My family and I have been reducing our carbon footprint in many ways. A few years ago, we switched our exterior and interior fluorescent light bulbs to all LED lights. We also always turn off our lights when we leave the room. Instead of always leaving the lights on, we try to open up all of our window shades so that we have sunlight. My family and I now try take shorter and "cooler" showers too. My family's carbon footprint for transportation is very big because my brother goes to a middle school and my sister and I go to a school very far from my house. We used to drive separately every day. But my family decided to carpool with a family that goes to the two same schools. We also purchased a hybird car (electric and gas car) to reduce pollution. http://blog.wegowise.com/2012-06-26-you … ctric-cars shows your car's carbon footprint.

Carpooling is a great option to reduce your carbon footprint. According to http://www.1800234ride.com/top-5-benefi … arpooling, carpooling cuts down on the number of cars and vehicle son the road. Fewer cars means there is less carbon and other gasses and pollution getting into the air. This protects the environment by keeping the air, water, and land cleaner. My dad also invested in an electric car to help save money but also to reduce the amount of pollution that goes into the air.

My family footprint is quiet similar to yours. I always try to save energy by turning off the lights when leaving, or opening up the windows for natural light. I also take quick, cool showers. As we moved into our house a few years ago, we made a beneficial change and made our heater system electric versus a gas system. Though my showers are short, my brother needs to work on reducing his long, warm shower time to reduce our carbon footprint. Transportation is also a big part in our footprint. Luckily, my little sister carpools with my cousins to save three trips to their middle school. Even though my brother's school is right by mine, he drives separably from me. I decided to take action and carpool with him at least a couple days a week, even if it means waking up an hour earlier (because his class starts an hour before mine.)

I think it's great that your family brought a hybrid car to try and reduce your footprint and make a better impact on the world and our environment. All of the little things you are doing are making a humongous impact as well! Using natural light and wind to cool and illuminate your house is a great way to reduce energy and electricity use.