How to Reduce a Carbon Footprint

Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon you "consume" to maintain your lifestyle. The choices you make as a consumer of goods and services has a direct relationship to the carbon output of the companies that make and deliver those goods and services to you and your family. You can reduce your carbon footprint by making lifestyle changes; some inexpensive and simple, others more expensive and complicated. Read on to learn how to reduce a carbon footprint.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Change your lightbulbs. Replacing three incandescent lightbulbs with three compact fluorescent lightbulbs will reduce your carbon footprint by 5,000 pounds over the life of the bulbs.

2. Use rechargeable batteries to reduce your carbon footprint by 1,000 pounds over the life of the batteries.

3. Replace your existing showerheads with low-flow showerheads to cut your carbon footprint by as much as 7,000 pounds.

4. Convert your hot water heater to a solar hot water heater, which will eliminate nearly 200,000 pounds of carbon over the life of the water heater.

5. Drive a hybrid car, and reduce your carbon footprint by approximately 500,000 pounds over the life of the car.

6. Buy local. Goods and services that are produced locally eliminate untold thousands of pounds of carbon by slashing fossil-fuel-reliant transportation demands. Plus, everyone knows a tomato from the local farmers market is a lot tastier than the styrofoam ones your grocery store trucks in from 1,000 miles away.

7. Install a solar photovoltaic system to run your home. Depending on the appliances you use, you could reduce your carbon footprint by 200,000 to 300,000 pounds over the life of the appliances.

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on 6/20/2008 You should add a little more to this