What You Can Do?
Reading about climate change and its impacts can be overwhelming. Can one person do anything that will make a difference? Absolutely! Often one person's action affects another, leading to sustained change. Here are some ways you can reduce your environmental footprint:
20 Ways to Reduce Your Emissions
- Maintain proper tire inflation for your car; check your tires weekly.
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents.
- Insulate your house.
- Install heavy curtains on windows and glass doors to keep in the heat.
- On sunny days, open south facing drapes and let the sun in, a natural source of heat. If you have large windows that don't receive direct sun, keep the drapes closed.
- Close your drapes and blinds at night
- Turn down the heat by three to five degrees Celsius at night and while on vacation.
- Conserve heat by caulking around vents and windows and door frames, sills and joints (and any objects that penetrate exterior walls).
- Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket.
- Set your water heater to 49 degrees Celsius.
- Wash your dishes in cold water when possible.
- Wash your clothes in cold water.
- Install low-flow shower heads and faucets.
- Take shorter showers.
- If washing your clothes in hot water, use a front load washing machine, which saves water.
- Hang your laundry to dry instead of using a gas clothes dryer.
- Compost organic waste at home or in your garden or with a worm composter if you live in an apartment.
- Buy products that have recyclable packaging.
- Walk, cycle or inline skate to work one day a week.
- Take transit to work one day a week (or carpool).
For more information, contact Delta's Climate Change Action Committee at climatechange@corp.delta.bc.ca.
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