated the report is a code red for humanity. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we are facing as a species. Human activity over the last 200 years has meant we are on the brink of an environmental disaster.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

Carbon footprint is defined as the measure of the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere because of an individual’s, organisation’s, or nation’s action. Greenhouse gases are any type of gases in the atmosphere that blocks heat from escaping. The main gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane.

Why Should We Care About Our Carbon Footprint?

Taking responsibility for our carbon footprint is important because it has a long-term effect on the planet and future generations if we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Climate Change can cause extreme heatwaves, drought, and flooding as well as cause temperature increases around the world. By focusing on lowering our carbon footprint, we can help contribute to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Making small adjustments to our lifestyle can lead to a big result in the fight against climate change. Reducing your carbon footprint can lead to cleaner air, a healthier diet, and reduced energy bills.

What can I do to Reduce My Carbon Footprint?

There are many simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Here are 5 things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint:

Use Less Water

A lot of energy and resources are used to deliver water to your home. More energy is used to heat the water once it’s there. By using less water such as taking showers rather than baths and boiling water when you need it will reduce your carbon footprint.

Think Energy Efficient

Many modern home appliances are becoming more energy efficient. By purchasing more energy-efficient appliances you are using fewer resources, thereby emitting fewer greenhouses gases. You replace all your lights bulbs with energy-efficient lights bulbs or simply turning off appliances that are not in use will reduce your carbon footprint.

Go Digital

With the advancement in technology, we can now send electronic documents and make video calls around the world. Going digital where possible will reduce your carbon footprint. Moving away from printed documents will reduce the need for trees to be cut down for manufacturing paper.

Insulating your home

Heating your home requires a lot of energy and money. By insulating your home you can make sure your home stays warm during the winter and cool in the summer. This will mean you will use less energy, reduce your carbon footprint as well as your household bill.   

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Households produce a lot of waste such as plastics, paper, water, and electronic devices. To reduce your carbon footprint you can reduce your reliance on these waste products, reusing products, and recycling waste will help in the reduction of your carbon footprint. A lot of greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere to produce these materials. Rather than emitting more to produce more material, it is best to reuse or recycle these materials.

Summary

Climate Change is the biggest challenge for humanity to protect our unique ecosystem. We can do a lot to reduce our carbon footprint to help reduce climate change. We must act now to have a better future for future generations as well as saving our ecosystems otherwise we risk destroying our beautiful planet.