News & Stories

7 Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint

1)Stop Eating (or eat less) Meat

The single most effective action you can take to combat climate change, according to Ms. Holth, is limitting your meat consumption. Greenhouse gas emissions from agribusiness are an even bigger problem than fossil fuels. Red meat, in particular consumes 11 times more water and produces 5 times more emissions that its poultry counterparts. 

2) Unplug Devices

All electronics suck energy even when they're plugged in. USA "vampire power" drains up to $19 billion in energy every year. 

3) Drive Less

Ms. Holth recommends "Leave the car at home". US public transportation saves 37 million tons of carbon emissions every year, and cities are finally investing in infrastructure making it easier to NOT own a car. 

4)  Don't Buy "Fast Fashion"

Major clothing retails practice this, selling endless cycled of "must have" trends at extremely low prices. Estimated 15 million tons of textile waste, fast fashion retailers can charge next to nothing for garmets by creating fashion "cycles". Don't buy into the hype. Most of these cotton items have a high chance of being genetically modified with pesticides. 

5) Plant a Garden

Get your hortoculture on! Living in an apartment or house? Planting some greens is quick and easy way to reduce your carbon footprint. Creating more plants in highly populated cities helps mitigate the "urban heat island" effect. 

6) Eat Local (and Organic)

Try to eat local and in-season produce. Eat locally helps reduce carbon footprint of shipping foods across the nation. Ms. Holth reminds us to "avoid processed foods, which are often bad for your health & the environment"

7) Line-Dry Your Clothes

"One dry load uses 5 times more electricity than washing" states Ms. Holth. By line-drying clothes you can save 1/3 of their carbon footprint. This practice is America's least favorite way to save energy. However European nations are picking up the trend & 95% of Italians don't even own a dryer.