Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

By Melisa Camp

9/4/09

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) you produce relative to the amount you consume over the course of a year. The more CO2 in the air, the more heat it traps and contributes to global warming. The amount of CO2 is measured in pounds. The average American’s footprint is 26.5 tons [53 pounds], not far from Australia’s 28 tons [56 pounds] per person, but in less-developed India the number dwindles to one ton, according to National Geographic’s Green Guide.

Here are some steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint and help to slow global warming.

• Wash your clothes in cold water. This way you do not have to use energy to heat the water first. And wash only full loads to reduce the number of times you have to run your washer and dryer.

• Run your dishwasher only when it is full for the same reason as above.

• Print only the things you need at home and work, use both sides of paper, and recycle paper instead of throwing it in the trash. You can also recycle your mail.

• Carpool, walk, or ride a bike when possible and run all of your errands in the same trip.

• Drive nicer. Aggressive driving, like accelerating quickly, braking hard and not anticipating stops, and speeding all produce more CO2. According to Carbonfund.org you can reduce your footprint by over 2000 pounds by driving better.

• Clean your refrigerator coils and clean any items off the top to allow it to vent properly and not have to work harder/use more energy than it has to.

• Install CFL lightbulbs to reduce energy use.

• Turn off lights and other electrical devices that you are not using, including the tv, cable box, audio system, computer, printer, cell phone charger, digital picture frame, x-box, fans, etc. I challenge you to take a walk around your house and see how many items are using power at any given time. I did and the results were surprising. There were things on that really didn’t need to be.

• Wrap your water heater in a ‘jacket’ and turn down the temperature to reduce energy use.

• Insulate and seal your home to prevent energy loss. Hire a professional to properly insulate and weatherproof your home with an efficient insulator like soy-based spray foam.

• Hang your clothes out to dry. Bonus: the sun is the best stain remover and color preservative.

Calculate your carbon footprint at these websites:

www.earthlab.com, www.carbonfund.org, www.conservation.org