You may be surprised to learn that the average U.S. household produces 7.5 tons of CO2 equivalents per year. You may also be surprised to learn that there are many things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint in your own home on a daily basis. These small changes in our daily habits can create big environmental change. Let’s have a look at some of green household habits we love.
Daily Household Habits to Reduce Your Footprint:
In the Bathroom
The average daily shower lasts about eight minutes. An easy step is to work on taking two minutes off your shower time. Just two minutes can save 342 pounds from your carbon footprint throughout the course of a year!
In the Bedroom
Bedroom lighting accounts for about 73 pounds of CO2 annually per household. An easy step is to replace one 75-watt incandescent bulb with a 19-watt CFL. Over a year, this small step can help you save up to 55 pounds of carbon emissions!
In the Kitchen
Did you know food waste accounts for 6-8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? When food scraps end up in landfills, methane gets produced as those scraps rot. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. If we can reduce the amount of food we throw out, we can have a significant impact on the environment. A fun way to do this is to check out websites like Big Oven, Supercook, and MyFridgeFood that allow you to find cool new recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand.
This may come as a shock, but your refrigerator alone contributes about 1,660 pounds of CO2 annually per household. Here’s a good tip: If your fridge door can’t hold a dollar, you’ll be leaking carbon, money, and cold air, so it’s best to get it fixed. Alternatively, if the seal holds, and you clean your refrigerator’s coils, defrost regularly and keep the top clear of clutter, you can save over 700 pounds of carbon emissions!
This is likely something you may have thought about, but in case you haven’t. Using recycled paper, plastic, and glass to store food can save over 1,000 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
In the Laundry Room
You may not realize that 90 percent of the electricity a washing machine consumes goes to heat the water. This contributes to 160 pounds of CO2 annually. But, if you wash just half of your loads in cold water, you’ll save at least 72 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
Dryers contribute to 1,446 pounds of CO2 annually per household, so it’s not a surprise that drying just half of your clothes on a line or rack will save about 723 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
In the Living Room
We know that electronics contribute to carbon emissions, but you may not realize that TV sets, DVD players, cable boxes and other home entertainment devices contribute up to 1,608 pounds of CO2 annually per household. These electronics even pump out CO2 while they’re off because of clocks and easy-on features like ‘standby’ mode. Make sure to plug them into a power strip and turn it off when not in use to save about 240 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
Speaking of electronics, your laptop or computer alone contributes about 497 pounds of CO2 annually. Use that same power strip technique with your computers and you’ll save about 43 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
In the Entire House
Heating your house can contribute to a ton of carbon emissions. In fact, natural gas contributes about 6,389 pounds and electric heat contributes about 4,722 pounds of CO2 annually per household! With natural gas heat, you can shave up to 320 pounds for every degree you lower your thermostat below 70 degrees in winter, or 236 pounds for electrical heat.
Alternatively, your air conditioner contributes about 2,263 pounds of CO2 annually. In the summertime, you can save about 121 pounds for every degree about 72 that you raise your thermostat (even more if you raise it above 78 degrees).
And finally, your water heater contributes about 3,419 pounds of CO2 annually per household. Lowering your water temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit prevents scalds and cuts out about 479 pounds of carbon emissions per year!
While You’re Away: Travel & Commuting
Everyone has heard that it’s better to ride your bike to work if you can, but many of us don’t live close enough for that to be an option. Your daily drive to work contributes about 2,750 pounds of CO2 annually. If you’re like many of us who can’t ride your bike to work, there are plenty of other options.
Switching to public transport or light rail will save a whopping 1,366 pounds for a 12-mile commute. Your standard city bus will trim 804 pounds and heavy rail subway systems cut about 288 pounds for the same commute. Don’t forget that carpooling with a friend can be fun and will also contribute to cutting many pounds of carbon emissions annually!
A note about your car’s tires: just keeping your tires properly inflated can save about 250 pounds of carbon emissions annually!
Heading on a much-needed holiday? Swapping a 500-mile flight for a train can save 205 pounds of carbon emissions annually!
What about the emissions I can’t reduce? That’s where offsets come in.
What is it? A carbon offset is an amount of money you can pay to a project that reduces or removes greenhouse gases somewhere else. If you offset one ton of carbon, the offset will help capture or destroy one ton of greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere. Offsets also promote sustainable development and increase the use of renewable energy.
After finding all the ways you can reduce your carbon footprint, carbon offsets can help bridge the gap for the carbon emitting activities that today cannot be reduced.
The Carbon Offset Company offers individuals *and companies* easy options to offset your carbon emissions to live and grow a carbon-neutral lifestyle or brand.
We partner with individuals and businesses to plant trees across the globe! Tree planting reaches far beyond carbon reduction. They provide homes for wildlife, and in areas like Madagascar, the crab and fish populations provide additional food sources and income for the locals.
In addition to the environmental benefits, we employ and empower people from local communities. This extends our impact far beyond environmentalism. These are the building blocks of a long-lasting and sustainable restoration project.
