Monday, September 7, 2009

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Alternative Energy

In this day and age with global warming and other environmental catastrophes being largely attributed to our bloated carbon footprints there is a growing sentiment that it is high time for something to be done. We cannot afford to wait for the government to take action by enacting emissions laws and requiring electricity to be produced in an environmentally friendly manner, we have to take action and reduce our own personal carbon footprint. Fortunately, as this new environmental consciousness grows opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint on an individual scale grow with it. Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint with alternative energy here.

The easiest way to being reduce your carbon footprint is to simply think about everything with its negative environmental impact in mind. Shut off your lights when you are not using them, wash dishes by hand instead of in a dishwasher, upgrade your appliances to be energy star rated, get low flush toilets and low water showers. These are the basic starting points, beyond this you have the ability to expand and truly reduce your carbon footprint by leaps and bounds.

A great method to try is going green with all, or part, or your electrical needs. This includes installing solar panels or wind turbines if you are really serious. You may also consider scaling it back a step and trying something such as a solar hot water heater. This are great as your hot water heater is powered by a little stand alone solar unit. Imagine how much money you could save by not heating your water? In many homes, which use a traditional furnace, this capability allows you to heat your whole home electricity free!

The next thing to look at, and probably the most obvious, is your car. You have a few options here which range from driving with fuel efficiency in mind, or hypermiling, which allows you to drive the same distances but use far less gas, and thus fewer emissions, in the process. You may consider riding your bike or using public transportation. How about a carpool or simply buying a more few efficient rig? Whatever you choose please keep in mind that your vehicle is one of your largest contributing factors to your personal carbon footprint, it is up to you to do something about that.

Hopefully at least one of these ideas is something that you can implement in order to reduce your carbon footprint and help to save the environment.

Be sure to check out DIY Solar Panels and Wind Turbines in order to get your alternative energy going as cheaply as possible.

Remember, the future of our environment depends on you, what are you waiting for?

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