When you want to make a lifestyle change for the better, it’s natural to start with improving yourself. That might be through loving yourself more, which we’ve talked about recently, or making other positive changes in your close environment that compound to the positive change in your life.
It’s genuinely difficult to find the time to work on yourself. We all know this because we’re running around like crazy trying to keep up with life and all our responsibilities. But changing yourself for the better is worth it, it’s actually one of the things that should be worth it more than anything else for you.
The same can be said for considering the energy we use during our lives, how that energy is obtained, and whether we’re living a good life through that usage.
If you want to see a positive change in the world, start with yourself. That’s where you should always start from, change your inner world, change the impact you have on the outer world, and with this change inspire others to do the same. But you start with yourself.
We should all ask ourselves some important questions. Is electricity produced by power plants and fed through the power grid something we want to be involved with, or would a solar solution be eco friendlier and feel just as good? It’s ideas like these that are intriguing to see how we can modify our energy management in our lives and whether different choices make sense.
5 Ways How You Can Reduce Your Energy Footprint On The Planet:
1. Transition to Solar Power.
Solar power is now far more affordable than it once was. This is because the solar panels have become much more efficient at harnessing the sun’s power and turning it into usable electricity.
As a result, even days that are somewhat overcast can still generate a respectable amount of electricity for the average home.
It’s possible to use a roofing solution to install solar panels there. This turns a simple roof into a more functional part of the home and removes the potential for a panel to be an eyesore.
Indeed, a solar installation may potentially make a home more marketable if you are putting it up for sale later, because energy efficiency is very hip and trendy right now too.
Getting a great solar install isn’t easy. However, Semper Solaris are a good choice because they have many years of experience and are Veteran owned too. It’s important to pick the right type of company that has copious amounts of experience with solar panels, roofing installs and battery storage and management.
This is because the energy captured through the sun’s rays must be converted into a power source that is usable through the home. Batteries store the excess energy that isn’t used immediately which allows it to power the home in the evening when the sun has disappeared over the horizon.
2. Turn to Carpooling.
For one or two car families that own their car, love their car and won’t give it up, having one is a lifestyle choice. They want the freedom that it affords them. The ability to get away from the city on the weekends and all the rest. Well, okay. But let’s see if we can make it a little more friendly on the energy side.
Carpooling is initially something that many car owners turn their nose up to. If they’ve already invested in a car, why should they leave it at home? Well, what if you could enjoy easy travel into work and not have to have your eyes glued to the road the whole time? Would catching up with your email, posting out on social media or watching a YouTube video on the way to work be more enjoyable than dealing with daily traffic jams?
Don’t think about a loss of freedom or independence with carpooling. Think of it as a hugely energy efficient way to transport several people to their workplaces and back in a single trip. While the car might be paid for, the gasoline isn’t free. Sharing the cost of daily trips into work and back adds up fast. Why not add the savings to your account and get to retirement a year or more sooner, and all while keeping the environment less polluted?
You’ll still have the freedom of your vehicle to run errands after work or take trips on the weekend, plus it’ll put less wear and tear on the vehicle, so it should last longer too.
3. Shop at the local Farmer’s Markets.
A local farmer’s market has great tasting produce from farmers and other producers in the nearby and neighboring counties. It’s your opportunity to support the local community with money you’ll be spending anyway on food.
When buying food from local or regional producers, it cuts down on the cost of transportation and the needless moving of food across the country that is so commonplace.
Less investment in transportation means less pollution from transportation. You might not see it, but each cent you spend is an investment in an industry. It matters what you support, you literally feed those systems with your money, so you might as well feed systems that will not harm the environment. With reduced transit costs, local food is often cheaper too, and as we said, it’s certainly better for the environment.
When you compare this to big supermarket chains where they receive their food through a broad supply chain and heavy negotiation which often drives out small producers, this doesn’t help local businesses trying to do the right thing.
The energy usage is far higher, pollution to the environment greater and it lacks the feel good factor because of it too. Be wise about where you invest your money because everything you buy is a kind of investment in that industry. You give that industry energy, and what you give energy to, that thing grows.
4. Ride a Bicycle instead of driving a Car.
If you’re not already a car owner, then consider getting a bicycle to ride to work instead. Use peddle power and not gasoline.
It’ll be better for the environment and far less expensive too. With a bicycle, you can weave through traffic jams with ease and get to your destination faster.
There are more and more bicycle lanes nowadays, making it easier to get around urban areas too. You can use bicycles with just a phone app in some cities.
If you don’t own a set of two wheels and aren’t sure, consider using a mobile app to rent a bicycle for a free hour to try one out if it’s been a while. It’s possible that you already live in a bike friendly city too.
You can find bicycles every 100 meters and scan one with your phone, this will unlock your bicycle and you are free to drive it. It’s really cheap and you can leave the bicycle anywhere. You might find that you enjoy running on your own steam, and not having to worry about a place for parking or getting tickets too.
5. Be energy efficient at home.
Not only is getting solar a great idea, but working to use less electricity also makes sense too. Switching off the lights in rooms and areas of the home that aren’t being used in that moment feels a little odd initially, but it’s just energy smart.
It’s probably what your grandparents did when you were growing up and you’ve forgotten about it. Also, most people have already switched completely to eco friendly light bulbs. If you’re the last to hold out, it’s time to fix that.
Turning off PCs when not in use, or at the very least putting them into hibernation mode to reduce their power usage close to zero, avoids wasting up to one hundred dollars a year running a PC for no gain.
Similarly, if you own a tablet as well as a smartphone, power it down when it’s not being used rather than keeping it on all the time. The same goes for other devices where their standby modes are still using energy.
Managing the amount of energy that you use is great for the planet, but it also saves you money. Whatever energy currently consume in your daily life, it’s almost always possible to reduce it to something more reasonable.
Everything you do matters. You might think that your impact is small, or what your actions can really change, you are just one person. But when over 2 Billion people think this way than it makes a huge difference. So think that your actions make a change because they do, and they inspire others, and others inspire others. Start with yourself and do not wait for others, they will follow eventually.
