The 3 Best Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
It's never been more important to take action to reduce our carbon footprint. The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible with each passing year and the reality is that it will only get worse if we don't do anything. While the issue of climate change is a big one, you can make an impact by making small adjustments.
Today, we're going to talk about three ways that can help fight climate change. The importance of this issue cannot be overstated as our climate is changing at a rate faster than many people realize. The following three tips can help in your fight against climate change and each one is an easy way to start eliminating your carbon footprint.
This article discusses 3 ways you can make a difference, from simple changes like using fewer plastic bags to the more complex ones like changing your diet to eat less meat.
1. How changing your diet could help reduce your carbon footprint
So, we're going to talk about how you can lessen your impact on the environment. There are three specific ways, but we'll start with the one that may be a bigger commitment than the rest. One way that you can lessen your carbon footprint is by changing your diet. We acknowledge that this may be a more difficult change for some people, but it's possible. There are many ways to embrace a healthier lifestyle and decrease the meat content in your diet.
When you eat less meat, you're using less water and have a smaller carbon footprint. The livestock industry emits methane gas which contributes to global warming and as such, the fewer animals there are in factory farms and slaughterhouses, the better for our planet in general.
What you can do is simply take part in Meatless Mondays or one day a week when meat is not on the menu. This can make a huge difference over time. You may also want to try transitioning into a vegan diet. If this sounds a bit drastic, don't worry. You can be vegan in increments and even take steps to incorporate meat-free meals into your diet without making the switch overnight.
2. What you can do about plastic bags and other single-use plastics
The second way that you can lessen your impact on the planet is to reduce or eliminate the use of single-use plastics. One of the most important ways that you can do this is by eliminating the use of plastic bags whenever possible.
When you stop using plastic bags, they will not find their way into our landfills, waterways, and oceans where they have to break down for years to come. What you can do is start carrying a reusable bag with you in your car or purse and when you need it, use it to carry any items that you may have to carry. You'll soon find that this is easier and more convenient than using plastic bags which are often used only once, and then tossed away. As such, if you don't use them, they will not be used for years to come. Reducing your plastic footprint is easier than you think and using fewer plastic bags can lead to a huge difference in the end.
3. Turning off lights and unplugging our electronics when they're not in use
With the increase in living standards, it can be easy to forget how minor changes that we make daily add up. Small actions such as turning off lights when you leave the bedroom or your apartment and unplugging electronics when they're not in use can have a big impact over time.
When you unplug items such as your television or cellphone charger, you're conserving energy. This translates to a reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the air. When you unplug things like computers and televisions overnight, it reduces their energy use by up to 95% and makes a big difference over time.
You can also make a difference by recycling whenever you can and purchasing items that are made of recycled materials. Another way to save energy is to switch your appliances to an eco-friendly setting so they will work in a more energy-conscious manner. It's easy to forget about the small changes that we make on a day-to-day basis, but when combined with other small changes, they can make a big difference over time.
You just learned about how you can make simple changes like turning off lights when you leave a room or unplugging electronics that are not in use, but this is just one way to help reduce your carbon footprint. In addition to making these easy and small changes, there's also what you eat- whether it's meatless Mondays or eliminating single-use plastics from your life altogether. And finally, know that recycling often and purchasing items made of recycled materials will make an impact on our planet too!
The goal of WithYou is to also help cut down on the amount of waste that we as humans generate. By moving paper mail to a mobile platform, we can reduce the over 400 million pieces of mail that are sent out every day (that's a lot of trees!).
There’s so much we can do to lessen our carbon footprint as individuals which makes us feel good knowing that we're doing something for future generations. So let's get inspired, and make this year the best year yet by becoming more environmentally conscious of the planet that we call home.
For some additional articles on how to reduce your carbon footprint, check out these links below:
NY Times: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
