Earth Day: 18 Hours of Change
Simple changes to our daily lives can actually reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, shrinking our carbon footprint and helping slow climate change. Imagine what the planet would be if we all made just one simple change?
This Earth Day, be the change you want to see in the world. Challenge yourself to change one thing about your daily routine to reduce your carbon footprint.
Here are 18 simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint throughout the day:
6am: Hands off the hot water. It takes energy to heat water, so turn down the shower temperature.
7am: Be water wise. Water the lawn in the am hours when there is less a chance of evaporation.
8am: Leave the car at home. Car pool, take public transit, bike or walk to work instead.
9am: Turn it down. Use a programmable thermostat to turn off the heat/AC while out of the house.
10am: Unplug your gadgets. Unplug any unused electronics while our of the house.
11am: Go reusable. Bring a reusable mug on your morning coffee run to minimize waste.
12pm: Go litter-less. Pack your lunch in reusable containers to minimize waste.
1pm: Go double-sided. Save trees and money by reducing your paper consumption.
2pm: Ban the bottle. Take advantage of the tap water by using a filter and a reusable bottle or cup.
3pm: Recycle! Find out what can be recycled in your city, and properly sort to reduce waste.
4pm: Turn it off. Turn your computer and other electronics off before leaving the office.
5pm: Buy local. The shorter the distance from farm to table, the less fuel consumed.
6pm: Ban the bag. Carry a reusable shopping bag in your purse to reduce plastics in the environment.
7pm: Go meatless. Processing livestock takes a great deal of resources, including fossil fuels and water.
8pm: Compost. Add your dinner scraps to the city green bin or garden compost bin to divert waste.
9pm: Check your bulbs. Change all light bulbs to LED, which consume less energy and emit less heat.
10pm: Turn it off. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
11pm: Utilize off peak hours. Run your dishwasher and washing machine while you sleep.
Simple, right?
What will you be doing to help Mother Nature?
I think it's so important to realize we can affect things with simple changes and it doesn't have to be something that is large. I used to live somewhere that I had to take my recycling to the center, I'm so thankful that I can do it at home now. It's amazing how it affects level of trash we collect.
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips!! Easy changes anyone can make.
ReplyDeleteThese are great ideas!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas, I think the car is a big one. I live in a town where people idle their cars and drive to the grocery store around the block. It's hard in the winter when you want to stay warm in -40C but in the summer we make a big effort to not use the car
ReplyDeleteSuch great ideas that anyone can do! I love living in Iceland where there is such a strong importance placed on being environmentally friendly.
ReplyDelete