10 Lesser-Known Ways to Curb Your Carbon Emissions
Everyone knows to bring reusable cups to coffee shops and tote bags to grocery stores. It reduces waste and dismisses single-use products. Do you think you’ve already incorporated as many sustainable habits as possible?
If you’re looking for an extra way to level up your awareness, do these things to cut your carbon emissions more.
1. Say No to Restaurant Refills
The waitstaff at your local restaurant is doing a phenomenal job keeping your glass topped off. You take one last sip before you leave, but it’s mostly full. The water will go down the drain and go to waste. Nations worldwide suffer from scarcity, and water waste produces carbon emissions.
People squander around 25% of a building’s water, and 13% of U.S. electricity goes to transporting and treating it. This amounts to 23 pounds of carbon emissions per cubic meter. One of the simplest ways to lower your impact is by saying “no, thanks” to refills.
Other ways to cut your water-based carbon emissions include:
- Checking for leaks in sinks and toilets
- Using low-flow devices
- Repurposing pasta water
- Taking shorter showers
2. Join a Buy Nothing Group
Buy Nothing is an online organization of micro-community groups for neighborhoods and cities. If you feel defeated by negative press associated with the futility of donating, this is for you. You can post items you want to get rid of, even things potentially unsuitable for thrift stores.
Community members post this stuff for free to try to rehome it. You may find furniture, potting soil, books, food, moving boxes, and everything in between.
Some Buy Nothing groups even encourage temporary loans. For example, if you cannot afford to buy a specific tool you need for a project, someone may be willing to loan it. This decreases excess consumption while encouraging community connections in a circular economy.
3. Take Care of Your Car
The best way to reduce emissions with your car is to drive less or carpool. However, this is impossible for many individuals who may not live in areas where cycling or public transit is accessible. If you must drive your car, there are ways to abate your commute’s emissions:
- Press on the brakes and accelerator pad more gently to preserve the pads.
- Keep tires inflated to pressure to lessen wear.
- Use cruise control to prevent speeding, which produces more pollutants.
- Cut air conditioning use and roll down the windows.
4. Drink Less Alcohol
Alcohol’s mark on the planet is still under-researched, but some studies show it has a more sizable impact than many think. Producing 1 liter of beer and its packaging generates between 510 and 842 grams of carbon dioxide. Several contributing factors make alcohol hurt the planet.
All alcohol varieties use copious water to make, adding to the carbon footprint. This is present in the farming and brewing steps. Farms growing alcohol ingredients likely use polluting pesticides and ignore organic practices, worsening the impact. Most alcohol packaging is not recycled, even though it could be. Lastly, researchers must consider the transportation emissions people create for a night out. The variety of factors makes alcohol deceptively harmful.
5. Stop Phantom or Vampire Energy
Did you know plugged-in devices and appliances still pull energy even when powered down? This is called phantom or vampire energy.
Your phone still sucks electricity while on its cord, even if it’s at 100%. Countertop appliances like blenders, toasters and microwaves are notable offenders. PCs and gaming systems are other monumental contributors in modern homes. You could save $100 annually and trim carbon emissions by unplugging electronics that are not in use.
6. Organize Your Fridge
Food waste is a global concern, and most of it is preventable. How often do you toss leftovers or produce because it fell to the back of the fridge? It may have grown mold or changed color in an unappetizing way. Stop food waste in its tracks by sorting your refrigerator more mindfully.
Use the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method to ensure food with shorter life spans gets precedent. FIFO urges you to place the oldest items in front. Having a clear line of sight is critical for planning meals and stopping spoilage.
Combine these techniques with composting and eating more plant-based food. Your dietary footprint will plummet.
7. Create Over Consume
Many people shop as a hobby, but consumerism aids climate change. If there is ever a time you want to buy a replacement item or spend a day shopping, try creating instead. You may be going to a birthday party later but don’t have a card. Instead of using emissions to drive somewhere, make one at home. Craft a gift instead of supporting fast fashion retailers if you’re a knitter.
This thought process also extends into other creative mentalities. If your can opener stops working, create a solution instead of consuming resources to buy a brand-new one. Pull out the toolbox and watch an instructional video to see what you can master.
8. Spend Less Time on Social Media
Scrolling doesn’t feel like a carbon-intensive activity, but it’s sneaky. Researchers discovered the carbon emissions of one minute spent on each platform. This considers the type of content, such as image, text or video, and how many users are online daily. Here’s how they rank:
- TikTok: 2.63 grams
- Instagram: 1.05 grams
- Facebook: 0.79 grams
- YouTube: 0.46 grams
In context, Facebook produces an estimated 46,797 tons of carbon daily because its 1.96 billion users average 30.1 minutes on the app. How could an app produce this many emissions?
Social media uses data centers to run, and their greenhouse gas emissions increase yearly. It’s also essential to consider social media fads and their impact. Though little research is available on specific micro-trends, you can imagine genres like soap-cutting videos are not the most eco-friendly — they only produce waste for the sake of views.
9. Rent Clothes for Special Occasions
The fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet. It exploits workers, harms biodiversity and pollutes nature. Consider renting clothes if you need to go to a wedding, graduation or other special event. This choice supports circulating clothes to give them a longer life instead of holding onto a single-use dress that will likely end up in a landfill.
10. Get Involved in Your Community
Engaging with your community provides more climate benefits than you know. Voting is the most obvious way to lower carbon emissions on a massive scale. Systemic change is necessary for reducing global temperatures and promoting sustainable action.
Knowing your neighbors and community activists is crucial for aligning values and rallying for environmental shifts. You’d be surprised how much you’ll get to know people at city council meetings or local trash cleanups. Go outside of your comfort zone and see what happens.
Diversifying Your Green Habits
It’s time to deepen your relationship with your sustainable habits. You’ve nailed using a reusable straw regularly and have a solid recycling routine. Plenty more opportunities are everywhere to reduce carbon impacts further. Implement one of these practices starting today to stay motivated and inspired. Advocating for the planet is a lifelong journey, so enjoy every win.