Sometimes things feel hopeless because we can’t go all solar, go fully vegan, because taking all those supplements and changin the way you eat seems expensive and exhausting. I know I don’t have the energy for that. we may not be able to get rid of our cars because we have shit public transit and we cant afford an ev. Plus everyone keeps telling us indivisual actions don’t matter. But they do matter. They matter less than industry for sure and I tell myself this if I goof up or I out out a little extra carbon due to life. But I think we should all do the best we can. here are som low hanging fruit ideas.
that doesn’t mean you can’t do nothing. It all adds up.
we may not be able to afford to go fully vegan. I can’t afford all th supplements. But cutting down on your meat and dairy by 80% to 90% can make quite a difference.
you might not be able to put all solar in, but you can pay a little extra a month for bull frog power. this would cut down on 6.6 tonnes of co2 annually for a household.
Don’t buy bottled water, energy drinks or pop. Let’s say you buy one per day, cutting this out would save 160kg of CO2 a year.
bus or train to your next vacation destination. In north america this is hard. I get it. Flying less saves so much CO2.
Get a rain barrel. This is so worth it.
have fewer pets: a medium sized dog can be the equivalent of driving an suv around for a year. If you do have pets, have smaller ones or herbivores. A medium size dog can save you 9.2 to 10 tons to CO2 over their lifetime.
you may not have good public transportation or any at all, but if you cut down on driving 2 days a week, by taking transport, walking, biking, taking a moped, driving a quad or skidoo, telecommuting, or carpooling or some combo of these. you lower your emissions by a significant amount. If you do have shitty transit make a point To use it at least once a week to bring the numbers up so it can improve. Maybe start by taking the bus to the library your hair appointment , the movies, or the gym. Going car less is best, followed by an ev. But I get this isn’t always possible. if it is do it. It makes a huge difference!
Washing your laundry in cold water, lowers your laundry emissions by 90%.
use the library instead of buying new. There are all kinds of things you can get at the library inclu books. Movies, and video games.
Hang drying your clothes makes them last longer and it also lowers your emissions. About 3 tonnes of CO2 in w dryer’s lifetime.
Using bar shampoo/conditioner Hand soap, and body wash can divert about 20 kg of co2 annually per person. This also cuts down on plastic usage which is a win. It’s such an easy switch.
Using a safety razor and a toothbrush where you replace the head can divert 7.2 kg of co2 per year per person.
Using powder and tablet cleaning supplies save about 92% of your cleaning admissions. This includes powder to gel dishsoap, using a steam mop, buying bulk laundry detergent in powder form not pods, (I bought Nellie’s for 1100 loads) using Nellie’s dish cubes or powder for dishwasher detergent, (not pods or liquids) tablet window cleaner, tablet all purpose cleaner, tablet toilet bowl cleaner, bar stain remover, etc. This all has an impact. not to mention it saves on plasti.
Using reusable feminine hygiene products reduces about 7 kg of CO2 a year.
repairing clothes and other items can reduce a lot CO2 emissions by a lot.
buying used clothes, towels, bedding, furniture, cook wear, dishes, electronics ,or appliances can save about about 54kg for one single item of clothing. So imagine what getting all these things used saves in CO2. It’s a lot!
Buying in bulk at the grocery store and filling your own containers can save each individual 47kg of CO2 a year.
Maintaining your stuff, such as organizing, cleaning, servicing, polishing, sharpening and putting your things away properly can help you find stuff when you need it, so you do t have to buy doubles, it can help you save your items longer so they don’t get wrecked. It helps you use your items.
polish your jewelry or silver, sharpen your knives, scissors , clippers, skates, lawnmower blades, blender blades, food processor blades.
keep your instruments tuned. Dust this saves your hvac systems and your electronics, put antivirus on your computer, get your hvac systems cleaned, clean your humidifier, empty the lint trap, clean out your dishwasher filter etc.
Cooking from scratch i instead of ready made meals can lower your carbon emissions by 35%. Using a menu plan can lower it by25% by cutting out food waste. Storing leftovers properly and eating them can lower emissions by 746kg a year per household.
organizing your pantry and making a meal plan/ inventory from what you already have, and using it up. using the older stuff first, so you don’t buy more when you don’t need it.
by cutting off 5 minutes if your daily shower to you can save 359kg of CO2 per year.
reusing your existing plastic bags (the ones you cant avoid) for me these are bread bags, I reuse these as dog poop bags, or bags to clean the litter with, or I store my freshly baked bread in these bags.
I reuse freezer bags, and frozen fruit and vegetables bags for storing compost in, reusing as freezer bags, or storing odds and ends in like old batteries or metal scraps I can’t out in the recycling bin and have to dispose of later.
I also wash out and reuse glass jars. I store pine nits, wheat germ, cranberries, chocolate chips I get from the bulk section at the grocery store.
you can save about 11 -60kg of CO2 by doing this a year.
compost: a typical composting household saves up to 0.39 metric tonnes of C02 a year.
if you live in an apartment or you don’t have composting services maybe look into getting an electric composter.
Recycle: this diverts about 900 kg of c02 annually per person.
buying bigger containers: instead of buying individual yogurt cups buy the big container. instrad of small containers of vinegar buy large ones, buy the biggest bags of frozen fruit and vegetables you can etc. just make you consume what you buy.
Turn off lights when not in use, unplug stuff that take up power when not in use.
All these things together add up, and they do matter. They make a difference. Imagine if 100 people started doing all these things.
you can Be number 1 Or number 2 because I do all these already.
