{"id":16609,"date":"2017-04-21T09:46:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T14:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=16609"},"modified":"2017-04-21T09:46:40","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T14:46:40","slug":"take-these-first-steps-to-lower-your-impact-on-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/04\/21\/take-these-first-steps-to-lower-your-impact-on-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Take these first steps to lower your impact on climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Happy Earth Day<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The average household in the United States emits almost 100,000<\/a> pounds of carbon dioxide per year. That is about the same weight as 10 adult African elephants<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Earth Day is tomorrow, and at this time of the year, many of us are thinking about those kinds of facts. We wonder how we can personally help the climate by reducing our individual impacts.<\/p>\n

A simple internet search will yield a laundry list of actions that may be overwhelming, and often will be far less than satisfying. You may find suggestions that are not indicative of the actual size of your impact (turning off your lights versus not flying from east to west coast, for example \u2013 they are not equivalent). You may also find information that is irrelevant to your specific lifestyle (for example, the recommendation to cut out meat when you are already a vegetarian).<\/p>\n

Because each of our lives is unique (click here<\/a> to see how carbon footprints vary by zip code), we really need to have a good understanding of our personal and professional impacts on the climate before we can determine good actions to take, and choices to make, to reduce those impacts.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is a table with some great resources, to help you get started:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>PERSONAL<\/strong><\/td>PROFESSIONAL<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Calculate your carbon footprint AND determine specific actions you can take to reduce your impact<\/strong><\/td>Use this calculator<\/a> to:
\n
\n1. Determine your personal carbon footprint<\/strong> (broken down by travel, housing, food, goods, and services)
\n
\n2. Develop your unique action plan<\/strong> tailored to your personal<\/strong> impacts (includes emissions saved, dollars saved, and upfront costs) <\/td>		Use this calculator<\/a> to:
\n
\n1. Determine your business carbon footprint<\/strong> (broken down by travel, facilities, and procurement)
\n
\n2. Develop your unique action plan<\/strong> tailored to your business<\/strong> impacts (includes emissions saved, dollars saved, and upfront costs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Make better choices<\/strong><\/td>Learn how<\/a> to save energy<\/strong> and money at home, on the move, at the store, in the yard, at the curb, and at work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Learn how<\/a> to be more energy efficient<\/strong> at home, in buildings, and in plants, and to buy more efficient products and new homes.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average household in the United States emits almost 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. That is about the same weight as 10 adult African elephants. Earth Day is tomorrow, and at this time of the year, many of us are thinking about those kinds of facts. We wonder how we can personally help …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40054,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4020,116,202,115,42],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-16609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cars","category-energy-technologies","category-greenhouse-gas-emissions","category-advocates-for-change","category-science"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTake these first steps to lower your impact on climate change - Climate 411<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/04\/21\/take-these-first-steps-to-lower-your-impact-on-climate-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Take these first steps to lower your impact on climate change - Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The average household in the United States emits almost 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. 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