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?
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Shorter Showers
I didn't think that taking long showers really effected my carbon footprint, but recently I did some research and found that it actually makes a huge difference. By only reducing your shower by a few minutes you can reduce your carbon footprint significantly over time. I learned that just by reducing your shower from 8 minutes to 6 minutes for a month will reduce CO2 emissions by 15.3 lbs. That's only by shortening your shower by two minutes! If you were to do this every month then you could possibly save up to 183.6 lbs. of CO2 in one year. After researching this I challenged myself to limit my shower time. I hope you choose to do the same. If you take this challenge you can comment about it on the website posted below. Good Luck!
http://www.carbonrally.com/challenges/15-power-showers
This makes a lot of sense. When you are using the shower you have to use gas to heat the water. You also have to use electricity for the light that is on. Taking a longer shower means you put more water into the sewer which then has to be processed at a plant that uses electricity and to get the gas for your water heater to heat your water requires electricity to. There are so many different factors that we humans don't think about when we use something. If you think about the clothes you are wearing, imagine how much energy went into making those clothes.
I had heard that taking long showers was bad because you're obviously wasting water that lots of people, especially Californians right now because of the drought, simply can't afford to waste but I had never even thought about how the heating of your showers also affects your carbon footprint. I'd love to take the challenge of shortening my shower, not only to save water but to cut down on the amount of electricity used while in the bathroom.
I think a good idea to reduce the amount of gas used to heat our showers would be to try to take cold showers more often. I realize many people would prefer a nice hot shower but even just taking a couple cold showers a week could help cut down on the amount of gas being used and the electricity that is used to heat your water heater, which would also probably help your electricity bill a little bit.
I have always wondered why people take really long showers. I personally take about 5 minutes showers while my mom takes about 15 minutes showers. All that energy and water used just to simply clean your body is kind of ridiculous. Takes shorter showers won't want a difference at first but in the long run it will help the environment.
If more people took shorter showers instead of 13-20 minute showers it will greatly decrease CO2 emissions. Lets say 20 people decided to take 6 minute shower. It will reduce CO2 emissions by 306 lbs each month and in a year it would be save about 3,672 lbs. of C02. That is about the more C02 saved the average Californian releases on Transportation