Your personal carbon footprint contributes to a much higher and more substantial impact on the planet than you’d probably think. If you’ve clicked on this article, then you’re clearly a conscientious member of society who fully understands the importance of protecting the natural environment right now, not just in the future.
Here to help you are the four most effective methods of effectively reducing your own personal carbon footprint.
1. Avoid Using Plastic (Every Single Time)
Plastic pollution is a serious issue, not only for the natural resources of the planet, but also for the already endangered and dwindling number of animal species who share the world with us.
Plastic pollution is a significant contributor to global warming, and in the process of plastic production itself, a huge volume of planet-warming gases and oil are produced, not to mention the fact that a single piece of plastic takes an incredibly long time to degrade.
This is why it’s absolutely essential to avoid any food products, home items, and indeed, anything else you purchase, that are wrapped in plastic, and if you absolutely have to buy them, make sure you always bring your own carrier bags.
2. Drastically Overhaul Your Water Usage
For those who enjoy a long and relaxing soak in a hot bubble bath after a hard day at work, nobody would suggest for one moment that you need to entirely deny yourself of such a wholesome habit.
It would, however, be extremely beneficial to perhaps halve the number of baths that you take in an average week and alternate between baths and taking a much quicker and considerably more energy-efficient shower.
With laundry, make sure that you only ever use the washer-drier when you have a full load to wash and unless you’re dealing with a special kind of fabric, try to use cold water washes instead of boiling hot water every time.
3. Solar Panels at Home
You may already be fully aware of the hugely positive impact that solar panels on the roof of a building can have on the horrifically high energy levels used by central heating and electricity, but you may have laboring under the illusion that they’re simply too expensive.
Perhaps this was true when solar panels were first developed, but these days, prestigious solar panel experts such as those at nowev.co.uk can provide you with a tailormade price plan and what’s more, explain to you the myriad of benefits that solar panels will afford you.
4. Car Share
When you work in the middle of a city, or live even further away in the suburbs, it obviously isn’t feasible, without adding on valuable time to your daily commute every morning, to leave your car on the drive and take the bus.
In this situation, however, there’s an energy-saving alternative, in the form of car-sharing with colleagues who either live in your neighborhood itself, or else live in a town on the way to work. Taking it turns to drive to and from work will also serve to halve your petrol usage, which is a valuable cost saving move.