A Carbon Diet For Your New Year's Resolution: Frugality That'll Save Your Wallet and the Planet

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about how people need to lower their carbon footprint, but outside the eco-community, most people don’t even know what a carbon foorptint is. When the topic comes up, the questions are always: What is it and how does it affect me? Here’s an attempt to answer those questions.

Stock image.

At its most basic level, a carbon footprint is the total impact one person’s activities has on the environment during any given day. A big part of it has to do with how much unrecyclable trash is generated, and power used - generating greenhouse gases - to operating things like household appliances and systems, electrics, and transportation.

The family carbon footprint is important for two reasons - slowing the outflow of money from the household budget and preserving the global environment.

The health of the global environment directly affects every wallet in many ways, including the cost of food. What most people eat that isn’t locally grown, and if the climate shifts where that food is grown, it either won’t be available anymore or become a lot more expensive.

Graphic courtesy of eoearth.com.

This doesn’t even take into account people’s long term suffering if sea levels rise around the world and numerous coastal communities become submerged as climate scientists are predicting they will.

At a conference held earlier this year by the World Trade Organization, reports were released which said that if climate change continues much of Southeast Asia would find itself underwater within this century. It’s also speculated that much of the U.S. East Coast and Gulf region will also be underwater.

Carbonfootprint.com has a lot of great ideas that will both save every individual money and help the planet at the same time. They include:

• Turning things off when not in use (lights, television, DVD player, Hi Fi, computer. etc.).
• Slightly turning down your central heating. Just one degree will help reduce your heating bill by about eight percent.
• Turning down your water heating setting (just two degrees will make a significant saving).
• Checking the central heating timer setting - remember there is no point in heating the house after you’ve left for work.
• Filling your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will save you water, electricity, and washing powder.
• Do your weekly shopping in a single trip.

The next ideas will take some initial investments, but should pay for themselves over the course of one-to-four years through energy bill savings.

• Replacing conventional light bulbs with energy saving bulbs.
• Installing thermostatic valves on your radiators.
• Insulating your hot water tank and walls.
• Recycling your grey water (rainwater and other water that’s not fit to drink - but not soapy water from the sink that will kill the plants).

Carbonfootprint.com also has a carbon calculator, which won’t tell you your cost savings from energy improvements, but will tell you how much your changes are lowering carbon emissions for yourself and the planet. 

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Reader comments and input are always welcomed!