Cost-Effective Carbon Footprint Reducers - Things YOU Can Do

Big oil and coal-fed special interest lobbyists have so far successfully blocked passage of real US greenhouse gas reduction laws. However, they have absolutely no power to prevent citizens from reducing their personal carbon footprints.

Anyone can slow the rate of global warming simply through smarter shopping and being more greenhouse gas conscious in energy use. Corporations are slowly starting to catch on that if they want to increase profits, they need to provide consumers with more earth-friendly product selections.

The good news is that you don’t have to live in a tent and use a solar shower to reduce personal greenhouse gas emissions.

Easy carbon footprint reducers that don’t require a lot of money or effort include the following:

• Use compact fluorescent bulbs and be on the lookout for even more efficient LED bulbs. Saving energy saves money!

• Wash clothes in cold water. We burn a lot of coal to heat water.

• Dry your clothes on a line. Fresh air makes the clothes smell better.

• Recycle. That saves a lot of energy which is wasted in mining and processing new aluminum and other materials.

• Eat more locally grown vegetables and fruit to cut down on transportation emissions.

• Eat less meat. Cows emit megatons of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas, and forests, which absorb greenhouse gases, are cleared to graze them.

• Take public transportation or carpool if possible. Sitting in gridlock is more tolerable if you have someone to talk to.

Many hundreds of carbon footprint reducing ideas can be found in the following sources:

• The April 9, 2007, Time magazine special edition, "The Global Warming Survival Guide";

• Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette books;

• Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin’s Your Money or Your Life;

• Janet Luhr’s The Simple Living Guide;

• 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth by The Earthworks Group;

• The many Internet links at the OVEC website, which point the direction to a wealth of other resources.