Carbon footprint how can we reduce it

Reduce Your Home Energy Carbon Footprint Insulate and seal your home Reduce drafts and air leaks with caulk, insulation, and weather stripping. Many states offer programs and incentives to facilitate this, and a great example is Energy Upgrade California. Appliances Make energy efficiency a primary consideration when choosing a new furnace, air conditioning unit, dishwasher, or refrigerator.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescent or LED ones. Solar Add solar panels to the roof of your home. This costs a little more than the above options, but many providers offer financing options which minimize upfront costs. Two examples are SolarCity and SunRun. If you live in a state with a Net Metering law, you could eliminate your electricity bill or even earn money by selling electricity back to the grid.

Transporting food requires petroleum-based fuels, and many fertilizers are also fossil fuel-based. Deforestation is a top contributor to carbon emissions and thus climate change. Other Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Water usage Lower the amount of energy used to pump, treat, and heat water by washing your car less often, using climate-appropriate plants in your garden, installing drip irrigation so that plants receive only what they need, and making water-efficient choices when purchasing shower heads, faucet heads, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines.

Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save Money Mar 24, - pm Austin was one of cities worldwide that signed the Paris Agreement at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, agreeing to lower greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the worst impacts of climate change.

Here are 10 easy ways you can start making a difference:. About this blog News, ideas, and inspiration from the Office of Sustainability, to help advance a Bright Green future for Austin.

Meet our new employee: Phillip Duran. How to be a green pet owner. Net-Zero Hero: Taylor Youngblood. Meet our new team member: Celine Rendon. Planning your fall garden. Meet our new team member: Caitlin Admire. Butterfly gardens take flight at Athena Montessori Academy. Meet our new team member: Brooks Bailey. Meet our new team member: Phoebe Romero.

Meet our new team member: Sam Night. That's a Wrap for Earth Month. Net-Zero Hero: Caroline Reck. Net-Zero Hero: Nhat Ho. Want to save money and fuel? Recognizing the best in Climate Protection. Ideas for a greener Valentine's day. Our top moments of Real Tree or Artificial Tree: Which is the greener choice? Feeding animals with rescued food.

Net-Zero Hero: Susan Peterson. Oh my gourd! It's pumpkin season. Net-Zero Hero: Anneliese Tanner. Net-Zero Hero: Tom Myers.

Make Austin your playground with these family-friendly parks. Net-Zero Hero: Susan Ward. Back to School with the Three R's. The City's Sustainability Report Card. Train expert The Man in Seat 61 , has calculated the carbon reductions involved in taking trains over planes for popular routes across the world.

He found that travelling from London to Paris by Eurostar instead of plane results in slicing carbon emissions by 91 per cent. The National Geographic tracked how much carbon would be expelled by different methods of transport between Toronto and New York and the results are somewhat surprising. An hour and a half plane journey is the least energy efficient mode, but the train forfeited first place to the humble Greyhound bus.

This is because the Amtrak train releases a high volume of diesel fuel emissions. In Europe and other places, trains are more environmentally friendly. For example, the Eurostar is one of the cleanest ways to travel, producing just 0. Boats are another mode of transport where counterintuitive logic can seep in. In fact, a study found that a certain type of boat, the Large RoPax passenger ferry, was actually more polluting than taking a first class flight 0.

However, a different type of foot passenger ferry releases much lower levels, about 0. If you do have to fly, make sure to pick economy class, because the carbon burden is shared among more passengers.

Flying first class is associated with carbon emissions nine times more than economy. The food you eat has a massive impact on the climate. Food production is responsible for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and meat and dairy are the two biggest culprits, accounting for around What would happen if the whole world went vegan? You may have heard from the Well, Actually faction of society that vegetables are more carbon intensive to produce than certain types of meat.

Research from Oxford University found that if every family in the UK swapped out a red meat-based meal for a plant-based alternative just once a week, the environmental impact would be equivalent to taking 16 million cars off the road.

An analysis from Our World in Data found that transport accounts for only six per cent of emissions from food, while producing dairy, meat and eggs accounted for 83 per cent. As demand for animal products continues to increase, more land is cleared for livestock. This is where regenerative agriculture a holistic farming approach that focuses on soil health could be a key solution.

In the meantime, getting more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet is a great way to both reduce your carbon footprint from current farming methods and improve your health. Riding your bike to work can reduce your environmental impact. Photo by Snapwire on pexels. An average car produces approximately 4. It does this by burning fossil fuels such as petrol, which then produces carbon dioxide from the exhaust pipe.

Solar power is a form of low-carbon energy. Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to switch your electricity provider to a company that uses low-carbon energy. For example, renewable or clean energy comes from natural sources such as sunlight, wind or water. This has a much lower carbon footprint than energy that relies on the burning of fossil fuels.

Electricity and heat contributed as much as 15 billion tons or That number continues to rise as changes in the climate lead to increased reliance on heating systems and air conditioning. In order to avoid the catastrophic consequences of failing to take action against climate change, it is critical that we begin to reduce our reliance on the fossil fuel industry and move to low-carbon energy providers instead. Reduce, reuse, and recycle items in order to produce less waste.

Photo by ready made from Pexels. Did you know that globally we dump over 2. According to Our World In Data , at least 6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food loss and waste. While this might not seem like a large percentage, it is actually three times the amount of emissions that come from international flights. Rethink your fashion choices to reduce your carbon footprint. Photo by Zui Hoang on Unsplash.

The way that clothing is currently designed, manufactured, and used results in enormous waste and pollution. You can reduce your carbon footprint, waste and pollution simply by rethinking the way that you buy clothes. By reducing the amount of clothing that you buy, only buying second-hand, or purchasing from eco-friendly companies, you can help to reduce your impact on the environment.