Everyday Eco-Habits for Going Emissions-LESS
“Here Comes the Sun.”
“Give our planet one day off a year.”
I hope you’re enjoying the dog days of summer and happy almost fall! Autumn marks one of my favorite times of the year with leaves changing color and the air getting crisp and smelling slightly different in the best way:) The first day of Autumn is September 22, and the day before happens to be both Zero Emissions Day AND SunDay (a day of action celebrating the power of clean energy), setting the stage for September as the perfect time to appreciate our lovely fall air with some Everyday Eco-habits for Going Emissions-LESS!
What even are Emissions?
Emissions are gases or particles, like carbon dioxide and methane, that are put into the air or “emitted” by various sources like cars, buses, factories, airplanes, lawn mowers, and even volcanoes and fires.
How do Emissions impact our environment?
Emissions can generate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, trapping heat and creating climate change. This climate change has been increasing at a rapid rate and is having a huge environmental impact on our world.
I’m often asked what I see as the biggest environmental problem we face.
My answer is always climate change.
Whether or not you’re convinced humans are the main cause of climate change,
we can ALL do super simple things to make it better!
Not only do emissions bring about climate change, but they also impact our air quality. There are some pretty dirty stats in regard to clean air today. In the U.S. alone, 4.7 million kids suffer from asthma, a chronic health condition that is linked to poor air quality. In addition to asthma, poor air quality contributes to other severe health issues, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, lung cancer and other chronic diseases. We have some serious work to do to reduce our emissions for cleaner air – not only for the environment, but for our own health!
It’s soooooo easy to take action . . .
I want to encourage you not to be overwhelmed by air quality and climate change statistics or the surrounding politics. Instead, focus on taking one simple action each day by adopting the Everyday Eco-Habit of Going Emissions-LESS. As with the other Everyday Eco-Habits, I promise this is too easy to ignore. And one of the coolest (yes, pun intended) things about this Everyday Eco-Habit is there are SO many different ways to take action.
Take the Coalition for Clean Air’s Pledge on Clean Air Day . . .
A great place to start is to take the Coalition for Clean Air Pledge. I used to be on the Coalition for Clean Air’s Board and can tell you firsthand it is a legit organization fighting for YOU to breathe in clean air. One of the Pledge’s easiest suggestions is to simply drive less. Did you know a typical car emits about 6.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year!? A few ways to drive less include carpooling, planning your outings so your drive time is shorter, using a shared Uber, Lyft, or my daughter’s new fav in San Francisco Waymo, biking, walking, utilizing public transportation, or even taking that meeting virtually instead of in person.
Participate in Coastal Cleanup Day to help our oceans stay clean to absorb emissions . . .
Did you know that oceans absorb around 30% of our emissions? September 20th happens to be Coastal Cleanup Day…so it is the perfect month to adopt some Everyday Eco-Habits that improve air quality and protect our coastlines at the same time! Afterall, everything in nature is deeply interconnected. To participate in Coastal Cleanup Day, visit coastal.ca.gov to join this year’s statewide challenge. Or, if you just want to adopt some super simple Everyday Eco-Habits on your own, you can simply PickUp3 pieces of trash at your local beach, avoid single-use plastics, and Go Car-LESS at least one day this week.
Switch to a Clean Energy Vehicle . . .
While it’s a taller order, if you’re due for a new car, another way to go Emissions-LESS is to switch to a clean energy vehicle, such as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) which includes battery or fuel cell electric vehicles. Here is an awesome graph on electricity sources and annual vehicle emissions. There are so many reasonably priced clean energy cars out there now, so it is no longer cost prohibitive to do so.
Don’t Idle . . .
One of the easiest ways to go Emissions-LESS is not to idle when you’re in your car. It could be as simple as checking your Insta, texting, or looking at your map before you turn on the car. Not idling is especially important when waiting for your kids to get out of school. In fact, the non-profit organization I founded, Grades of Green, has a great toolkit on how to implement “No Idle Zones” at your school to reduce emissions your kiddos are breathing.
Be Mindful of Your Air Travel . . .
Another action you can take to go Emissions-LESS is to be mindful of flying. An airplane produces an average of 5.3 pounds of CO2 per mile. So, one flight from LAX to NYC, roughly 2,450 miles, produces around 65 tons of carbon dioxide! Consider taking a train or bus or offsetting your carbon emissions from your flights through Gold Standard, Green-e, and Climate Action Reserve.
Shop Locally . . .
A less obvious way to Go Emissions-LESS is to shop locally. Walking or biking to your nearest farmers market or grocery store is a wonderful way to fit in a bit of exercise, breathe some fresh air, support your local community, and help protect the environment at the same time! Check out this article for a helpful list of how to reduce your shopping miles. In 2023, Amazon Logistics U.S. dock-to-door delivery pollution generated 5.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (+18 percent average year-over-year since 2019). Reducing online shopping and bulking your purchases into one delivery date (an option Amazon offers customers) has incredible impacts on air quality, local economies, community health, and personal well being.
Use Cold Water When Washing Your Clothes . . .
You can even go Emissions-LESS without leaving the house! One of the easiest ways to do so is to select the cold water option whenever possible while washing your clothes.
Unplug Unused Electronics . . . .
You can also simply switch off electronics, including lights, TV’s, DVD players, computers, and any other electronic gadgets which need energy to run, like my son’s favorite, the Xbox. Even when they’re simply plugged in but not “on”, these electronic devices still use phantom energy. This “ghost energy” might come back to haunt your electricity bill. It can account for almost 15% of the total monthly bill!
Switch to an Electric or Push Mower . . .
Did you know you can switch from a gas-powered lawn mower or leaf blower to an electric or push option? My Green Friend Lauren told me her husband gets a great workout pushing their hand mower every week!
Reduce your Meat Consumption - even just by One Meal a Day . . .
A surprising way to Go Emissions-LESS is to reduce your consumption of meat. Methane gas, produced by the “back ends” of cows, is a greenhouse gas that warms the Earth’s atmosphere faster than carbon dioxide! Consider going Meat-LESS, even just once a week, or even just One Meal a Day, to cut way back on emissions!
Plant a Tree :)
And don’t forget about putting some oxygen back into the atmosphere! You can plant a tree or a native plant. Trees and plants produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide which helps combat greenhouse gas emissions. Check out one of my favorite environmental groups, TreePeople, to learn more.
As you have hopefully gathered by now, there are countless easy everyday actions we can take to reduce our emissions, keep our air clean, and do something about climate change. Take a minute to take a deep breath and be thankful for the air around us. The rest of this month, let’s focus on taking any of the actions listed in the Pledge or in this post.
By adopting the Everyday Eco-Habit of Going Emission-LESS,
YOU are creating small Everyday Eco-Habits
that will collectively have a huge impact on our air and climate.
Let us know what actions you’ve pledged to take and send us pictures of you in action or tag me onmy Instagram orFacebook @kim_ecohabits. And for more information, be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter which delivers Eco-Tips like these right to your inbox.