September 20 to 26 marked Climate Week and as another extremely hot northwest Ohio summer retreats and the region celebrates fall and a return to cooler temperatures, residents may not be thinking about ways to help the planet keep its cool.
But for fans of winter sports, the thought of no snow can be chilling. And while the prospect of turning down the heat may seem daunting, there are things everyone can do that lumped together significantly impact the carbon footprint.
Here are 10 ways to make a difference. They are:
•Downsize–eliminate things you don’t need and don’t make unnecessary purchases, which contribute to global emissions.
•Thermostat–adjust the temperature to two degrees cooler in the winter and two degrees warmer in the summer, which not only helps the environment but saves money on utilities.
•Lawn–a lush green carpet may look nice, but requires a lot of maintenance including watering, fertilizing which pollutes waterways, and mowing. Bottom line, less grass, less gas. Consider using drought resistant or native plants instead.
•Insulation–reduce energy needed to heat and cool a home by insulating, caulking and weather stripping, which combined can cut energy costs by 25 percent.
•Laundry–hang dry clothing when possible instead of using a dryer. If Americans, who account for more than 90 million clothes dryers, line dried clothing for six months, it would save 3.3 percent of the country’s total residential output of carbon dioxide.
•Plant–community gardens have been gaining traction in popularity over the past few years and provide a great way to meet neighbors and grow produce for the neighborhood.
•Meat–cutting or reducing consumption will have a serious impact on the environment by reducing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
•Bottled water–avoid drinking bottled water. Those disposable bottles occupy landfill space to the tune of 2 million, and it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the bottles each year.
•Work–if possible work from home one or more days each week or ride a bicycle or walk to work a few days. Try using public transportation or start a car pool.
•Shop–take your own bags when shopping. Plastic bags are destructive to the environment.
