i did it…

I did it. I finally measured my carbon footprint and feel pretty OK with the results — though there is definite room for improvement.  My results follow:

Estimated greenhouse gas emissions: 37 tons of CO2 annually. The national average for a person in the U.S. is 57 tons a year while the world average for a 2 person household is 11 tons. 

The largest portion of energy consumption occurred within our household and through travel. So I need to make some changes in those areas. Of course, I could just pay $740.00 to offset my carbon footprint, but I’m not a corporate fat cat nor am I a Republican. I prefer to change the world through action. 

We have used energy efficient light bulbs for over a year now. When we first began using them while living in Tennessee, we saw an immediate reduction in our electric bill. Unfortunately, our current place has several ceiling lights that will not take energy efficient bulbs, so we try to use our lamps most of the time. 

I keep saying I am going to walk or rollerblade to work. It’s exactly .5 miles away from home and getting a mile walk/blade in would not only save the environment, help protect my cash flow but would also be the healthy thing to do. I guess I will begin tomorrow. (I swear this time I will, no more excuses.)

But I still need to do more. It’s difficult to figure out the next step once you get the little, easy stuff out of the way. But I know that I can and will do more. 

So far, everything I have done has not only helped the environment but saved me money and made me feel better about the future I am helping to save. 

Please feel free to share any and all tips and tricks that you do to help the world. And I would love to hear what all of your carbon footprints are as well. Share!

until next time…