Americans' Small Changes Mean More For The Climate

The Daily Green reports that small changes by American consumers, such as using reusable shopping bags or even cutting out meat one day a week (or more!), can have a greater effect on climate change than in other countries.

For example, passenger cars make up 17% of US emissions, according to the article. Consumers have control over this number; they could buy more efficient cars or drive less. Residential buildings and appliances contribute another 17% of emissions. Homeowners can reduce this number by addressing energy issues in a home such as adding more insulation or replacing an old washing machine with an energy efficient one.

It seems that there are positive ways of phrasing this and negative. TDG and the Wall Street Journal appear to have taken the positive way, so we'll stick with that for now. The good news is that there are plenty of very easy things to do to start making your dent:

1. Winterize your home
2. Switch to wind energy
3. Green your office
4. Convert your car to a plug-in hybrid (kidding -- obviously not easy and not cheap, but very cool)
5. Start biking to work
6. Eat less meat

The point is, this is positive feedback for people who have been working on their carbon footprint in the US -- it can help and it is helping.

Comments

[MentoneMan]

I went to a workshop on climate change. there was a lot of good information. I am an urban planner and we deal with land use and development. Planners will have a key role in addressing climate change by changing how future development will be configured. Density is key, as it will reduce VTM (vehicle miles traveled). Some thing I was not aware of was the amount of energy it takes to transport water in CA ( I live in CA). People really need to look at their water usage. One thing I did was minimize my turf and adjusted my sprinklers also I scrape my dishes, instead of washing the food off in the sink/disposer. It really annoys me when I see all the sprinkler runoff going down the street and I see my neighbors with their sprinklers shooting all over the place. Adjusting your sprinklers is easy and you will be amazed at how much water you save. It's really worth a try

[SCG2]

Slow down, save money on gas, and more in your own pocket.

[greenola]

Absolutely! Take things one step at a time. Take http://www.greengroove.org for example, you can begin to do little things in your daily life and over time turn into a green machine. Phased withdrawal ; )

[JScott]

If I get just 1 or 2 items at the store I just ask for NO BAG.

[Gasparilla]

Amen to that.

[lmvd3]

I do the same thing. And I always store my canvas bags in my car, in the back window, so I see them when getting in and out of the car. If I absolutely must take plastic bags, I tell them to pack them heavy. I cannot believe how they put one thing in each bag--has driven me crazy since they BEGAN using plastic bags.

[jalyn]

There's a desperate need to ban woodstoves. I cannot tolerate the smoke-infested air around our home; can't step outdoors without getting burning eyes, throat, breathing problems and I am extremely allergic anyway. Our municipality like others I've lived in all make excuses, saying people (which I understand) can't afford high electrical bills and need an alternative, which is burning wood.
In our neighborhood alone, I can count at least 200 homes, may 80% homeowners who have their back yards filled with cords of wood.

We are chocking our children to death. What can be done? I would propose increasing property taxes of woodstove owners; that might force people to switch to natural gas stoves and fireplaces. This topic doesn't seem to be mentioned here. It's a real problem in northern states and definitely Canada.

[JScott]

Some localities have banned them or limited the days they can burn, as well as woodburning fireplaces-Phoenix, Las Vegas, most of California (So. Cal. Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. banned them beginning in 2009)-all new construction either has no fireplace or gas log only.

[Thermodynamics]

Albuquerque has burn days and no-burn days, with an possibly an exemption for the needy that lets them burn a little more. The city is in a valley at about 5000 feet and stratified air conditions hold the smoke down.

This was a few years ago, I have not checked recently.

[Sadducee]

First four things I don't have the money to do, and the last two things I'm being forced to do.

[Gasparilla]

You can winterize your home with relatively cheap things like caulking any air leaks and weather stripping around doors. Any hardware store sell them. You can green your office by reusing paper, making notes on the back, using interoffice envelopes over and over, mailing [postage already paid] ink cartridges to be recycled, recycling cardboards and soda cans. Or you can whine that there's nothing you can do.

[Courgette]

K-Mart carries budget versions of that shrink-wrap stuff 3M devised to combat drafty windows-- you tape this saran-wrap-ish plastic around the window, and then go to it with a hair dryer. I couldn't believe what a difference it made in our house when my husband put it on our windows a couple of years ago. I'd already convinced him we could survive at 68 deg., but the difference in draftiness really helped with comfort, and was evident in the heating bill, too.