Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide emissions directly and indirectly produced by your daily activities. High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the cause of global warming. Luckily there are way to reduce your footprint and become more environmentally friendly. You may have to sacrifice certain levels of comfort for these changes, but they will help the environment and leave more money in your wallet. Reducing your footprint is mostly about paying attention to how you live and changing certain habits.

Energy Changes

• The quickest way to reduce your carbon footprint is to be more conservative in your energy use.

  Raise your thermostat by one or two degrees in the summer, and lower it in the winter. Turn your air conditioning and heating systems off whenever possible.

  Raise the temperature in your refrigerator to stop it from constantly running, and keep it filled. Having more items in the refrigerator will keep the internal temperature low at all times.

  Turn off any unnecessary lights, and replace all regular bulbs with compact florescent (CFL) bulbs. While these may be expensive, they use less energy and last much longer than regular bulbs.

  Practice smart cooking by covering pots to heat them more quickly. Use a toaster oven for small baking jobs instead of the large oven. Boil water in the microwave whenever possible.

  Save on gas and stop emissions by cycling instead of driving. Carpool as much as possible, take mass transit or walk to your destination whenever possible. Invest in a hybrid or electric car.

Changes of Habit

• Reducing your footprint does not start and stop with conserving energy. You must pay attention to the way you live.

  Begin a compost pile and start a garden. The rule of thumb with compost is whatever was once living or is biodegradable can go into the compost pile. Unused produce from the store or your garden can go in the pile, along with paper, coffee grounds and lawn clippings. Meat, however, is not allowed in the compost pile. The items will break down and decompose, creating a dark soil rich in nutrients. The soil can be used to fertilize both your garden and lawn.

  Collect and conserve rain water in a barrel to water your lawn and plants.

  Support your local farmers by buying produce at a farmer's market instead of a grocery store. Utilize reusable canvas bags instead of one-time paper or plastic bags. Try to buy items that are not heavily packaged. Buy eco-friendly chemical products, like cleaning agents and paint, whenever possible.

Recycle and Reuse

• Pay attention to what you throw away. Most of what goes to the landfill could be recycled instead. Find out ways to reuse old items or materials for other purposes. Turn a stack of worn out clothes into patches for ripped jeans or a quilt. Send any items you no longer use to a thrift store. Vice-versa, buy items from a local store or thrift store. Instead of buying a brand new appliance from a big chain, find the same, slightly used appliance from the classifieds in your neighborhood paper.