What we humans are doing to our globe is evidenced all over the news: the exhaustion of fossil fuels, the pollution of water, and the destruction of wildlife habitats. It’s all summarized pretty well with the simple phrase “global climate change.” It can be pretty overwhelming with all these problems and even though humans often are good-natured and want to help, sometimes we simply don’t know what to do. Fear not! You can reduce your carbon footprint (the amount of greenhouse gases that are released due to an individual’s use of resources) every day by making or breaking some small habits! Here are five helpful tips to start living more green:
Showers: Ladies and gents, I know it may sound self-explanatory, but we need to shut off the water entirely when we are done with showers. There have been many times that I have walked into a bathroom and the shower was still trickling water from whoever used it last. That is a problem! According to the United States Geological Survey, one faucet that drips 120 times in a minute can result in 43 liters of water being lost per day. Imagine that, only with hundreds of showerheads. Combine the water wasted with the energy that is needed to keep that showerhead dripping and you have yourself a mess. So while some of shower handles might be a little hard to turn off, use those muscles and shut the water all the way off!
Water Bottles: While it’s nice to just grab a plastic water bottle and go, it really is better if you use a reusable water bottle. It’s been said a dozen times before but plastic water bottles often end up in landfills, rather than in a recycling plant. To add to this argument, it takes nearly 17 million barrels of crude oil to transport and create plastic bottles! And while all that greenhouse gas goes up into the atmosphere, you’re just forking out money for bottled water, which can cost up to $10 for a 24-pack. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a fancy, cool looking, reusable water bottle that costs about $10 anyway? If you really must use a plastic water bottle remember: recycle!
Bottles and Plastic Containers: Before you throw out that shampoo bottle, look for the recyclable symbol found on the bottom or side and the number that goes with it. The number should be somewhere between one and seven, which corresponds to the system that New York State uses to determine what it will be recycled into. So imagine your shampoo bottle, with a recycle number of two, could be a beautiful flowerpot in its next life, but only if you recycle it! Almost all plastic containers and bottles can be recycled in New York State, as well as a variety of glass jars, metal cans, and a multitude of paper and cardboard products. Check out this website for all the things that you can recycle safely!
Unplug Electronics: This might come as a surprise but when you shut off your TV or your lamp, the electrical flow doesn’t actually stop. It is still using something called “standby power,” which is used by some machines to convert the current of electricity into remote sensors, circuits, and lights. For example, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory claims that if a TV, using cable, has a DVR, it uses 44.63 watts of electricity while on and 44.4 watts while off, virtually the same amount of electricity. And it’s pretty well known that coal is one of the main resources used to generate electricity, so there’s a good amount of carbon going up into the air as a result of leaving a TV plugged into the outlet. So this tip is very simple; just remember to unplug your electronics after using them and you’ll be living green in no time!
Used Books: As school begins and we all need to buy books for classes, it’s wise to look into used books. This isn’t just because used books are often cheaper than new books, but because buying used helps save the amount of trees being cut down. An estimate from Conservatree suggests that it takes about 6 percent of a tree to make 500 pages of unglossed paper. So for every 16-17 books that are created, a whole tree is lost. When you think of all of the students who need books … that’s a lot of trees lost! So do yourself, your wallet, and your planet a favor; buy a used book!
Of course, these are only a few simple tips to reducing the amount of damage being done to the atmosphere. There are other things that I’m certain you know you can do, like taking the bus, or walking instead of driving your car. However, if you’re really interested in going the extra mile, try looking up other methods to shrink your carbon footprint. You can even contact your local senator or governor to push for more environmentally friendly laws. Remember: every small step towards sustainability can go a long way in the end!