Reduce

One of the easiest ways to be a good environmental citizen is to reduce your footprint by cutting back in what you consume daily, including energy, water and solid waste.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how reducing affects three areas:

• Energy – Every activity consumes energy, often releasing carbon into the environment. In addition, there is a finite amount of energy available from traditional (non-renewable) methods, such as coal and oil. Developing alternative, renewable energies (such as solar, wind and geothermal) helps to reduce our dependence on non-renewable resources to power our lives.
• Water – Water covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, but relatively little is suitable for consumption. In many parts of the world, drinkable water is in very short supply. Every time a drop of water goes down the drain, it becomes unsuitable for consumption unless properly treated.
• Solid Waste – There is only so much room available for solid waste disposal, and because landfills are so tightly packed, it takes a great deal of time for material to decompose. The easiest way to reduce solid waste is to reduce your consumption of daily products. Be cautious of what you buy and how you toss.

Communities as well as individuals are always looking for new ways to address the concern of reduction. The most common, cost-effective way is reducing household waste and recycling. According to the EPA, about 75 percent of what is found in the average garbage can is recyclable, and our national recycling rate hovers at around 14 percent, so there is definitely room for improvement.