It’s rather mind-blowing to think about how much of an impact your life and habits have on the planet. After all, no one wants to think about their contribution to environmental destruction, do they? That’s why the planet gets deeper in peril with each passing day because most people are too afraid to address their role and how it affects Earth and its inhabitants.
Rather than run away from the problem by claiming there is no issue at all or ignoring the facts concerning your daily habits and consumption, why not do your part to lower your carbon footprint? Sure, it takes a concentrated effort, but it’s well worth the time and energy invested to have a cleaner, safer, more sustainable planet. Change starts with you, in your living room and places of employment.
What’s a Carbon Footprint, Anyway?
To better understand the concept of the carbon footprint, it’s important to explain how it relates to you. The technical definition explains that it’s the amount of carbon and carbon compounds that are produced by the consumption of fossil fuels. Each person’s habits lead to them having their own carbon footprint which collectively contributes to the planet’s environmental issues when not addressed.
Learning how to lessen one’s carbon footprint is urged by environmentalists who cannot see how the planet can continue to survive without collective change. Each person on Earth can change the way they consume in a manner that reduces carbon emissions and strengthens the environment. The challenge is showing them just how easy it is by making simple swaps and lifestyle changes.
If having a large carbon footprint is something that scares you, it’s time to start making changes in your life today. There is so much you can do to be proactive! The next section of this guide offers suggestions that make your job of being a planet protector easier.
Steps You Can Take to Heal the Planet
When it comes to helping the planet, there is no one approach that works best. In fact, the advice we like to give is to start small and where it helps the most. By taking a local approach to cleaning up your carbon footprint, you’re able to do so with greater ease.
You won’t be frozen with fear in thinking how big of issue you’re up against. Instead, you’ll see it as something you can contribute time and effort to by slowly changing your ways. For example, do you know where your food comes from or how far it travels to be sold in your community? It’s something that potentially will change your life and the way you think about consumption.
Researching the whereabouts of the food that you purchase and consume is a great starting point. It’s something that most people don’t think about, either. If you want to lessen your carbon footprint significantly, try buying food locally so that it cuts down on transportation costs and carbon emissions.
That’s what the authors of The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, did. They restricted their diet to include foods that were produced within 100 miles of their home in Canada. Items that they couldn’t buy locally were completely nixed throughout the duration of their experiment.
They learned a lot about food production in the country as a result of their diet. They also shared their knowledge with others by writing a book. You don’t need to give up on the things that you love most because they aren’t grown in your geographic location but you can be more conscientious about how you source such items so they minimize negative environmental impact.
Opting to share the information that you’ve acquired during the course of your journey is among the most empowering acts imaginable. Think about how influential your life may be in getting others to think twice about their habits as consumers. You could potentially ignite change in your home, school, workplace, community, province, and even country with the right attitude!
Sharing What You’ve Learned with Others
Among the most powerful things you can do while changing your planetary habits is to share your progress with others. That way, you inspire them to do the right thing. There is power in numbers and the more open you are about your path, the easier it is for others to get onboard with your crusade for a better planet.
Use social media platforms to share content of interest with your friends and family. Keep a blog that details the changes that you’ve made or that shares the environmentally-responsible companies that you love and support. Detail green products such as our Triple Insulated Water Bottle in your post so others can easily make the switch from disposable plastic bottles to something with permanency and value.
These seemingly small acts make a giant impact on the world. Think of the last viral video that you watched. It started with one person sharing it until it had reached millions of views. Imagine if the information that you put forward had the same sharing power and reach as the viral video. The world would quickly become a safer and healthier place to live.
Change is Perpetual and Necessary for Sustainability
This short but comprehensive guide to cleaning up your carbon footprint provides you with the information needed to start changing the way that you live so that it aligns better with your values and the hopes you have for the planet’s future. Remember that change is gradual and necessary. No one expects you to get it ‘perfect’ right out of the gate, either, which is a big relief when you’re first starting something new.
Give yourself time to adopt new habits and to correct your course of action when it doesn’t help the environment. Applaud your efforts because not everyone is as brave as you are when it comes to change. Everything you do to protect the planet going forward is praiseworthy and well worth the effort so keep doing what you’re doing because the world needs more game changers like you in it!
