5 Ways to Reduce Individual Carbon Footprint

We all know how bad our influence is on the planet earth, how much damage humans caused in centuries, and how fast our credit is coming to the end. We talked about the popular term — carbon footprint — and its effect on accelerating global warming in our previous post. Now, it is time to talk about progress and how to reduce our carbon footprint.

Apply the 5R Rule ♻️

We hear you asking “5 what rule now?” We’re happy to explain 😊

5R stands for refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle. We are all familiar with the first 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) but there are 2 more that can make huge difference.

Refuse the use of plastics or single use paper products in your daily life. You can find a glass straw or a fabric grocery bag most of the time. If you have to use a plastic bag (that might happen, you’re not a bad person because of that 😊), reduce the amount of it, see if you can fit more items in it instead of buying a second bag.

Reuse your staff. It doesn’t matter if it is your first kid’s clothes passing down to her baby sister or it is a plastic bag that you had to buy the other day. Just consider how you can make use of them one more time before throwing them out.

If they’re gonna be trash, see whether you can recycle them. Separate your waste into different categories and throw them in the correct bins. It seems lots of work and confusing but it probably is the easiest R to implement.

Last R stands for rot — the rotten food. While separating your trash, collect the organic waste in a different container. Set up a compost system for organic waste or take your food scrap to drop off centers. You can find one of those near farmers market or community garden.

Conserve water — Small adjustments big impacts 💧

Water is one of the most important elements on earth, if not the most important one. Unfortunately, we can only use 0.3 percent of it as the remaining 99.7% is found in soil, oceans, ice caps or atmosphere.

So, we need to cherish the water that we have and look after it in any way we can! This time, it is as easy to do as to say: don’t keep the water running while washing your hands or face, while taking a shower or while brushing your teeth. Use a dual flush at home and use less water whenever it is enough. Use eco-friendly shampoo, soap, and detergent to prevent water contamination. Avoid disposable products such as disposable toilet papers, towels, diapers, or single-use plastics such as plates, cups and cutlery as they require tons of water in the manufacturing process.

Eat less meat — As less as you can 🥑

Animal products, and especially industrial meat, are the biggest cause of global deforestation. Deforestation causes carbon dioxide among many other gases to be released to the environment. And of course, with less amount of trees, it becomes harder and harder for earth to absorb that amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Also, industrial meat production is not that efficient since it requires more food in the process than the food produced at the end. 1 kilogram of chicken requires 3.2 kilogram of crops even with all those capitalistic, industrial, so-to-be-efficient mass production techniques. You do the math! 🤯

Switch to sustainable energy ☀️

Leaving their negative impact on the environment aside, with or without global warming, the amount of fossil fuels that we can use is indeed limited. Green energy such as wind power or solar panels, on the other hand, is more available in the long-term and actually cheaper! It might seem a bit costly to adjust renewable energy; yet, it pays off in a few years.

Thanks to global awareness and people pushing the governments to take serious action, more and more countries are giving incentives for those who opt for green energy. It is not difficult to assume that if people keep opting for, more companies will invest in the field and prices will decrease eventually. So, keep opting for green energy whenever you can!

Rethink how you travel 🚙

Transportation choices are counted for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions around the world! Of course, it is not easy or even possible to leave transportation completely out of our lives. Yet, we can change the way we travel.

If the place that you want to go is just a few blocks away, walk or cycle instead of driving. Use public transportation if you can. Consider travelling by a train instead of taking a flight. Use car sharing options to reduce number of cars with only one person inside. If you can share a car with a colleague to work, offer to do it and split the cost!

Of course, you might need a private car for distances that you can’t walk or cycle, or if you have an unusual routine for public transportation, or if you have kids. In that case, buy an electric car! Gas-fueled cars use fossil fuels and they are hugely responsible for your carbon footprint. Hybrid cars are slightly better options as they use gas more efficiently, yet they still rely on fossil fuels. Since electric cars don’t work with fossil fuels, they don’t release carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses to the environment! 🤩

Wanna hear one more tip? 🧐

When you have an electric vehicle instead of fossil-fueled one, you can keep track of your carbon footprint by using Bluedot’s Oxygen Points feature while driving your EV and see how much you helped the environment by being a part of EV community! All you need to do is to start a journey with Bluedot app and collect points. You can exchange those oxygen points for gifts!

Bluedot is a marketplace where electric vehicles reach charging units and charger owners can share their spots with others. It is an Airbnb of chargers! To shape a better future, download here now!

For more information, you can also check this very informative Webinar about maintaining sustainable lifestyle and this article by Selinay Filiz Parlak: Introducing Oxygen Points with Bluedot