There are a lot of ways that you can move forward with helping the earth. Going green is not an impossible task, mind you. Many people think that it’s hard to reduce a carbon footprint. That’s not the case any longer. In fact, there are a lot of easy routes that you can progress with if you’re going to end up moving forward with going green today. Going green, and trying to help the planet takes a little bit of effort, but not more than you can pursue. If you want to end up with a great solution moving forward, the following will help you garner a bit of success within a short span time.
Changing The Way You Get Around
The first major thing to consider is how you get around. Seriously, take time to consider how you want to get around your town, and everywhere that you go. If you focus on this, you’re going to end up with a big push forward in how you reduce your carbon footprint. People today assume that they have to drive, and that’s not true. You can get away without driving as much, and the following ways can help you get that done.
Alternatives abound in terms of driving. You could use the option of carpooling with co-workers. If you live near any of your coworkers offer to drive to work together, or have them drive you, and pay a little for gas. Together you can ensure that you’re helping with reducing your carbon footprint. This is not a difficult task, you just have to talk to some people. If you aren’t keen on this, you could always go with a bus. Bus passes can pay for themselves within a few rides, and you could end up getting to and from a lot of different areas, and not have to worry about driving at all. You could take a nap, read a book, or just listen to music and let someone else do the driving, and still remain safe, and get to where you need to go within a short span of time. Trains, buses, and all other forms of public transportation are great alternatives to driving and could help you save money, as well as reducing your carbon footprint.
Work On Your Home’s Interior
The next round of changes that you can start to work on is in the home. You could work within the confines of a lot of different things and end up with a positive push forward in terms of going green. The goal here is simple, make sure that you change things up to ensure that you’re using less energy. You can do this by focusing on a few key elements of change.
The best option to pursue here is to look into the solutions that are going to be easiest and work your way out to more complex elements. For instance, you can start to reduce your cooling and heating costs by insulating your home. This is not a complicated thing, you just have to look for drafts and anywhere that has air and heat escaping. You could purchase a caulking gun, and some caulk, and reseal areas that have lost their weather stripping or have been faded with weather. You could also upgrade your windows, insulate your garage, basement, attic, and other areas of your home as well. Upgrading to more insulation or even changing out windows and doors can very well save you money in the long term, and in some instances, could garner you tax breaks as well.
Change The Appliances That You Have
One of the best things that you can do to help with reducing your carbon footprint is to invest in energy star rated appliances. These are appliances that have passed through the star rating system and means that they consume a lot less energy than other options do. This is a great option to pursue, and in some instances, can cost very little to change over to a high-efficiency appliance. There are several solutions here, including washers, dryers, dishwashers, and so much more. You do not need to spend a lot of money here, you can easily get a solution that is low cost, and efficient overall. At the end of the day, you’re going to find that appliances are one way to ensure that your home is efficient, and you’re reducing the carbon footprint that you’re putting out there.
Eat and Shop Differently
Did you know that you can help the environment by eating certain types of foods? That’s correct, you can easily work with a focused energy that will help you save the planet, and eat well. The goal here is simple, offset the amount of pollution that you’re going to be investing in by buying differently. The easiest way to do this is to eat organic, locally grown foods. That means that they will have traveled less miles to get to you, and they will help your local farmer as well.
Another solution that you can invest in is buying less beef and dairy overall. These things can take up a lot of resources to grow and maintain. Not only that, there’s a lot of foreign countries now shipping their items to the United States because the grazing land that was one prevalent in the United States is getting lower and lower.
Limit The Hot Water That You Use
There is an easy way to stop using so much water in your home and it’s to bathe differently. Instead of taking long showers or baths, take shorter showers and stop getting into the tub so much. Aside from that, you should look at using cold water whenever you can. This includes washing your clothing in cold water, and of course your dishes as well. If you can stand to take cold showers, that will help as well. Your goal is to reduce your carbon footprint, and heated water can waste a lot, so make sure that you take your time and use less of it, and when you can, don’t use hot water.
