Climate change has been on everybody’s lips in recent years. Scientists have said that if we don’t do something about it, then this big blue ball we love will no longer be our home. This is our wake-up call. Stopping climate change starts with each of us doing our part, individually contributing to a better world for everyone. It might require some drastic changes, but it will be worth it. If you want to know how to live a greener lifestyle, here’s how you can do it.
Master Conservation
Reduce, reuse, recycle. This one is an oldie, but for good reason; it works. Most of what people use ends up in a landfill, somewhere, either covered up or burnt. In 2012 alone, we generated 2.6 trillion pounds of trash and less than half of that is organic. What’s the rest? Every plastic, metal, and cardboard material you can think of.
Recycling does three green things in one go: conserves natural resources, reduces pollution, and saves energy. If you want to be practical, replace plastic bags with reusable ones. Want to be creative? Turn old credit cards into guitar picks. Want to be even more creative? Turn old light bulbs into candles. It’s a real thing, try it.
Make Your Home Green
They say good things start at home, and that’s where your eco-friendly journey should too. After all, home is where you spend most of your time. Back to light bulbs, you can switch all of your bulbs to energy-efficient LED ones; they last 25 times longer and use 75% less energy. Furthering your energy conservation goal, you can also use a clothesline to dry your clothes instead of a dryer. According to Green America, air drying reduces a household’s carbon footprint by 2400 pounds per year.
Insulating your home is the next step. An insulated home uses less energy to make the house warm when it’s cold or cool when it’s hot. You can also invest in solar panels, grow food in your backyard, and adopt water recycling systems. Want to go even greener? You can achieve that by creating a fully sustainable home. The eco experts at ecavo.com said that the home you will build should meet your basic needs while being incredibly eco-friendly. This home would harvest its own water, use recycled water to treat sewage, be built out of natural or recycled material, get its power from either the wind, the sun, or both, and use organic methods to produce food on-site.
Travel Green
Carpooling is great, but let’s step it up. If you need to travel by car, it’s best to get an electric or a hybrid one. The EPA estimates that a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. If you have to drive a gas guzzler, then it’s best to use a smaller car. Ensure that the tires are inflated and that the engine runs smoothly; this reduces the amount of fuel you have to use.
Ideally, walking or biking to your destinations would be best. It doesn’t only drastically decrease your carbon footprint, it keeps you in shape too. This advice also applies if you want to go sightseeing or just enjoy nature. Instead of driving out to a campsite, ride your bike if it’s close enough. Otherwise, use public transport. If more people used public vehicles instead of cars, it would decrease air pollution and congestion.
Many people aren’t aware that airplanes also have a huge carbon footprint. Whenever you’re flying, choose non-stop flights since most of the emissions occur during take-off or landing. It’s really hard to make flights sustainable, but many airlines are still giving it a shot. These airlines do their best to reduce fuel usage, fly shorter routes, and employ modifications to reduce their CO2 emissions.
A greener lifestyle isn’t just good for you, it’s good for everyone else and the planet you live on. Living a sustainable lifestyle starts with reducing what you use, reusing materials you’ve bought, and recycling anything you can. Find practical and creative ways to conserve as much as possible. You can also make your home green by using energy-efficient light bulbs, insulating your home to conserve energy, and investing in renewable energy sources. When you’re not at home, you can make your travel eco-friendly as well. It’s recommended to drive electric or hybrid cars whenever possible. If you have to use gasoline cars, drive a smaller one and ensure it uses little fuel. Even though sustainable flight seems out of reach, try to book with eco-friendly airlines that work hard to reduce their carbon footprint.
