Not As Much Effort As You Think to Help the Environment
Environmental issues often seem too serious for one person to change – and this is partly true. It will take much more than recycling. However, there are many small, realistic things you can change in your life to contribute while the rest of the world catches up to them.
Issues like pollution and climate change pose a constant threat to our planet, but you don’t need to feel so hopeless if you don’t want to. Research by Michael Sivak and Brandon Shöttl of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute points to many ways in which we can be effective on an individual level.
The most important thing is getting everyone to drive fuel efficient cars, Sivak and Shettl said. In the New York Times, researchers explain that if every American family drives a car that travels at least 56 miles per gallon, US emissions will be cut by a whopping 10 percent. Heck, even getting a car with an average fuel consumption of 21.7 mpg compared to the current 21.4 mpg average would be a lot more help than you think. Of course, as good as it is, most of us don’t have $ 30,000 to upgrade a car.
However, on a more realistic level, there are many other things you can change in your daily life to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. And it doesn’t bother you at all. For example, you can cut the total distance you travel by a paltry 1.2 percent (or about 13 miles per month less for the average driver), keep the tire pressures up to the recommended air pressure, and buy tires with better rolling resistance, drive more 70 mph 25% less time, make fewer abrupt starts and stops while driving to save fuel, and fly 10% less. At home, you can lower the thermostat three degrees for eight hours a day in winter and replace only one in every five incandescent bulbs with LEDs. And when it comes to food, eat just 48 fewer calories per day, cut your meat intake by 1 pound per month, and cut 13% less food you spend .
These changes are not all that great and are unlikely to revolutionize your lifestyle in any way, but taken together they make a huge difference. For this to work, everyone has to get involved, but that kind of change starts with people ready to start. Can you save the world alone? No, of course not. But you can set an example and do your part to lead others in the right direction. And if you really want to buy a new car , consider one with amazing fuel economy.