The 4 Steps To Lower Your Carbon Footprint

These days sustainability is not just a buzzword. For many it is becoming a way of life. Since it is important for everybody to do their part to lower the effects of global warming, people are being more conscious about their choices with regards to lifestyle.

By doing so, we can hopefully make a difference that brings about some positive changes. Of course, this is easier said than done. And it does require some discipline and focus. You’ll definitely need to work at it although once you set up your habits, it all becomes second nature and little effort to keep your carbon footprint low.

In this article, I will go over several steps to take to live a more sustainable life and be more eco friendly.

1 – Eat less meat
Going vegan is one of the most effective ways to lower your carbon footprint. Meat is very resource intensive from the amount of water needed, to the grain they eat to the fact that trees need to be removed to raise the animals.

Being totally vegan is difficult for many people so simply eating less meat is going to make a difference. If everybody did a Meatless Monday, for instance then it would reduce the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from meat production. And when you do east meat, look for organic producers that use sustainable animal feed to further reduce the impact on the environment.

2 – Grow a garden
Piggybacking on the idea of eating less meat is the concept of growing your own garden. The vegetables and fruit that you buy in the supermarket are usually shipped long distances to get to you. If you eat out of a garden then you are reducing the need for that type of system.

Not only that, but you are also eating much more delicious and nutritious food which gives you more energy.

3 – Bike and walk more
With that newfound energy from eating fresh produce from your garden, you can be more active and rely less on your car. Short trips to do errands like going to the bank and post office should be done by walking or biking there. We rely on our cars to go just about everywhere when we can actually do without cars for the majority of our trips.

Some people are even commuting by bike or train and then walking to work so they don’t need to use their car. This takes a lot of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

4 – Reduce, reuse and recycle
One of the best ways to make an impact is to reuse material that would ordinarily be thrown away and add to the landfills around the country. Not only that, but to then replace the item requires something else to be produced which uses a lot of resources and then adds even more CO2 to the atmosphere.

Try to use things that normally would get thrown away or even recycled for other purposes. A car tire can make a good flower bed for instance.

For anything else that can’t be reused, make sure to recycle it and reduce its size so it doesn’t end up making our landfills overflow.