We are well into the 21st century now and the damage of habits and cycles of previous generations is clear to see. No one is blameless, but it has also been difficult for everyone to change, even those with the best of intentions.
But these days, as technology changes and sustainable practices are promoted widely, can we still make excuses to live in an environmentally unconscious way? Most people would agree it’s now up to us to make the best lifestyle choices we can to protect the planet for future generations.
In the article below, you will find seven easy ways to change your lifestyle and help the planet by producing fewer carbon emissions. It might seem a little bit inconvenient at first, but every habit is a challenge to change. The upshot is that you train yourself into planet-friendly habits and save money at the same time.
Avoid Plastic
There’s a reason why plastic is such a popular material for packaging and products. It’s cheap to produce and it can be molded into any and every shape making it perfect for containers and items with awkward shapes. The trouble is it’s pretty bad for the environment.
Plastics are made from petroleum and other fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and crude oil; like methane from industrial farming, these fossil fuels enter the planet’s atmosphere and cause the earth to heat up via the greenhouse effect. This plays havoc with the climate and endangers lifeforms like humans and animals.
Avoiding single-use plastic is one way you can contribute to a lower-carbon future. It might seem like a small thing but all of these little things add up and make a difference.
Install a Smart Meter
Making lifestyle changes isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t know what is and what isn’t an adverse habit. What’s wrong with leaving a light on here and there or leaving devices on stand-by.
A smart meter is a small electronic device that monitors your energy usage in your home and gives you some hard data relating directly to your bills. Installing one of these can change the way you think about energy usage.
A smart meter will tell you how much you being charged for the devices on stand-by and the lights that are left on. This smart device is one of the future as it can help save you money and reduce your carbon emissions.
Get Solar Panels
There was a time when solar panels were all the rage, and governments around the world were keen to subsidize them. Then, they kind of went out of fashion for a while or dropped off the radar.
There is a common assumption that solar panels aren’t very efficient and take a long time to pay back. It’s true that they are a long-term investment, but the efficiency of them has continued to improve over the years.
It seems solar panels are now back in vogue. They have retired from the nether-regions more efficient than ever before, and governments are once again supporting their installation with tax cuts. And you can still benefit by selling power back to the grid.
Install a Propane Furnace
When thinking about how you can reduce your carbon footprint and live a more sustainable home life, you might have considered how you heat your home. This is a challenge for everyone these days, businesses and individuals alike.
The trouble is that fossil fuel-based heating systems are so efficient and cost-effective. Conversely, renewables and new technologies are often less effective and more expensive, at least initially.
An excellent alternative is to switch your heating system to a propane furnace. A propane furnace emits 26% fewer GHGs than gasoline and 38% fewer than fuel oil furnaces. To get a better understanding of how a propane furnace works, click here.
Recycle and Reuse
It might seem incidental, but in reality, recycling and reusing your clothes and household items is a marvelous way to reduce your GHG emissions and save money at the same time. If the 20th century was a time of consumer waste, the 21st is all about sustainable attitudes.
The recycle and reuse mindset can influence every aspect of your life, from what you put in your trash and how the trash is organized, to how often you buy clothes and where you buy them from.
Think about what your family needs in terms of basic food and clothes and outline a plan for sustainability in your home. This might mean employing some minimization strategies, so you know exactly what kind of waste you produce.
Save Your Water
There’s often a bit of confusion around why saving water is an important aspect of environmental sustainability. Isn’t water a natural resource that’s readily available? Doesn’t it simply fall from the sky and get collected?
In some ways, that is true. The hydrological cycle does depository water in our reservoirs that is processed and sent through the pipes to our taps so we can take showers and water our lawns in summer. The trouble is that water is a finite resource that isn’t evenly distributed.
Saving water means less transport of water is needed, which reduces GHGs and provides a more even distribution of water throughout the country. It also helps with irrigation for food production.
Drive Less Often
Driving less often seems like a no-brainer. Everyone knows that driving a fossil fuel-powered car emits harmful GHGs that trap heat in the planet’s atmosphere and raise the temperature of the earth. Still, people have shopping to get.
There are solutions to this, just as there are solutions to most things. You could consider public transport or having your groceries delivered to reduce the carbon output. You might also decide to invest in an electric vehicle.
Electric vehicles aren’t carbon neutral, at least not yet, but they are getting there. It won’t be long before the majority of cars on the roads are EVs, so why not get in first and lead the way towards a sustainable and planet-centred fuel-powered future.
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