Happy Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! Celebrate By Reducing Your Carbon Footprint. Today we celebrate this beautiful world we live in by making a few little positive changes to honor Earth Day. We took the stairs, picked up garbage around the streets and packed our To-Go Ware for lunch (instead of using plastic cutlery). We encourage you to find ways in your life that can make a difference, helping to reduce your carbon footprint and protecting our planet for future generations to come. Here are five easy steps to get you started!
#1 Don’t Forget That Light!
Turning off your lights will keep your energy usage lower (and your bills). Replacing your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones (that use 75% less energy) or LED bulbs will not only help decrease your energy usage, but one bulb alone can reduce up to 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution during its lifetime.
#2 Eat Locally Produced & Organic Food.
It’s estimated that 13% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions result from the production and transport of food. Transporting food requires petroleum-based fuels, and many fertilizers are also fossil fuel-based. Buying locally grown and fresh, organic food (think Farmer’s Markets) will help to reduce this.
#3 Choose a Laptop Over a Desktop Computer.
Laptops, unlike desktop computers, are designed to be energy-efficient because battery life is a major factor to a laptop design. According to Energy Star, a laptop can be 80% more efficient than a desktop, and don’t forget to power it off once you’re done (and unplug those chargers when they are not in use). Adopting this practice can save you $100 per year according to the US Department of Energy.
#4 Take the Bus Or Ride With a Buddy.
Stop driving solo to work and back every day. When possible, hitch a ride with a friend or significant other or better yet, grab a bus or subway ticket and hop on. The less often people drive, the less pollution and smog will fill our air.
#5 Pack Your Environmentally Friendly Water Bottle!
Every time you take your reusable water bottle with you during the day, think of how many plastic bottles you are saving. Let's say you fill it up three times in one day, after a week that’s 21 times. In one month, you could potentially be saving 84 plastic bottles. Just think if we all took more of a conscious effort to reduce our waste what this could lead to?
How do you reduce your carbon footprint? Let us know! Leave a comment below by April 30, 2015 and we’ll randomly select a comment to WIN an Ultima Replenisher reusable water bottle.