How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
by HAYLEY JONES
You may well have heard the term ‘carbon footprint’ and either be wondering what it means and/or how you can do something about it. Here we give you a little information to answer both these questions.
Firstly, carbon footprint is a term used to describe the carbon dioxide emitted (emissions would actually include other greenhouse gases, but this term is used to cover all bases) in something’s life cycle. That ‘something’ could be an individual product but the term carbon footprint is also widely used in relation to people, households and groups of people such as businesses, and it is your personal/household carbon footprint that we are considering here. Many of the reduction suggestions below are, however, applicable to businesses and other organisations too.
Your personal/household carbon footprint is made up of a number of areas including the power you use in your home, the products you buy and the transport you use. This is very difficult to quantify but there are a number of websites offering carbon footprint calculators which will give you a good idea of where you stand. So, having found out what your carbon footprint is, how can you reduce it?
Rather than become overwhelmed with the task ahead, we suggest starting with small steps which will reduce your emissions and also save you money. Simple measures to reduce power consumption such as switching lights off when leaving a room and not leaving appliances on standby are easy to implement, as is trying to walk or cycle short journeys and buying local produce where possible. You can also recycle as much waste as possible and try to buy second-hand and recycled products whenever you can.
In addition to these measures, consider insulating and draught proofing your home to massively reduce your carbon footprint and energy bills. There are grants available for this type of work so you won’t have to spend a fortune and the payback will be quick. If you are buying new appliances make sure they are energy saving models. This shouldn’t cost you more and will save you money.
More of an investment are renewable energy installations for your property, which could provide some or all of the power or heat required in your home. If this is cost prohibitive or not something you can undertake right away, you could choose a green tariff with an energy supplier to ensure that renewable energy is used to power the equivalent of your home.
This is just a taster of what you could do to start reducing your carbon footprint. It doesn’t have to be an onerous task and will reap fantastic environmental as well as financial rewards.
Hayley Jones is the Web Marketing Director for www.uk-energy-saving.com. For more suggestions for reducing your carbon footprint visit http://www.uk-energy-saving.com/energy_saving_tips.html.
Originally posted 2009-09-11 06:15:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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