LAUREN ROBERTS Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Our Current Carbon Emissions In the US, we account for 20% of man made greenhouse gas emissions, with less than 5% of the population. What if the other 95% all lived like we do? Footprint reduction through conservation and smarter consumer choices is critical, but most of us will still be far above a level that is sustainable for the planet. e=related e=related

The Classic Way Reduce Reuse, Recycle Do this at your home AND when you’re out This can be as easy as rolling out the trash bin to the curb ure=related ure=related

Reusing Pay attention to packaging. When out shopping, try to go to stores or co-ops that keep packaging to a minimum. For example, you may chose to buy the loose tomatoes rather than boxed or plastic-wrapped tomatoes. Use reusable bags at the grocery store. Ditch bottled water. Bottled water has a huge carbon footprint — it's bottled at one location in small plastic bottles and shipped all over. Buy a reusable water bottle or canteen for your water. Recycle the plastic bottles that you do use.

Transportation Take a direct flight. -If you need to travel by airplane, try taking a direct flight when at all possible. Your impact is reduced when you take one flight, as opposed to hopping on a couple or more passenger jets to reach your final destination. Make time for errands. -A lot of us try to run errands in-between work and other commitments. Try bundling errands together to reduce how far you need to travel. Going back-and-forth to the same part of town on different days to run errands uses more gas than if you planned and did everything in the same area all at once. Try more eco-friendly modes of transport when possible -Use your bike or just your feet! -Use the bus, the train, the metro, the tram, telecommuting, or whatever else is available -Get a "green" vehicle. -Carpool and get a lift to school or work with a friend.

At Home Energy-proof your home. -Make sure all of your windows close properly and that the attic in your home is properly insulated. This can save you big bucks on your energy bill. -Keep your heating and cooling systems properly maintained, and switch to reusable filters when possible. -Switch all of the light bulbs in your house from incandescent to energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. -Compact florescent light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than our normal light bulbs and last much longer. Compared to regular bulbs, the fluorescents are more expensive, but they will eventually pay for themselves due to lower energy costs. Use cold water. -Try using cold water to launder things that don't need to be cleaned in hot or warm water. It takes a lot of energy to heat up water. Most major detergent makers sell detergents designed to have the same cleaning power as with regular soap. -Try washing mixed loads in cold water, too.

Household/Appliances Unplug it! -Unplug appliances that you don't use frequently. -Most electronics have a standby mode that siphons energy even when not in use. -Examples: Cell phone chargers, laptops, televisions, stereos all don’t need to be on -Try using a power strip for groups of electronic items. One flick of the switch and it's all off. Chuck your microwave. Admittedly, this is a bit drastic. But this speaks more to those convenient frozen dinners some rely on because of their busy schedules. A freezer full of meals is actually more energy-intensive — it costs more to freeze foods, ship them cold, display them frozen in the grocery store and keep them frozen in our homes. So while the modern convenience of the microwave and the Lean Cuisine is enticing, it's much more resource-intensive. Cook fresh food when you can, and you'll also find yourself eating out less often. Switch water heaters to vacation mode. -Most water heaters have a "vacation" setting for when you are away from home for an extended period of time. Switching to that "away" mode still keeps the water warm, but will not use the energy it takes to keep a tank full of piping-hot water.

Other Ways to Conserve Buy organic and local. (buy organic or "fair trade." ) -the food was grown in an eco-friendly way, and if it's locally grown, it didn't have to travel that far. -Example: coffee often has a large carbon footprint because of the distance those beans had to travel to get here, and how they were produced. Use vegetable-based and biodegradable products. -From plastics to bio-diesel, from soaps & detergents to computer parts & rail road ties, nearly everything can now be made from renewable resources at competitive/cheaper prices Have the family over. -Cooking and entertaining for larger groups is more efficient and, per person, a lot less expensive.

Bibliography "Carbon Footprint." Global Footprint Network. N.p., 6 July Web. 4 Jan "Carbon Footprint - What Is A Carbon Footprint?." Carbon Footprint - Home of Carbon Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan "How to reduce your carbon footprint - Green Wiki." Green Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan Jefferson, Millie, producer, and Weekend America. "15 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint | Consumed | Sustainability Coverage From American Public Media." Sustainability Coverage From American Public Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan