Ways to Reduce my Carbon Footprint

As we move forward into the 21^st century, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that all of us need to think “What can I do to reduce my carbon footprint?” The term “carbon footprint” is a pretty helpful way of thinking about a wide range of actions that will result in putting less CO₂ into the air. No matter what side of the global warming debate you sit on, it’s hard to argue that the less we pollute the world and the less we wantonly waste resources, the better off we’ll be- as individuals, as a community, as a country, and as a planet.

Read on to learn some of the best ways to answer the question “What things can I as an individual do to reduce my carbon footprint”?

Drive Less

This is the simplest way to drastically reduce your carbon footprint. It is also the most important tactic for people to adopt, and the hardest for many. Especially in America, individual automobiles are one of the biggest wastes of resources and polluters of our world. Thankfully, there are many viable alternatives to driving.

First, you can simply walk more places. If you really pay attention to your driving habits, it’s likely you will realize that a lot of your driving is completely unnecessary. If something is within a reasonable walking distance, than there’s no reason to drive.

Getting a bicycle is a great way to easily and cheaply extend the distances you can travel without driving. While you might not be able to quickly and easily walk more than a mile, biking 5 to 10 miles is a simple and painless process.

Taking public transportation is another great way to reduce your carbon emissions. If you are traveling within your city or community, sharing a bus with others going the same direction produces a lot fewer emissions than if you all drove there independently.

And the best part of all of these alternatives to driving? They’re a lot cheaper! And that’s not to mention that they tend to be a lot healthier and more social.

If you really must drive somewhere, than do your best to carpool as much as possible.

While we’re on the subject of travelling, long distance flights are also a huge contributor to CO₂ emissions and I’ve found that teleconferencing as a replacement for flying to business partners’ locations has been a great way to help my reduce my carbon footprint.

Change Your Energy Sources

While all electricity functions the same way, not all methods of energy production were created equal. Most of our traditional methods of producing energy, such as through burning coal, are disastrous to our environment and produce an incredible amount of CO₂. Thankfully there are some great ways to switch to healthier and more sustainable forms of energy.

Many energy companies these days are offering a green energy option, which provides you with energy that is often produced through either solar energy or wind turbines. Switching over your existing energy account to greener sources is probably the easiest way to help reduce your carbon footprint at a reasonable price.

If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can go off the grid entirely and switch to totally free renewable energy sources that you produce yourself. Solar panels and wind turbines aren’t only for the energy companies- there’s little standing in your way of attaching these to your own home, and with new government subsidies it’s easier and cheaper than ever to become energy independent and carbon neutral.

Check out the Earth4Energy guide here to learn how to go about it.