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If you are planning to buy or replace a furnace or air conditioner soon, check into heat pumps. They are two-way air conditioners that move warm air from inside a home to the outside, keeping the home cool in the summer. In the winter, they do the reverse, moving heat energy from the outside to the inside of the home. According to an article in the Washington Post, they are inexpensive, energy-efficient, and can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional heating and cooling devices. First-time installation can be expensive, but some governments and utilities are providing rebates or other incentives. Once installed, heat pumps can heat homes “up to 50% more efficiently than furnaces and water boilers”, which also leads to cost savings over the years of operation. The same article says that 90 percent of Japanese households use heat pumps, which has contributed to a 40% drop in the nation’s electricity consumption in the last decade. I have included a link to the article, but the article may be behind a paywall. I believe you are allowed a few free articles per month.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/21/europe-heat-wave-heat-pump/
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The things you buy contribute to your carbon footprint. Each of those items requires resources to produce and transport, and carbon emissions result from those processes. Additional carbon and methane emissions are produced when these items are discarded. One way to reduce your personal carbon footprint is to examine your shopping habits and consider changes. Take a little time before each shopping trip (or online purchase) to think about what you are buying and why. Will you still want that item if you wait a few days to buy it? The article at the link below discusses cutting your carbon footprint when shopping.
Here are a few other ideas that are not in the article:
Many people are influenced by “climate doomism” – the belief that nothing can be done to slow or reverse global climate change and that the earth is doomed. Others believe the problem is “too big” for anything they as an individual can do to have an effect. Some believe that only governments and large companies need to change. The link below leads to a BBC article that includes a discussion on the climate change problem and debunks the “doomerism” view that it’s already too late.
The underlying theme of my blog is that small changes add up, and that if enough people, companies, and governments begin making changes, even if they start small, we CAN slow the rate of climate change and begin to work toward reversing the effects. I’m not suggesting you sit at home in the dark and cold while everyone else parties. We all need to include in our lives those things that bring us joy and connection with others. However, almost everyone can make small changes without much impact on their overall quality of life and those small actions by individuals are part of the solution. You can also get involved in helping on a larger scale by letting governments and corporations know you support actions to reduce climate change. Action will be needed at all levels to solve this. Let’s not give up on the earth and its inhabitants without trying to do something. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-61495035 Many people enjoy chewing gum. I just found an article (see link below) that says that most of the popular commercial chewing gum products contain plastic. The article discusses non-plastic alternative products that you can try if you want to reduce your use of plastic. Whichever type of chewing gum you use, please do not throw it on the ground, into streams, lakes, and oceans, or stick it on the underside of a table or chair. Chewing gum in the environment can harm creatures that try to eat it.
https://earth911.com/how-and-buy/its-time-to-switch-to-plastic-free-chewing-gum |
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