Climate change is real, and it can be really overwhelming at times. The science is deep and complex, and the impact it could have to our future is massive. Solutions that have been proposed require a global effort and cooperation between nations in order to curb climate change, and there is the tendency of looking at ourselves as nothing more than insignificant specks as compared to the enormity of the problem at hand. We should not forget, however, that each great effort requires the combined strengths of many! In fighting climate change, each and every one of us can make a significant impact in fighting climate change by reducing our carbon footprint.
How To Minimize Your Carbon Footprint
The Foot of the Problem
A carbon footprint can be summed up as the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that comes from a certain source. This could be a byproduct of production, or gases given off through the usage and decay of a product. The most commonly emitted greenhouse gases by humans include methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The dangers these poses include trapping heat inside the atmosphere, causing global warming, and subsequently making oceans levels rise through the melting of the polar ice caps. Most of a person’s carbon footprint would come from three primary sources: transportation, food, and housing.
Always on the Go
Travelling has become part and parcel of an individual’s like, whether it may be a necessity or for leisure purposes. The preferred mode of transportation in today’s modern age is that of automobiles and planes, which all give off greenhouse gases through their processing of fossil fuels. Due to this, one of the most effective ways to begin your path towards creating a smaller carbon footprint would be to rethink the way you travel, and how much you travel between places. Simply said, driving less would be one of the simplest yet most effective ways to lower your carbon emissions. Alternatives to get you to your destination include taking public transportation such as a bus or train, and even better, riding a bike. Not only would you contribute to saving the environment, but you would get a healthy dose of cardio exercise as well! The same goes for airplanes as well though. Planes are one of the biggest contributors to the presence of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere today. Thus, reducing any form of air travel could shrink one’s carbon footprint significantly. While it would be relatively inconvenient or impractical to travel to different countries by land or by sea, only flying when necessary would be a good way to reduce one’s carbon footprint while not sacrificing one’s own personal needs.
You Are What You Eat
Did you know that something as common as the food that you eat could actually make a big difference in the size of one’s carbon footprint? This is especially pertaining to the consumption of red meat because the production of this type of food uses up a lot of feed, water, and land. The cows themselves give off methane gas as part of their digestion process, and this is one of the most dangerous greenhouses gases out there. Thus, reducing the demand for red meat would also decrease the number of cows needing to be bred and fed, which impacts one’s carbon footprint to a large degree. There are many options you can shift to if you’re a lover of red meat though. Fish and vegetable diets have been on the rise in recent years not only because of the low carbon footprint involved in these but mainly because these are very healthy for your body! Now you can save both the environment and make yourself a better person as well.
You Are What You Eat
