When people learn about reducing carbon emissions for the first time, they automatically resign themselves to the idea that this is an impossible or difficult undertaking. In reality though, it is actually very simple to do. All of these emissions are lifestyle-related; meaning, simple changes to the way you live every single day can make such a huge impact to the overall environmental condition. Imagine if all people in the world had the same initiative!
Below are some of the common items that individuals use at home on a regular basis. Each of them have been identified to cause lots of GHG emissions, so you need to understand how you can reduce that number.
Electricity
Electricity has come to equate with life and survival in the modern times. Without it, it is possible but difficult to survive. The same goes with others such as medicinal, business or commercial, and industrial.
But even with regular household use, the amount of electricity consumed reaches up to 4,000 units of electricity per year. Each person in that household have their own share of the responsibility for reducing carbon footprint when it comes to their usage of electricity.
Domestic Gas
The home is where the biggest consumption of gas is taking place. Thus, you need to focus on it when trying to reduce your carbon footprint. The leading form of using domestic gas is home heating. But in order to converse use of energy, make sure you choose the size most appropriate for your house and its insulation capacity to determine how much energy it will consume.
Transportation
Whether you are traveling by land or air, both modes of transportation still contribute to the total amount of carbon emission in the world. The long distance of travel is what contributes to the maximum number of emissions which very well make up for it even if you travel only twice in a year. One important tip for frequent air travelers: limit yourself to one-short haul return flight from a fuel-efficient carrier.
In terms of land travel, a car is the most common form of transportation. In the UK alone, the car to population ratio is 1:2 with each vehicle raking in at an average 9,000 miles on an annual basis. Practical reasons dictate that sharing a car is better than having one for every single member of the household. On the other hand, there should be a keen sense on not just responsible driving, but also for eco-driving to reduce the amount of fuel used and the negative impact to the environment.
Consumer Electronics
This is probably one of the most challenging factors that modern individuals will find difficult to sacrifice. A lot of people invest on modern gadgets whether for gaming, music, or communication (cellphones, laptops, netbooks, etc). These electronic gadgets are a major culprit for carbon emissions since they are made from precious metals that require a great deal of energy to become refined and ready for manufacture.
Since consumers have little control over the manufacturing end of these electronic gadgets, the best solution is to buy less of these stuff. Once you have bought a gadget, make sure to take full care of it and recycle if you can to reduce carbon footprint.
No comments:
Post a Comment