BZZ BZZ: it’s time to UNPLUG
We’ve constantly been talking about sustainability and how you can become a pro at being sustainable in most of your life choices and habits.
We have often talked about water consumption, food consumption and even waste reduction, but what about energy?
In such a digital world like ours, where we literally depend on our phones and computers to do our jobs, how haven’t we put a bigger focus on energy consumption?
For those of you who don’t know, energy is one of the main causes for climate change.
In the year 2018, the three top countries in energy consumption were China, the United States, and India. Having as their main source of energy production oil and coal. These two energy sources are directly related to CO2 emissions, which are related to the greenhouse effect also known as a cause of global warming.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have countries like Norway, New Zealand and even Brazil where more than 50% of the energy they use comes from renewable sources. In fact, the use of Renewable Energy is growing in the world because the costs of these energies are getting lower.
So, it’s all about finding a middle ground. And I know what you are thinking: Girl, I’m not a politician or a world leader, how can help?
I knew you were going to ask that and you know I always have answers. So, here they come:
If you are living alone or are really passionate about sustainability, a great way to start is contacting the energy company that provides your energy, and ask them if they have any kind of renewable energy that you could use instead of the traditional ones. For example, I live with my parents and they both made the smart decision to switch to natural gas and solar energy after I told them about the advantages. Now we pay less and we are helping the environment!
You can also search and find out if your country has any kind of green policies that favor people who decide to change to renewable energies. For example, in Portugal, if you have a solar panel, you can sell to the energy companies the extra energy your panel produced that you don’t need and then other people, like me, who can’t have a panel at home, can buy it and be more sustainable. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
If you are still not convinced, I have a phone app that will help you monitor your energy and carbon consumption. I have it on my phone so you can trust me, it works!
The app is called MyEarth and basically it evaluates your energy consumption. It gives us activities to complete and check off in a journal. As we complete tasks, they collect carbon units. Overall, it’s a visual way for people to monitor the impact they have on their daily energy consumption over time.
Energy consumption is an issue that we need to raise awareness about. We constantly talk about unplugging and it is about time we do that!
Unplugging from our mobile devices saves us time to spend with loved ones and to enjoy nature. Unplugging also helps our planet so we can keep on enjoying it.
If you enjoyed this blog about energy consumption then come back again on Tuesday for a new exciting blog about topics that matter and, in the meantime, go check the Young People Guide and challenge yourself to find the leader in you.
