Top 10 Ways to Cut Your Carbon Footprint
By following these changes for the next 12 months you will cut your carbon footprint by 7700 lbs and save almost $2000. Helping save the planet and some extra spending money? A pretty good deal!
1) Change to energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs – this is one of the easiest ways to save energy and money! Not only do these bulbs last up to 10 times longer than regular ones, but they produce significantly less carbon. If you change only 10 bulbs in your home today, you can expect to save an average of $150 and 1400 lbs of carbon every year! See the CFL Buying Guide or visit our online shop to pick up some bulbs now.
2) Measure It! If you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint, you need to measure it! Knowing how much electricity each appliance uses will let you find the fastest and easiest ways to cut your carbon emissions and save money.
3) Stop using plastic grocery bags. Each year the US uses over 100 billion plastic bags! Buy a few good reusable bags and take them with you to the supermarket every week. Many stores will even reward you with discount or coupon points for doing this.
4) Get Smart with Your Thermostat. Half of the average electricity bill is used up heating and cooling their home. This is almost $1000 each year. Using a programmable thermostat can cut this by up to 15% by automatically turning down your heater while you are not home. This will cut your carbon footprint by about 2000 lbs annually. Simple and effective!
5) Recycle – This won’t save you any money, but it won’t cost you anything either. For the average home, this will reduce your carbon emissions by over 1500 lbs every year. So think twice before throwing out any plastic, metal, glass, or paper.
6) Properly Inflate Your Tires. This one is absolutely free to do so there is no excuse to skip it. This simple change will improve your mileage by about 3.3%. This will save the average driver about $60 a year, and reduce carbon emissions by almost 400 lbs!
7) Full loads of Washing (clothes and dishes). For each 2 loads that you can fit into 1, you save about 1 lb of carbon. Assuming 6 full loads per week of washing (3 of dishes and 3 of clothes) you cut your carbon footprint by 300 lbs and save $50 per year.
8) Air Seal and Insulate Your Home. Seal any potential air leaks to stop any heat from being wasted outside. Insulate your home with a high R-Value insulator (the higher the R-Value, the better the insulating power). This will cut your heating bill by 20%, potentially saving you up to $500, not to mention reducing carbon emissions by close to 900 lbs.
9) Air dry your washing. Apart from the cost of buying a drying rack for your clothes, this is a really easy way to save money and energy. Assuming 3 loads per week, this will cut your carbon footprint by over 1000 lbs and put an extra $50 in your wallet every year.
10) Use a Water Saving Shower Head. Showers use an average of 2/3 of a households hot water, and installing a low flow shower head can cut this drastically. This will easily save cut your carbon footprint by 300 lbs per year and make you $100 richer!
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