Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Source: followgreenliving.com

Link: 7 Instant Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The link above takes you to a Huffington Post article that lists 7 ways you can instantly reduce your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere based on what a person/group consumes. The vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is occurring and that it is mainly caused by human activities, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels. If everyone took small steps to reduce their carbon footprint, it would help to slow down climate change and also benefit human health and ecosystems.

The different methods listed in this article are fairly simple, and would only involve small-scale lifestyle changes. The list shows how in America and other developed countries we take some things for granted and blindly consume more than we need to on a daily basis. For example, number two on the list involves unplugging devices when they are not in use or charging. This accounts for $19 billion in energy every year in the United States simply because we do not unplug things when they are not in use.

Source: kurtisstewart.com

Another way that one can reduce their carbon footprint is by simply driving less and walking, biking or taking public transportation whenever possible. This seems simple enough, but many individuals would choose to drive rather than exerting the extra energy to walk somewhere. This is a simple change in lifestyle that can also benefit your health because you are getting some exercise. Limiting or cutting out your meat impact entirely can also dramatically reduce your carbon footprint. Large-scale agricultural and live-stock operations account for much of the emissions that cause climate change. Changing your own eating habits will not make this system stop. However, if everyone makes the same simple lifestyle change, it could possibly cause a shift back to traditional farming and livestock practices, which were less harmful to the planet in terms of climate change.


References: Holth, Jesse. “7 Instant Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 June 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-instant-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint_us_59321992e4b00573ab57a383.