Hre4m1 unit 14 15 ppt

10 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Travel Smarter

• The average vehicle drives around 12,000 miles and uses 545 gallons of gas at 22mpg creating 10,000 lbs/CO2 per year.

• Reduce car trips, carpool and take public transit when possible to save both gas and emissions.

• Make the next vehicle you buy more efficient

Eat Smarter!

• Eat less meat– Going vegan saves about 4000 lbs/CO2 per year– Reducing meat consumption by half saves around

1600 lbs/CO2 per year• Buy locally grown foods– Purchasing food from local growers and producers

help reduce the distance the food has travelled (this reduces CO2 emissions and food is more fresh!)

– Buy bulk foods to reduce packaging

Don’t let excess water go down the drain!

• Cutting back shower time by three minutes can reduce CO2 by up to 715lbs per year– Cutting back five minutes saves 9125 gallons of

water and up to $122 in heating costs• Letting the faucet run on its own while

shaving, brushing teeth, or washing dishes wastes water– Resources go down the drain and not to mention

your money will too!

Lighting

• Standard incandescent bulbs vs. compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)– ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs use about 75 % less

energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, saving you $100 or more per bulb.

• Turn off the lights– 60-watt bulb left on for one hour a day will waste

about $4 worth of electricity and emit an extra 21lbs of carbon dioxide

Wash your clothes irregularly!

• 60% of the energy associated with a piece of clothing is spent washing and drying it– Over its lifetime, a Tshirt can be responsible for

9lbs of CO2 emissions– Check to see if clothes need to be washed

between wearing

Reduce buying new things!

• Around 10% of our ecological footprint is made up of the things we buy– Instead of buying new things, try buying second-

hand or borrowing

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

• American citizens produce an average 4.5lbs of waste daily– Recycle paper, plastics, glass, and metals to reduce

waste• Recycle shopping bags or use reusable tote

bags to the store– Making bags from recycled polyethylene takes one

third the sulfur dioxide and half the nitrous oxide, than making them from new material.

Turn the thermostat down!

• Turning down the thermostat can result in a 10% decrease in heating bills– Turning the thermostat down by four degrees can

save the average home 5% of their ecological footprint

• A well insulated home will keep more heat in the home– Ex. Drawing curtains at dusk, cavity wall insulation,

turning down heating in unoccupied rooms, keeping doors shut

Choose green!

• Choose green designs for your building (ex. Passive solar heating, rainwater catchment, grey water recycling system, recycled materials)

• Choose efficient appliances (ex. Low flow shower heads, faucets, toilets)

• Choose second-hand, recycled, or sustainably produced furnishings

• Use biodegradable and non-toxic products

Unplug!

• Electronics continue to use electricity when they are plugged in even if they are turned off!– Unplug to reduce energy use and carbon emissons– Unplugging will save “parasitic power loss” the

power of these items even when they are turned off

Works Cited• "Ecological Footprint Facts." CTEnergyEducation. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2012.

<https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_SVmRroXBOsJ:www.ctenergyeducation.com/images/Ecological%2520Footprint%2520Facts.doc+&hl=en&gl=ca&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShBK_XxwBfkFhVzcJVFBWZUkKwtGq4C_qVhVI-Xcm1DoxbUAZm-MBwF-ZK15I6MI2tHqPHxOZTNj5NJE9QXBOFpkoaVWgJ_K>.

• "Reduce your footprint: Ecological Footprint Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy." Ecological Footprint Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.myfootprint.org/en/take_action/reduce_your_footprint/>.

• "Top ten ways to reduce your ecological footprint - WWF UK ." WWF UK - Conservation, climate change, sustainability . N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/cities/top_ten_ways_to_reduce_your_ecological_footprint.cfm>.