According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the year 2015, about 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide is been released into the atmosphere annually. This is due to the adverse effects that the numerous amounts of human activities has on the atmosphere. The rate at which we pump out CO2 is frightening and it is quite unfortunate that this has only succeeded in trapping heat on earth and further cause an increase in climate change.
Luckily, if you have been wondering about how to reduce personal carbon footprints, then below are 8 easy-to-understand steps you can take to reduce them drastically:
Spread Your Clothes On The Clotheline To Dry
When you have the opportunity to spread your clothes to dry on a clotheline, you’d better taken a good advantage of it instead of using a dryer. According to a report by The Guardian, any household that make use of dryers in about 200 times annually is susceptible to shrinking its carbon footprint by half a ton of CO2 through air-drying laundry instead.
It is better said and more adviseable that you avoid using the dryer for half your loads even if you’re not opportuned to adopt the clotheline method everytime in the year, just ensure you avoid the dryer because this would really make a distinct difference.
Plug out Appliances Not in Use
When an appliance is plugged in, it doesn’t mean it has outrightly been disconnected even if it is turned off. This is because it is consuming energy that many of us can’t even imagine exist when in this state. In basic electronics, phantom energy is zapped up by electronic components when they are plugged into an outlet without disconnection for long periods.
This can account for about 10% of what you pay in electric bills which would have been more than a month’s worth of your electric consumption in a year. If peradventure you cannot do without plugging every gadget in your home all day long, then why not try to leave out the ones you don’t use on a daily basis? These may include toaster machine, desk lamps, electric iron, blender etc while powering them only when required.
Recycle And Reuse Your Trash When You Can
Each and every wastes you throw into the garbage bin is an addition to your carbon footprint. Although, you may not be opportuned to recycle your trash on a full term basis, but you simply can get them ridiculously reduced when you invest in goods that are non-disposable which can—to certain extent— withstand wear and tear.
Goods and materials that are reusable includes: shopping bags, food storage containers, cups, etc. All of these could replace lots of wares we render useless and end up throwing away at the end of the day.
Switch Off Your Light Bulbs
Incandescent bulbs which are usually used to lighten up homes are not really efficient. If you still make use of them to light your home, then it’s high time you make some changes. Incandescent bulbs consume more electric power and energy and this unfortunately adds more money to your monthly electricity bills.
They also generate lots of heat as a result of increase in power consumption. Energy saving bulbs such as Compact Fluorescents (CFLs) and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are few examples of high energy efficient bulbs that consume few electricity rather than the average light bulb. In fact, it lasts about six times as long as the latter. If you can swap just a single regular light bulb for another one that’s energy efficient, then you would have reduced CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by a great deal.
Reduce Your Thermostat Heat Level
During winter, it is usually very expensive to get the home heated. In fact, this can also contribute a great deal to your carbon footprint. You would be doing the planet a favor if you can reduce the rate at which you heat your home using the thermostat by certain degrees.
During nightfalls, the heat should be greatly reduced whilst turning it totally off when you’re away from home. Apart from the carbon emissions that you would have successfully reduced, if taken into consideration, you would also be saving your wallet from unecessary spendings.
Wash Your Clothes In Cold Water
One of the many ways to reduce personal carbon footprints on the environment is to wash your clothes in cold water. When clothes are subjected to cold wash, you are giving your electric washing machine a perfect condition to operate in a rather cool environment as this would reduce its carbon emissions by close to 75% which would have saved you some dollars for every set of laundry you make.
For instance, on every 150 laundries you do, you would save $30. Lightly soiled clothings can also be sanitized using cold water just in the same way warm water would do.
Use Curtains To Control Temperature
One of the hidden facts in the conservation of energy is the use of curtains as temperature control. Although popular opinion remains that curtains are primarily been used to maintain privacy, nonetheless, recent developments have shown that they also help reduce your energy consumption. When the sun heats the house, your windows should be kept clear during winter to avail heat penetration and they should be closed when the day peaks in summer—most especially when you are away from home.
At nights during the period of winter, draw your curtains to prevent the internal heat from escaping while opening the windows only for fresh breeze. When you maintain these habits over the year, the difference would be clear in your bills as it would have been greatly reduced.
Plant A Tree
When we say that nature is fun, what we mean by that is perfectly demonstrated in the planting of trees. Tree planting has been proven to be an effective way of reducing personal carbon footprint. Plant a tree in your backyard and make the environment conserved. Conservationists maintains that a young tree absorbs about 13 pounds of CO2 in a year while a matured one can take up to 48.
Analytically, what this means is that after 40 years, a tree would have absorbed carbon of 1 ton which would have been a menace contributing to global warming in the first place.