The world is in the midst of a climate crisis due to the escalating carbon footprints. The UN forewarns that by 2040, this lovely planet may start experiencing severe drought, wildfires, and flooding should humankind not take charge.
However, reducing carbon footprint is a tasking process you cannot wake up to and achieve overnight. Sustainability demands collective efforts from other environmentally conscious minds worldwide. If you intend to pitch in, these five home recycling tips will start you off the process of reducing your carbon footprint for a conducive residential space.
1. Avoid Meat and Dairy Products
A saucy stew or BBQ will leave your taste buds craving for more. These meals are not only delicious; they account for 18% of the total calories and 37% of proteins your body requires for healthy growth.
Sadly, the production of meat and dairy products takes approximately 83% of the global farmland. Countries like Russia destroy forests in masses to create vast grazing fields and paddocks for cows, sheep, and goats. And since the demand for meat and milk is ever-growing, the world is at risk of losing 95% of its tropical land and biodiversity should this trend continues for the next 80 years.
Additionally, animals and their feces produce environmentally catastrophic gases such as methane and ammonia that contribute to global warming. If you combine these factors with pesticides, antibiotics, and bacteria that large farms use to grow their animals, you should have every reason to switch to a vegan diet.
Instead of eating red meat, consider eating fish or poultry. Eating lower on the food chain can help break the channels corporate animal product factories use to sell their supplies. Purpose of replacing packaged meat with locally produced veggies.
2. Leverage the Power of 5R: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Rot, Recycle
You’ve probably heard of the 5R in environmental talk shows or conferences. Well, this mechanism ensures zero waste through:
- Refuse: You can ensure sustainability by avoiding plastics and other hazardous products to both the land, water, and air.
- Reduce: Keeping your budget to only essentials. Before splurging, make sure to have a shopping list, to downsize the list of unnecessities.
- Reuse: Increase the shelf-life of a specific product by re-using it. For example, don’t consign a broken chair into the garbage; rather, consider options such as repair.
- Rot: Create compost for all your biowastes. Don’t haul kitchen and yard wastes into the bin to use them to attain a bountiful harvest.
- Recycle: Consider recycling any item that you cannot reuse, reduce, or rot. Your local municipal council or recycling service company can bail you out at an affordable fee.
3. Drive Less
Getting stuck in a busy street full of cars and buses has become part of the modern culture. While it is great to travel to work or tour other parts of the world, adding your car in the bustling streets only adds to the already existing emission.
Driving less reduces the cost of fuel, parking fees, and even the charges in your premium insurance packages. It also offers a substantial time for self-reflection. Should you choose this path, you’ll find extra time to spend with your family and close relatives.
If you must travel, consider carpooling to minimize traffic congestion. For short distances, flex your muscles by biking. Biking is also a perfect way to cut some calories without hitting the gym.
4. Protect and Conserve Water
Water is essential to life; protecting and conserving it is part of being responsible for creating sustainable ways of livelihood. While 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, only about 3% of the total water mass is drinkable. Even worse, freshwater is scarce in some parts of the world, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas. These factors should tell you how treasurable water should be.
Some of the DIY home recycling ways to conserving water include:
- Opting for short showers instead of the long one that runs more than 10 minutes. While lathering, shut the showers.
- Buying re-usable at the expense of commodities that you’ll need to flash down the drain
- Turn off the pipe as you lather up when brushing your teeth.
- Check and repair leaking underground pipes.
- Use a toilet tray at the expense of flushing commodities such as papers.
- Turning off the water when shaving.
5. Shift to Green Energy
Green energy is a perfect alternative when intending to minimize your carbon emission. These sources are clean, renewable, and with lower production costs.
Unlike fossil fuels, green energy such as solar and wind power does not burn to release heat to the environment. Neither do they produce toxic gases to the atmosphere. You only need to part with some dime, and you’ll be sure to keep a conducive residential space that is 100% eco-friendly.
If your local state offers geothermal electricity, you’re better off since you can change the grid any time. However, if it doesn’t, some of the few options to consider include:
- Installing a solar panel
- Joining up a community solar plant
Other ways to cut fossil fuel include buying an electric vehicle and using electric trains that leverage green energy.
Conclusion
Your effort to keep the Earth a conducive place to live has a ripple effect on the global carbon footprint. By practicing these five steps, you stand a better chance to also influence your neighbor into joining the bracket.
Originally posted 2021-05-05 10:15:43.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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