Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Your carbon footprint is a measure of how much greenhouse gases you are creating by your activities; for working purposes carbon dioxide is the gas which is measured, however there are other gases and emissions which are created too, it is just that carbon dioxide levels are the most practical variable to focus on. The first step in reducing your impact on the environment is to assess what your level of carbon dioxide emissions is, i.e. your carbon footprint. You can then look at what steps you can take to reduce it and this will lead to a direct benefit on the environment.
In the Home
Our home is responsible for the creation of carbon emissions simply by using power and the focus here is on how efficient our homes are in using it. How many people live in our homes together with how large the property is directly impact upon the size of the carbon footprint, but there are things you can do to reduce it:
- Improve cooling and heating efficiency;
- Improve lighting efficiency;
- Use Energy Star appliances and unplug electrical equipment and appliances when they are not in use; and
- Reduce the usage of hot water and reduce the wastage of hot water.
On the Road
How many cars are in the household together with the mileage we cover directly contributes to our carbon footprint, but again we can reduce this impact by:
- reducing the total mileage our vehicles cover, e.g. by car pooling, by using the bus or by walking instead of driving short distances;
- checking the air filters on a regular basis and replacing frequently; and
- checking the tire pressure as low tire pressure is a cause of fuel inefficiency.
In the Air
Flying is a major source of greenhouse gases and it also directly pollutes the atmosphere at a high altitude which directly damages the environment in a very sensitive spot. We can assess our impact on the environment by considering how many long and short haul flights we take, and it pays to consider whether we really need to take a flight, especially short haul hops when there are alternatives such as the train available.
In our Diet
The food we eat directly affects our carbon footprint with both the quantity and frequency with which we eat meat and non-organically farmed vegetables. If you eat processed foods instead of unadulterated vegetables, this increases the levels of carbon emissions you are responsible for. You can reduce your carbon footprint by:
- reducing the frequency and quantity of meat in your diet;
- reducing the amount of processed foods consumed;
- increasing the use of vegetables and especially, organically farmed foods; and
- increasing the consumption of locally or home-grown produce (because your food has far less distance to travel from farmer to your dinner table).
With Your Recycling Habits
Your level of recycling and reusing of products and materials directly affects the size of your carbon footprint. If you recycle materials, such as waste paper and packaging, you reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions you are responsible for. Holding off replacing your car, household appliances and clothing will also lead to greater efficiency and utility of the goods you consume and increase your personal and household consumption efficiency.
You can affect your carbon footprint by:
- recycling materials rather than trashing them;
- compost food scraps and yard waste; and
- delaying purchasing new items and appliances or purchasing second-hand ones.
By Lawrence Reaves, a freelance writer for Galorath, Incorporate, a leading provider of cost estimating software models for hardware and estimating software projects. Learn more at http://www.Galorath.com
