Tips For Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY

What you can do now:

  • Replace all lighting with LED lights.
  • Use seasonally self-adjusting timers on porch lights and other outdoor lighting.
  • Turn off lights, appliances, and electronics when not in use.
  • Unplug electronics once they finish charging.
  • Avoid or unplug appliances with small lights that remain lit when appliance is not in use.
  • Use a clothesline instead of a clothes dryer, or use the dryer for a brief time and then hang dry.
  • Buy a programmable thermostat.
  • Keep house temperature low and wear warmer clothing.
  • Turn heat down at night and when away from home.
  • Close blinds, shades, or curtains at night.
  • Use insulated window coverings such as warm window shades.
  • Turn the thermostat on your water heater down to 120 degrees.
  • Use a Kill-A-Watt meter to be aware of energy consumption of appliances and electronics.

What you can do in the longer term:

  • Use electricity instead of fossil fuels especially in Seattle.
  • Use energy efficient appliances.
  • Convert to a heat pump or geothermal heat pump.
  • Have a home energy audit and seal to reduce air leakage in your home.
  • Insulate your walls and attic.
  • Weatherstrip doors and windows.
  • Change windows to triple-pane glass.
  • Install solar panels and a solar hot water system.
  • Consider an on-demand or point-of-use hot water system.
  • Move to a smaller home or rent out extra living space.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure and phase out existing infrastructure in favor of renewable energy sources.
  • Divest from financial institutions that finance fossil fuel industries.
  • Support legislation that encourages home installation of solar panels, solar hot water, and heat pumps.
  • Through Cascadia Climate Action you can find out about local climate-related events and organizations.

 

WATER CONSERVATION

What you can do now:

  • Put flow restrictors on showerheads and faucets.
  • Don’t let water run continuously when rinsing dishes.
  • Don’t let water run continuously when washing hands, brushing teeth, or showering.
  • Use a shower timer or other timing device which you place outside the tub.
  • Use the shower to lather up, then turn off the shower while washing, then turn on to rinse.
  • Capture water when running water to get it hot. Use a cutaway milk bottle with handle or run water into watering cans for plants.
  • Use cold water to wash clothing and wash only full loads.
  • Fill the dishwasher completely before using it.
  • Don’t flush the toilet after each use.
  • Stop watering the lawn.

What you can do in the longer term:

  • Install low-flush toilets.
  • Convert your lawn to a waterwise, organic, chemical-free food garden.
  • Install rain barrels and cisterns to catch rainwater for watering gardens.
  • Reduce pavement and install pervious pavement.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation encouraging sustainable use of water resources.

 

GARBAGE REDUCTION

What you can do now:

  • When making purchases, think how they will be disposed of when worn out.
  • Recycle as much as possible – paper, glass, plastic.
  • Put food waste in a worm bin or city compost/yard waste.
  • Minimize food waste by menu planning before shopping for food and by using leftovers.
  • Take worn clothing and shoes to a Threadcycle collection point.
  • Repair clothing when possible.
  • Take used electronics to electronic recycling events or electronic recycling centers.
  • Creatively re-purpose items rather than throwing them away.
  • Avoid printing hardcopy by using and storing documents in electronic form.
  • Re-use paper printed on one side, especially for writing and printing drafts.
  • Borrow books and audiobooks from the library rather than buying them.
  • Use e-books and e-audiobooks as an alternative to purchasing hardcopy.
  • Subscribe to newspapers and magazines in electronic form.
  • Receive bank statements in electronic form.
  • Buy used clothing, books, and other items rather than new items.
  • Buy napkins, toilet paper, etc. made of recycled paper.
  • Use cloth handkerchiefs, napkins, etc. instead of paper products.
  • Avoid excessive packaging.
  • Re-use or avoid using plastic bags.
  • Purchase in bulk, using your own containers such as repurposed glass jars.
  • Use reusable cloth bags when shopping, including net bags for produce and bulk items.
  • Carry a washable coffee mug with you instead of using disposable cups.
  • Carry a metal water bottle instead of buying bottled water in throwaway plastic containers.
  • Bring your own plates, cups, and utensils instead of using disposable items at events.
  • Eliminate disposable products from your kitchen and the rest of your home.

What you can do in the longer term:

  • Learn to live with less, especially considering that we tend to buy things we don’t use.
  • Join a tool library to avoid purchasing seldom-used items.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation requiring recycling and composting.
  • Support legislation banning plastic bags and non-recyclable containers and packaging.

 

TRANSPORTATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY

What you can do now:

  • Walk or ride a bicycle.
  • Combine trips.
  • Plan ahead to do errands only on certain days.
  • Organize carpools when possible.
  • Support and use ridesharing software.
  • Take public transportation when possible.
  • Use software such as Skype or Zoom to avoid travel to meetings.
  • Avoid air travel. Prefer surface transportation.
  • Do not run your car engine unnecessarily.
  • Drive at 55 mph maximum speed.

Longer term:

  • Buy an electric car (best) or a hybrid electric car (next best).
  • Buy a used energy-efficient car.
  • Buy a small car.
  • Make your car last many years.
  • Keep up your car maintenance.
  • Sell one or both of your cars.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation to encourage purchase of electric cars and building of charging stations.
  • Support legislation to require greater fuel efficiency of vehicles.
  • Support legislation to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure and phase out existing infrastructure in favor of renewable energy sources.
  • Divest from financial institutions that finance fossil fuel industries.

 

SUSTAINABLE FOOD PURCHASING AND CONSUMPTION

What you can do now:

  • Buy and eat locally produced food when possible.
  • Buy and eat food that is in season when possible.
  • Reduce or avoid meat consumption.
  • Eat more produce.
  • Eat more organic food.
  • Plan menus ahead to avoid food waste.
  • Compost food waste (at home or in city compost).

What you can do long term:

  • Adopt a vegetarian (no eating of animals) or vegan (no animal products) lifestyle.
  • Start a vegetable garden to raise food for yourself and your family.
  • Join a community garden or rent a p-patch.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation for labeling food by state and country of origin.
  • Support legislation for more transparency in labeling food ingredients and production information such as organic standards and GMO status.

 

SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING

What you can do now:

  • Think about the lifecycle of an item before deciding to buy it – will you really make good use of it? How will you dispose of it?
  • Prefer locally produced goods as much as possible.
  • Avoid printed material; prefer in electronic form.
  • Buy used items instead of new.
  • Borrow or rent items that you do not plan to use often.
  • Make things last.

What you can do long-term:

  • Learn to repair items such as torn clothing.
  • Learn to live with less, especially considering that we tend to buy things we don’t use.
  • Join a tool library to avoid purchasing seldom-used items.

What you can do to influence public policy:

  • Support legislation to require reusable bags, ban plastic bags, and reduce throwaway packaging.