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An ecological footprint is the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources. The importance of an ecological footprint in today's world has been incredibly diminished and looked over, but it is crucial that everyone no matter how old or what what nationality they may be should find ways to reduce their ecological footprint. If we do not take immediate action today, future generations will be paying the price for our ignorance. By making small changes in the daily things we use like water, heating/cooling systems, waste, transportation, and electricity we can create a positive impact on the world and future generations. Whether that means shaving five minutes off your shower time, grabbing reusable bags before going to the grocery store,or installing LED lights in your home, anything small gesture can create a better tomorrow.

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During this week I would take 10 minute showers instead of my usual 20 minute showers. By cutting one minute off your usual showering time you can save 2.1 gallons of water.

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For the ecological footprint project I really focused on conserving water. There are many ways to conserve our water usage like shortening showers, turning the tap off when it is not being used, and being more conscious of water when washing dishes. Throughout the week I noticed making these small changes can really help save water without disrupting my daily routine too much.

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The Best Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint | Hot Mess 🌎

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So how can we reduce the amount of electricity we use? Lets start with the simplest it gets. Turning off your lights! This is an easy task that gets overlooked. To ensure this happens, you can install motion-sensing switches that automatically turns off lights when no one is detected.

Another way one can save energy is unplugging certain devices. Unplug those certain appliances that are used for a small period of time and do not have to be on 24/7. This includes: Coffee-makers, Kettles, Toasters, TVs, phone chargers, laptop chargers, lamps, etc.
(In a study conducted by Harvard Uni, they concluded that in the US, the "total electricity consumed by idle electronics equals the annual output of 12 power plants".)

Use power strips to turn all devices off at once. Turning off a power strip has the same effect as unplugging every  socket from the wall, which prevents phantom energy loss.

Using solar panels for electrical energy. This is definitely a bit more costly. However, worth the cost. Solar energy is completely renewable. Solar panels tend to need little to no maintenance once installed. Greatly reduces carbon footprint.

Lastly.. choose the right light!

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Studies with the U.S. Department of Energy predicts the following

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The graph below shows the Annual energy costs of all different bulbs. LED being the bulb with the least expenses. By switching to LED bulbs, one can reduce both their environmental impact and energy cost.

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The reality of things is we need to travel to destinations and we need to do that by transportation.
It may be hard at first but we can make alternate choices to better the environment with our vehicle usage.
Once we get started we will get on the hang of things and put less damage to the environment.
We can go to colleagues and try to carpool with them or even join them for a bus trip, bike ride, or walk for a snack.
Anything can help make a difference in the environment if we work together and try harder.

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The type of lightbulbs you use can vastly change your energy consumption.
To ensure minimum electricity usage. Try using LED bulbs. These bulbs have many benefits and are the most energy efficient out of any other. LED bulbs use 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs. They also have no mercury, and last roughly about 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs

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How can we reduce the amount of electricity we use in our day-to-day lives? Being conscious of our energy consumption and actively working towards limiting the use of electricity will not only decrease our carbon footprint, but also the monthly electricity bill!

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As we do need to travel we can go through other alternatives to travel and in the process save energy, as well as less emissions pushed to the world.
There are alternatives like taking  1. The bus, a bus has great mpg (miles per gallon), for all the people who are traveling it means less cars on the road.
2. Carpooling, if we are going to drive anyway we might as well carpool with others. Some people go to the downtown campus so we could go along with other classmates, one car is better than two giving emissions.
3. Biking, if you live close to school or certain places you can simply bike to your destination.
4. Walking, anything walking distance would be a good idea, you can go to school, eat, buy something without using a car.

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This graph shows the energy given from cars fro driving for 10 miles in one day.
An average car, small truck, and SUV has about 23.6 miles per gallon.
A bus has about 38.3 miles per gallon.
As we can see a bus put less energy rather than a one personal vehicle.

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Today's world is extremely busy, we need to go from point A to point B in a given time or distance.
Typically, people have their own car which is good, but the more miles we drive throws a lot of emissions and energy negatively impacting the world.

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The biggest downfall I found during the change in my eating patterns was that I started eating less and felt dramatically sicker. I could not attribute it to eating part of what i should be eating or not eating any meat or dairy. Either way, my health declined. My idea of eating a sparse lunch and waiting all the way to dinner to eat was that the less food I ate, the less energy I would produce. Logically it made sense, but at what cost?

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In this scenario, I will compare the energy used to go out to a restaurant to eat a burger versus eating that burger at home over a 2 hour period. All energy from the ambiance in the restaurant to the refrigerator over that 2 hours will be used

Restaurant

Gasoline: 156,250

Lightbulbs: 764

Computer: 0

TVs: 409

Refrigerator:1,228

Stove: 10,236

Dishwasher: 6,142

Ceiling fan: 1,024

Wi-fi router: 41

Total: 176,094 BTU

Home

Lightbulbs: 239

Refrigerator:1,228

Stove: 768

Microwave: 614

Dishwasher: 6,142

Wi-fi router: 41

Total: 9,032 BTU

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What we eat and where we eat has a huge impact on our energy output. Meat or other foods coming from living animals use a lot of water, grain, electricity, and other energy sources throughout their lives. In addition, traveling from location to location to move the food from the market to the store requires a lot of gasoline. However, reducing your consumption of meat or even lowering how much you consume can also lead to negative impacts if taken to the extreme.

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$$Strategically using your A/c for heating and cooling not only has its environmental benefits but it also has financial benefits as well. Using your air conditioner for longer periods of time whether it be cooling or heating is a financial cost that eventually bills up at the end of every month. A more accurate estimation can be calculated in a single family home. An average air conditioning unit that runs for 12 hours costs about $128 dollars per month which accumulates to $1534 within the year. A simple reduction in usage of even 9 hours of use costs $1150. You can see where the financial benefits lie. Not only are you helping the environment by reducing your energy consumption but you bank account as well. To calculate more on costs visit this website for more information.

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A central air conditioner is used in a home to provide cooling by circulating cool air through ducts from an air conditioner unit typically situated outside the house. The energy use of a central air conditioner highly depends on the climate of the region, a central air conditioner will run 3 to 7 months of the year depending on the outside temperature. An average central ac will use 3000 to 5000 watts of power for around 9 hours a day during the hotter months.

Click calculate to find the energy consumption of a central air conditioner using 3500 Watts for 3 hours a day @ $0.10 per kWh. Running 3 hours a day is the same as running 9 hours a day for 4 of the warmer months.

Hours Used Per Day: Enter how many hours the device is being used on average per day, if the power consumption is lower than 1 hour per day enter as a decimal. (For example: 30 minutes per day is 0.5)

Power Use (Watts): Enter the average power consumption of the device in watts.

Price (kWh): Enter the cost you are paying on average per kilowatt hour, our caculators use the default value of 0.10 or 10 cents. To find an exact price check your electricity bill or take a look at Global Electricity Prices.

To save energy with air conditioning the only real method is to increase temperature of your home, in hotter climates this may not be ideal. Staying cool by taking cold showers or using small portable fans can help. If you live in a hot climate your cooling costs can be significant, around 70% of your electricity bill. Investing in an energy efficient central conditioner unit fit precisely for the size of your home would be ideal. To improve performance of your ac make sure to clear any debris, leaves or obstructions around your ac unit, so that you get better and more efficient air flow.

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Electricity usage of a Central Air Conditioner

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A central air conditioner is used in a home to provide cooling by circulating cool air through ducts from an air conditioner unit typically situated outside the house. The energy use of a central air conditioner highly depends on the climate of the region, a central air conditioner will run 3 to 7 months of the year depending on the outside temperature.

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I decided to compare the amount of waste my friend and I take up over the course of three days. My waste is in blue and my friends waste is in red.

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To me it wasn't difficult to use these options since I already use all of these before I was given this project. To me it has been pretty easy mostly with using the reusable bags. I really enjoy using the reusable bags because it makes it easier for me to carry and I usually can take all of my groceries indoors all in one trip. In my opinion, I believe that the most difficult change is the "buying less" part. I would definitely recommend these changes to my friends. I've actually gotten one of my friends to begin using reusable bags every time we go grocery shopping.

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By buying new things, you’re creating a demand for that particular item, as well as creating a demand for its journey of production and the waste that comes with it.

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Disposable water bottles can be very convenient but it comes at a high cost since disposable water bottles take up space in our landfills and pollute our oceans.These plastic bottles make up a large proportion of plastic waste, and only about one in five bottles are properly recycled. Not only that, but they also take up a huge amount of resources to produce. One year’s worth of water bottles uses up approximately 17 million barrels of oil.

A few benefits of using reusable water bottles

Requires less oil to produce

Releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Protects water and marine life

Less likely to end up in a landfill

It’s cleanable as well as reusable

Has a long lasting durability

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Fans - Both ceiling fans and electric fans circulate air around the room keeping it cool and minimizing your a/c use.

Windows- Opening windows allow naturally cool and warm air to regulate your home's temperature, giving your a/c a break

Self Cooling/Warming- wear the appropriate clothing in temperatures that call for it. wear cooler clothing such as shorts and tank tops when hot, and bundle up when cold.

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Air conditioners are the most convenient and modern way of controlling the temperature inside a building to suit the needs of its occupants. Many would agree that air conditioning is a part of our everyday life as your A/C tends to be on 24/7 even when you're not at home. It serves to keep you and your surrounding environment cool or warm. However, an average air conditioner can consume up to 3,500 watts of electricity on average in 24 hours. This amount  can double or even triple in the summer. More energy use means more production needed to power your 24 hour run A/C. This not only costs you but the environment as well given that A/C's have a significant carbon footprint.

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The use of disposable plastic bags are causing many problems around the world like environmental damage, climate change and pollution, damage to wildlife and natural habitats, and is harmful to our health.

A few benefits of using reusable bags:

Saves money

Reduces the amount of non-renewable resources necessary to produce plastic bags

Reduces the amount of money a community spends on clean up costs each year

Can carry more items at a time

Can be used for multiple purposes

It’s a lot more durable than plastic bags

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Is an awesome way to reduce your food waste as well as contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. When food in our trash goes to a landfill they emit methane, which is a greenhouse gas that is known to contribute to climate change. By composting, it minimizes those emissions as well as eliminates the percent of volatile organic compounds that are in the air. Both methane emissions and these volatile organic compounds can be harmful to our health.

A few benefits of composting:

Reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint

Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers

Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi

Enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests

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By making small changes in our everyday lives like eliminating the use of plastic bags, begin to compost food scraps, switching to reusable bottles, and to reduce the amount of items you purchase it can cause a huge impact to our ecological waste footprint.