You probably know that transportation is a major source of greenhouse gases, but did you know that in the US about 17% of all carbon dioxide emissions come from people’s homes? According to the EPA, electricity use, heating and waste are the main sources.
Here are some ways to help out (and save money too):
1. Turn off the lights and unplug electric appliances when you don’t need them. The average household carbon dioxide emissions from electricity are approximately 7.4 metric tons per year (about 16,290 lbs).
2. Bundle up or take it off (instead of turning up the heat when it’s cold or the air down when its hot). Most furnaces and boilers burn fossil fuels such as heating oil or natural gas, which emit greenhouse gases.
3. Reuse stuff and recycle. For every person in the U.S., about 1,060 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent comes from the garbage we throw out every year. The average recycling rate for the United States is 30.6%. If the recycling rate increased to 35%, greenhouse gas emissions from waste could be reduced by 67 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per person.
Also, check out the video below from The Alliance for Climate Protection. We think this will let you see what the carbon dioxide coming out of your house ”looks like.”
How You’re Green Remix
Hello! Thanks again for sharing how you’re green! Here’s the remix…
Shane Helped Create a New Habitat for Wildlife to Flourish
Here’s how Shane Davis, a Naturalist/Biologist, is green:
“Attached are a couple of photos of an area 600 acres in size that I planned for an entire year to restore. It was a 1.5 mile state park creek that had been re-aligned due to extreme storm water run-off and erosion due to urban development.
This project created a viable, sustainable ecosystem - creating new habitat for wildlife to flourish. I organized and led a team of 156 volunteers to plant 18,000 trees and shrubs along the creek side to prevent stream bank erosion, cleanse the water and generate new habitat for all wildlife. This was 3 years ago and I saw it last week for the the first time and it is amazingly teaming with invertebrates and vertebrates of all sorts. The stream banks are solidly intact and the willow shrubs are now 12 feet tall from planting 6″ cuttings!”
He also sent us a video - thanks for sharing how you’re green Shane!