Reducing Our Carbon Footprints

Most people can make some pretty simple changes to the way the operate in their daily lives and achieve considerable positive impact to their own carbon footprint. Some examples include:

1. A/C: Turning A/C down just a couple degrees while at home, and completely off while away are some of the biggest carbon reductions anyone can make.
2. Vehicle: Choosing a vehicle with better gas mileage is, for some heavy drivers, the single best way to reduce their carbon footprint. Driving smaller, more efficient sedans rather than over-sized SUVs can reduce an individuals carbon emissions by 30% or more!
3. Errands: Plan your errands more carefully to avoid unneeded trips and/or inefficient travel. Reducing your daily/weekly commuting is the second biggest contributions you can make.
4. Ride Sharing
5. Power Off Appliances: Turning off certain devices such as big screen TVs, computers, lights, and ceiling fans are also simple ways to reduce your own impact on the environment.

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Reducing Green House Gas Production

Improving Human Health

Recent mortality statistics show that China incurs premature mortalities at an astonishing rate of 750,000 people per year due to illness stemming from various forms of pollution! Top on the list of illnesses include respiratory ailments such as pneumonia, asthma, and lung cancer. These are due in large part to choking levels of smog produced by energy systems supporting explosive growth in various Chinese industries. The pollution generated by coal power plants and other carbon emissions produce smog in some Chinese cities which can reduce visibility to mere feet!

Smog and related externalities of carbon emissions are certainly not Chinese problems alone, but rather a worldwide issue requiring long term commitment for broad reductions in all forms of carbon emissions. While the US is no longer the #1 producer of carbon emissions (recently overtaken by China), the US used to be and again could be a thought leader for innovative solutions to these complex and demanding problems. It seems the best way to get there is through a series of numerous, innovative, but incremental improvements. Barring an immediate and sweeping innovation which addresses the many aspects of this complex problem, we'll need a combination of many simple solutions -- reducing US commuter miles is a viable, even simple incremental goal.

Reducing Environmental Damage/Risk Due To Exploration & Transport

Reducing our demand for energy means less need to explore for new sources of non-renewable resources -- oil, gas, coal, and derivitives. Such activities have devastating effects to all manner of sensitive ecosystems, including:

• Ancient sea beds & reefs
• Pristine wilderness
• Fragile desert ecosystems
• Waterways
• Watersheds
• And many more ...