How to Reduce Our Carbon Foot Print
‘Global warming’, ‘greenhouse gases’, ‘carbon emission ’and ‘carbon
footprint’ – all these phrases have become an extremely important part
of human life today. Issues related to the effects of carbon emission
have become a major source of concern and people all around the world
are trying their best to find out ways through which the harmful effects
of the greenhouse gases can be halted.
Each of us leaves behind some traces of carbon through our daily
activity that contributes to the overall carbon emission in the
environment. This is known as our carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is
the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other such greenhouse
gases that we emit into the environment. It is measured in kilograms or
tonnes. While the recommended level of carbon footprint for each person
should be an average of 2 tonnes per year, in reality it comes up to 4
tonnes per year. For this reason, it is important that we find effective
means of reducing our carbon footprint and thereby saving the
environment.
Making certain small lifestyle changes are enough to reduce our carbon
footprint. Some of the ways in which you can achieve this are:
Some changes that you can bring in your home and at work
Try to wash your clothes and dishes in cold water – this will help to
save a lot of energy. Washing the dishes in a dishwasher instead by hand
will be a good idea, because you will not need to use warm water. In
addition, instead of using a dryer for your clothes and dishes, let them
dry naturally. Specially, never dry a towel in the dryer as this uses up
a lot of energy.
Work from home - many companies offer the option for their employees
to tele comute or do some of the
work from home.
Taking cool showers will not only help you to remain fit and healthy,
but will also help reduce your carbon footprint.
Do not use the microwave too much if you can avoid it. Microwaves use
much more energy in comparison to conventional ovens and stoves. Make
sure that all your lights and other electrical appliances are turned off
when they are not being used.
The fact is that most electronic appliances will still use some energy
when they are turned off. Thus it is better that you unplug the
electronics from the socket. It has been found that this 'standby mode'
or 'phantom load' mode drain an estimated 10 percent of electricity used
in most homes.
Replace your light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or
Light-Emitting Diodes. Though they are more expensive, in the long last,
they prove to be much more cost effective as they help you to save about
$30 over the course of its lifetime and lasts you 15 times longer than
regular lights.
Turn off all faucets in your home when you are not using water – even if
it is for a short period, while you are brushing.
You can also make changes in your gardens so that you can wipe away your
carbon footprint. Reducing meat consumption will also help you to be
environment friendly as interestingly, more land is put into
agricultural production to produce meat than to
grow vegetables. |
