Environment, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint - Here's How


by BEVERLY CLARKE - Date: 2009-05-04 - Word Count: 781 Share This!

The mantra of those ?ho are trying so hard to h?ve u? r?duce

?ur carbon footprint ?s si?ple. Re?ycle, reuse and reduce.

In case ?ou’re uns?re exactly wh?t ? carbon footprint i?,

here ?s the definition given by C?rbon Descent - â€Å"You?

carbon footprint is the ?um of all CO2 ?missions that are

directly and indirectly assoc?ated with your activitie? ov?r a

giv?n time fra?e (us?ally ? year)â€쳌

www.carbondescent.org.uk/glossary.php

In other words, it i? the dire?t impact w? have on our

environment as indiv?duals through the resourc?s w? consume.

Each of us h?s ? sh?re in th? combined sum tot?l effect on our

environm?nt through ?ur individu?l carbon footprint.

For example every acti?ity we undertake and every ?esource we

?se has ? certain amount ?f energy associated with ?ts

cre?tion and with the ?rocess of creation comes CO2

emission.Th? paper yo? us? ?n ? dail? basi? has associat?d with

it a certain ?evel of CO2 t? harvest, transport and process

into th? paper ?ou use. Th? food y?u eat tak?s energy to grow

and m?nufacture ?s do the clothes you wear, the fuel ?ou u?e,

the car you drive. Everything has associat?d with it some co?t

for its creation.

There are two differ?nt ty?es of carbon footprint:

1. Our Primary Footprint ?s what ?e h?ve d?rect control of, it

?s ? direct ?easure of th? CO2 emissions that arise as a result

of ou? activitie?, for example fossil fuels consumed through

transp?rtation f?om our vehic?es ?nd from ou? energy

consumption th?ough electricity, natural gas, coa?, etc.

2. The Seconda?y Footpr?nt is what ?e have no d?rect control

over, this me?sures the amount ?f indirect CO2 as ? result ?f

?hat we consume, for example the pr?ducts ?e use, th? energy

and emission associ?ted w?th its creation and u?e ov?r time.

The more we consume, the ?ore emission? associated w?th it?

creation.

How ?e c?n red?ce o?r carbon footprint?

Consume Less

Even if we do n?t have direct control ?ver ou? secondary

footprint, ?e can consume l?ss. If ?e buy less, w? can

influence the demand, decre?sing production lo?ering the CO2

emiss?on levels. So ?n effect, we can have ?n influence t?

some degree on ?ur se?ondary carbon fo?tprint through ou?

buying habits.

Recycle

It tak?s mo?e energy and mo?e resource? t? ?reate products

f?om sc?atch than it d?es to recycle. It’s ? fact. Recycling

paper use? 40 t? 60% le?s en?rgy than ?t does to create paper

from th? tree.

Recycling gl?ss us?s 40% less energy then it does it create

from its ?ase c?mponents. So ?s you can see recycling unites

us all in ? ?ommon goal to reduce energy usage, by doing this

we help c?mpanies to save in overall energ? usage which ma?es

the ?ig differ?nce.

W?th recycling, ensure that yo? continually ?ort your garbage

into different piles so that it can ?e bette? sorted and ?ade

us? of by s?meone down the line. For examp?e building ? new

can for ?our coke wi?l b? twelve time? mor? energy ?fficient if

it c?n be done fro? recycl?d materials rather than it?

original, r?w comp?nents.

In the st?te ?f California alone, resid?nts have faithfully

recycled ove? 10 billion cans and bottl?s ?hich has saved the

ene?gy equiv?lent of pow?ring over 500,000 homes. It rea?ly

ta?es n? eff?rt to do.

Not only m?n made things can b? recycled â€" ?emember th? value

of composting not ?nly in reducing how much ?e throw into

landfills but als? the potential fertiliser ?t ?an provide. In

both situat?ons you'll b? reducing your carbon footprint

indirectl? by preventing th? use of energy further down the

line.

Re-use

On? of the things w? take most for g?anted is our water supply

but mo?t of ?s don't actually ?ake the ?ost efficient us? of

it. Fo? ?xample how many of you? friends d? yo? know wh? store

rainwate? and use it f?r laund?y or for flushing the toi?et?

In ? m?re obvious change, th?nk abo?t h?w often ?ou wash your

cloth?s and wh?ther after wear?ng ? shi?t fo? ? coup?e of hours

?t rea?ly n?eds to go through the carbon intensive process of

be?ng washed, dried ?nd iron?d? Little change perhaps but ?

big ?esult can come.

Knowledge i? power, by calculating your carbon footp?int you

can tak? st?ps to reduce ?t. Reducing doesn’t have t? be a

hug? sacrifice ?ut ?ittle alterations and changes you mak?

along the w?y c?n make ? dr?stic difference.

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator1.html

Using that si?ple ?antra is in f?ct a great w?y to ev?luate

what y?u're doing in reg?rds to th? environment. So, get t? it

â€" go greener and ?hrink your feet! Beverly Clarke is the manager of a network of living green websites offering green news,advice and products to help get you started. Click the following link for your copy of "125 Ways To Go Green While Saving Green".

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