The invidious effects of climate change can be seen all around us, with droughts, floods and extreme weather events being seen more frequently on every continent. Thankfully, increasing numbers of people are becoming aware of mankind’s impact on the climate and on our planet as a whole, and that means that steps can be taken to reduce our carbon footprints. Of course, governments and multinational companies have a large part to play in the environmental battle, but we can all do our bit, and the best place to start is within our own home. Here are three steps to a greener home that can have a drastic effect on your personal carbon footprint.
1. Reduce Your Energy Usage and Wastage
One of the major contributions to climate change is energy generation and its subsequent usage within homes and within commercial buildings. That’s why we should do all we can to reduce the amount of energy that we use, and there are plenty of ways to do it. Switch your old light bulbs for energy saving light bulbs, and don’t leave lights burning in rooms that are unoccupied. Invest in double glazing and insulation to prevent heat loss through your windows, walls and roof. That’s not only good news for the environment, it can also significantly reduce your energy bills.
2. Recycle as Much as You Can
Recycling as much household material as possible makes a lot of sense, as waste material from America, Europe and Australasia can often end up on landfill sites in the developing world, meaning that their inhabitants are having to pay for a problem of our making. Food waste can be used for composting purposes, although we can all ask ourselves if we’re buying too much food that we don’t really need. We should also cut down or eliminate our use of single use plastics inside the home, from plastic straws to coffee pods and ear buds; plastic pollution is one of the major threats facing our world today, and avian and marine life is under attack.
3. Buy an Eco-Friendly Home
It’s a fact of life that most of us will have to move home at some point, or even buy a new build home. Buying a new home gives you a great opportunity to invest in a green property solution, so look for house builders who specialize in environmentally friendly builds such as Sustainable 9. They use energy efficient materials wherever possible, and every stage of the design and building process is done with ecological impact further in mind. As their bespoke builds are created to the property buyer’s specifications, you can also be sure of a home that’s beautiful and comfortable, as well as one that has excellent green credentials.
We can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the reports of environmental damage we read, see and hear, but the time to take positive action is now. Reducing energy wastage and becoming more energy efficient, recycling as much as possible, and favoring environmentally friendly building companies can all make a difference. It’s a difference that will pay dividends for ourselves, and for the generations to come.