Portable Solar Chargers

Link: Portable Solar Chargers

The link above takes you to Walmart's website to purchase portable solar chargers that can charge your cell phone. This is a great idea for people who want to lower their carbon footprint. This small change will cut out a large portion of electricity used for regular phone charging. These chargers can just hook onto your bag or be left in the car, and will capture energy from the sun's rays.

Of course there are some models that are more expensive that can store more energy and charge more devices. However, most of the models listed on the website above are under twenty dollars. This makes this idea very feasible for many people. You can also probably save money on your electricity bill because you will not need to use a plug-in charger everyday for your phone. This has huge implications for sustainability. If you want to start lowering your carbon impact with a small change, I recommend purchasing one of these relatively cheap portable solar chargers.

References: “Portable Solar Chargers.” Walmart.com, www.walmart.com/c/kp/portable-solar-chargers.

Downsizing

Source: ditchingsuburbia.com

Link: Ditching Suburbia Podcast

The link above takes you to a podcast published on the blog "Ditching Suburbia." This podcast is all about downsizing and addressing the issues that can arise when trying to make such a dramatic lifestyle change. This helps people who are considering leaving their daily lives of over consumption and living a less traditional lifestyle. "Ditching Suburbia" is a blog created by the Boyink family, a married couple and their two children, who left their life in the suburbs to travel in an RV full-time. They practice minimalism in their daily lives, and value experiences rather than material things. 

Although the blog does not focus much on reducing their carbon footprint, the lifestyle that the Boyink family lives indeed does produce much less of an impact on the environment. Their rejection of consumerism habits makes their carbon footprint significantly smaller than that of the average family in the U.S. For the Boyink family, this way of life is more about living in the moment and strengthening familial relationships, and a positive environmental impact is just an added bonus. 

Source: ditchingsuburbia.com

Reference: Boyink, Michael. “The Ditching Suburbia Podcast | #84: Less.” Ditching Suburbia, ditchingsuburbia.com/our-podcast/84-less.

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.

Sustainable Tiny Houses

Source: newfrontiertinyhomes.com

Link: Tiny houses in 2016: more tricked-out and eco-friendly

Tiny houses have been increasing in popularity in recent years. These homes are under 400 square-feet, but for what they lack in size, they make up for in character. Most of the people who buy or build tiny homes value experiences over possessions. The idea is to not spend money and time on consumer items, but rather on experiences and adventures. Many people with mobile tiny homes even can move to amazing scenic locations, such as the beach.

Although they are tiny, these houses can make a large environmental impact. Many owners of tiny homes choose the lifestyle not only to live more adventurously, but also to live in a more sustainable way and to lessen their ecological footprint. Many people install solar panels on the roof, which can provide all of the electricity for the house, not relying on the grid at all. Individuals who live in these homes often focus on dramatically reducing the amount of waste they produce, which is a huge benefit to the environment as well.

The link above shows that these eco-friendly houses can also be extremely stylish. This website provides a list of the most sustainable and aesthetically-pleasing tiny houses. This list is from 2016, so there are most likely many more amazing eco-friendly tiny homes now. The image below shows a tiny home in Canada that is powered with solar panels and an energy storage system for when sunlight is not available. It also has LED lighting and a roof water recovery system to conserve water that falls as precipitation. As you can see, these tiny homes can really benefit the environment, without losing the stylishness or character that most people want in a home.

Source: greenmoxie.com

Source: revolvehouse.com

References: Xie, Jenny. “Tiny Houses in 2016: More Tricked-out and Eco-Friendly.” Curbed, Curbed, 27 Dec. 2016, www.curbed.com/2016/12/27/14090290/tiny-houses-for-sale-new-designs.

No Impact Man

If you're looking for an entertaining documentary that makes an environmental statement, "No Impact Man" is the movie for you. The trailer above shows the main story line of this documentary. Colin Beavan, an author living in New York City, decided that as a project, he and his family would try to reduce their environmental impact completely for a year. This includes reducing trash as much as possible, composting, riding a bike everywhere, using cloth diapers for their child,  eating no take-out food, buying only local foods and more extreme measures, such as cutting out electricity, using reusable cloths instead of toilet paper and taking the stairs instead of elevators (a crazy thing to do in NYC). The film also mixes a lot of emotion into the film, to show that it is a difficult task, but with determination, regular people can dramatically reduce their impact on the planet.

Source: amazon.com

Being an author, of course Colin Beavan wrote a book about what he experienced during this year-long project. People can get some personal insights from the book that were not included in the documentary. Personally, I really enjoyed this documentary and would recommend anyone who is interested in the health of the environment to give it a watch. It shows that if we all really put in an effort, a single family can significantly reduce the amount of waste and greenhouse gases affecting the world. However, we do not need to go to such extreme measures as going without electricity or not using toilet paper. At the end of the film, the family chose what things they would keep doing after the project ended, which included biking everywhere, taking the stairs, trying to reduce their trash as much as possible, buying local food and composting. These simple things can really make a positive impact on the world.

References: watchCulturetainment. “No Impact Man" - Official Trailer [HQ HD]” YouTube, July 29, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ctt7FGFBo.

Becoming a Minimalist

Source: bemorewithless.com

Link: 7 Tiny Steps for the Beginner Minimalist

Interested in simplifying your life and drastically reducing your environmental impact? Then minimalism might be the lifestyle for you. Minimalism is a way of life in which people focus more on personal goals, relationships, and experiences than on personal belongings. This means cutting down on possessions that are not necessary for everyday life. This is a drastic change for most people in American culture, which is very consumer-driven.

The link above gives the average person tips on how they can slowly become a minimalist. It will most likely take a long time to completely adhere to the lifestyle change because of how much consumerism is embedded in our culture. However, the seven tips presented in this article provide simple ways to reduce the clutter and waste in our lives.

Source: yerkabikes.com

Besides drastically reducing carbon footprints and waste, minimalism can also help people reduce their stress levels and become more connected to people and the environment. Without all of the distractions of personal belongings, individuals have more money to spend on doing what they enjoy. This often involves outdoor activities and/or traveling in the case of most minimalists. I am personally interested in trying out some of these steps to become more conscious of what I am consuming.

References: Carver, Courtney. “7 Tiny Steps for the Beginner Minimalist.” Be More with Less, 26 Sept. 2017, bemorewithless.com/begin/.

Sustainable Universities

Colleges and universities are places where innovation thrives. Therefore, they are a great place to start shifting gears in terms of energy use. They can come up with new technologies and innovations to provide the school energy while reducing its carbon footprint. This video shows the schools with the best sustainable energy degree programs. This is useful for anyone interesting in expanding their knowledge about environmental issues and joining the energy shift towards more renewable sources. Of course, these degree programs translate into their campuses being extremely sustainable. 

This video should serve as an example as what other campuses can do to become more sustainable. Of course schools like Stanford and MIT are at the forefront of new and exciting green technologies. However, University of Maryland is a public university that offers a masters degree in sustainable energy. If campuses want to become more sustainable, maybe they should start with implementing some of these programs to get the students actively involved in the movement. Then it would be much more likely to see a shift in the way campuses are run. 

Source: lmsarch.com

The University of California Berkeley is one of the top 5 sustainable schools included in the video. The image above shows the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at the campus. This building is LEED Platinum certified and was created to reduce energy use by 90 percent. As you can see in the picture, the entire roof of the building consists of solar panels which provide its electricity. Other colleges and universities should take these top five schools as great examples of shifting to a more sustainable way of life.

References: Successful Student. “Successful Student Presents: Top 5 Sustainable and Renewable Colleges” YouTube, 15 February 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Prr9CsQXg&t=1s&list=LL8WWggMAJxwIFwtMH2OCvww&index=1.