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This post was originally posted here: How to Leave A Smaller Carbon Footprint Using Green Technology
Reducing the carbon footprint requires quantifying the size and type of the carbon footprint. The size will be determined by the use of carbon generating materials such as electricity, gas and diesel fuel usage, and certain cleaning products. The term “carbon footprint” refers to the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere in any twelve month period.
Perhaps the size cannot be measured in terms of CO2 produced by the family every day, but a realization of the total potential CO2 production is achievable. Enough information is available to implement a carbon management program if a conscious analysis of carbon generating activities is made. Understanding how CO2 is created provides an understanding of how it can be managed.
There are so many ways that CO2 is produced, and so many opportunities for a CO2 management program to be implemented. Many can begin with the family and in the family home. More education would be helpful, and more examples could result in achieving successful results.
CO2 is responsible for the drastic changes in our climate. This should be the motivation for every citizen to take every possible action to reduce the carbon footprint. We would probably never guess that using a diesel Type A motor home would emit less CO2 than any other method of vacation travel. In fact, the CO2 emitted is a ton less than what some people would believe to be the easy way of traveling.
Our daily household operation can be changed to buying organic food because it is likely to be grown in an environmentally friendly way. We never think of the more exotic coffees as creating a big carbon footprint, but they do considering the distance the beans travel to get to our favorite coffee shop. Think about the way food is packaged. Choose to buy loose tomatoes and pass up the plastic-wrapped tomatoes. Take reusable bags to the grocery. Although plastic bags are better than paper bags, a reusable cloth bag is the best. Water in plastic bottles leaves one of the largest carbon footprints. Shipping small plastic bottles across the country is not eco-friendly, and they leave a large carbon footprint when they are not recycled.
The use of green products is essential to reducing the carbon footprint. Perhaps the most important resource is the array of green products, which are eco-friendly, safer to use, and readily available.
The florescent light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than the older light bulbs, and they also have a longer life. Considering electricity consumption, all of the electronics in the home continue to use electricity even though they are not in use. Unplug them or use a power strip with an on/off switch.
Talk with others aboutr using green products study their usage online. We are constantly learning about new and easy ways of reducing the carbon footprint with eco-friendly products, and sharing these with our families and our neighbors is often the way to achieve an even greater reduction.
Christine Artesia graduated with a degree in journalism and is now working as a freelance writer covering niche topics about technology.
Read more at Talking About Green