All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
Power Outlets Really DO Save Power!
A huge carbon footprint in the modern-day world is simply what is plugged into power outlets. You may not even be using that electronic, but if it is plugged in, then energy is being used. The solution to this is to unplug everything that you are not using. Well, sometimes, that can be a bit tricky. A simple but effective way to help reduce this footprint is to buy power strips. On these power strips, you can find on/off switches that basically unplug the cord without actually removing it from the outlet.
According to a 2011 study, most of the energy wasted by power outlets takes place overnight and during the weekend. Something we can all do is switch off the power strips when you leave our house and turn them off overnight unless you are using them. A simple action like this can help remove our huge footprint and conserve energy.
Source: http://www.buildingsustainability.net/casestudies.html
Great post Bridie! I agree that unplugging things/ turning off power strips is an easy and affective way to conserve energy. Unplugging things takes less than 5 seconds yet it is saving the environment. Not only does this save energy but it also saves money. If everyone encouraged their family to start unplugging things imagine the amount of energy we could be saving. One thing you can do is to just start by unplugging something small such as a phone charger. Once this becomes a second nature you can start working on unplugging all of your other devices too. Many people are too lazy to do this but you shouldn't be lazy when it comes to saving the Earth.