The ecological footprint corresponds to the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities carried out by human beings. Many think this is contributing to climate change. You can reduce your ecological footprint at home at little or no cost. Just change your habits, aim to protect the environment and use energy more efficiently. Follow this guide on how to reduce your environmental impact at home.
Steps
Step 1. Eat zero kilometer foods
- Foods often come from afar, so there is some time between production and the moment they arrive in your kitchen. This requires excessive fuel consumption, usually in the form of gasoline or diesel - both emit considerable amounts of carbon dioxide.
- Eating short-chain foods means avoiding those foods that come from afar. Consequently, it determines, albeit indirectly, a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions; instead, you would cause an increase if you consume products imported from other places.
Step 2. Reduce or eliminate the consumption of meat, milk and derivatives
- Meat processing requires a lot of fossil fuels, which contributes to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
- According to some studies, compared to vegetarian diets, those that include meat involve almost double the amount of carbon emissions.
- Vegan diets, which exclude the consumption of meat, milk and derivatives, reduce carbon emissions by seven times compared to those that include these foods.
Step 3. Reduce or eliminate your bottled water consumption
- Before he can buy it, he travels long distances.
- If the tap water is drinkable, drink it. If not, use a filter to purify it.
- Buy a bottle (BPA-free) and fill it up. Always carry it with you when you need it, so you will also save money.
Step 4. Thoroughly insulate your home
- Make sure all windows close well.
- Seal the parts that have drafts.
- Hire a professional to insulate the house if there are any problems you can't solve on your own.
Step 5. Take proper care of your heating and refrigeration systems
- Carry out maintenance following the manufacturer's instructions.
- Proper maintenance reduces the amount of energy used.
Step 6. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs
As soon as incandescent bulbs (the most popular for years) stop working, replace them with CFLs. The latter use about 75% less energy than the others. In any case, it would be preferable to buy LED bulbs; apparently they are expensive, but they even last longer than compact fluorescent lamps and do not contain highly dangerous mercury
Step 7. Set the water heater to low power mode when you go away for extended periods of time
This setting keeps the water warm, but uses less energy than when you are at home
Step 8. Plug household appliances and electronic devices into a power strip and turn it off when not in use
- Many devices continue to consume energy even when they are not in use if you leave the plug inserted in a classic power outlet.
- A multi-socket power strip can be turned off. That way, devices you don't use don't get electricity.
- If you don't have a power strip, unplug any devices you don't use.
Step 9. Use cold water whenever you can
For household chores, such as doing laundry and washing dishes, use cold water, unless the items are particularly dirty. This reduces energy waste due to water heating
Step 10. Recycle as many materials as you can
When you no longer need something, such as a plastic bottle or newspaper, recycle the item following the regulations of your city. Recycling implies less energy use. It also saves more resources than the energy needed to drill for oil (used to make plastics) or cut trees (which, if not felled, absorb carbon dioxide instead)
Step 11. Turn off all lights and devices you are not using
- When no one is in a room, turn off all switches.
- The last person who leaves a room should turn off the television after watching it.
- Turn off your computer when you are not using it. Standby and hibernation consume less power than actual use, but turning it off won't cause any waste.
