Top Tips to Shrink Your Footprint
These little nuggets are distilled wisdom from the book, attacking the activities that send the greatest amount of greenhouse gases floating out into the atmosphere, or cause the most overall destruction to the environment.
If you follow these you will reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70 per cent and will make a significant contribution to reducing climate change.
Tackle one area for a few weeks at a time, or try a number of easy ones together, or go for gold and do them all at once!
Transport
- Walk or ride a bike more.
- Drive efficiently and offset your car emissions.
- Fly a lot less, and purchase carbon offsets when you do.
- Buy a hybrid car or use biofuels.
Energy
- Buy accredited Green Power.
- Replace all your light bulbs with energy-efficient CFLs.
- Turn appliances and electronics off at the wall.
Water
- Have five-minute showers.
- Buy a water-saving showerhead.
- Install a rainwater tank.
Food
- Buy local.
- Buy organic.
- Eat less meat and dairy products.
Recycling
- Refuse plastic bags and excess packaging.
- Reduce, re-use, recycle.
- Compost all your vegetable matter.
Appliances
- Purchase Energy Star appliances.
- Use your appliances as efficiently as possible.
Building
- Insulate your house to maximise heating and cooling.
- Get off the grid - go for solar energy and hot water.
- Make your house energy-efficient.
Investment
- Switch your superannuation and investments to an ethical or SRI fund.
Personal
- Choose natural skin care and clothing.
- Use cloth nappies for your baby.
- Buy sustainably forested wood products.
Office
- Use less paper.
- Recycle at the office.
- Turn your computer off every night.
- Get public transport to work.
Be an activist
- Learn more about climate change.
- Write to politicians.
- Volunteer to help others.
- Plant trees.
IF YOU DO ALL THIS, YOU WILL
- Save money.
- Reduce your greenhouse gas emissions more than 70 per cent.
- Change your life.
- Maybe even change the world.