Climate Heroes Guide: The 4 Keys to Combatting Climate Change at Home (PDF)

CLIMATE HEROES GUIDE: The 4 keys to combat climate change at home ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com Introduction Climate Change is being caused from using Fossil Fuels, heating up the planet at an unprecedented rate. We can’t just stop using fossil fuels, but by focusing on just a f...

CLIMATE HEROES GUIDE: The 4 keys to combat climate change at home ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com Introduction Climate Change is being caused from using Fossil Fuels, heating up the planet at an unprecedented rate. We can’t just stop using fossil fuels, but by focusing on just a few key areas, we will get away from them easier, faster and more affordably. Burning fossil fuels releases an excess of carbon into the atmosphere, trapping heat at the surface causing global warming and climate change. By doing our part at home, we win the battle against climate change. This guide will show you how to reduce your carbon footprint, which is the amount of greenhouse gases created by our habits. ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com Simply by taking action in four key areas of home energy, transportation, sustainable shopping, and food, you will have significantly reduced your carbon footprint, bringing you closer to carbon neutral or better! You will also be supporting local businesses that are helping in the cause. Follow these steps and share with another on how they can do the same, together we will all do our part and make a big difference for the world. Understanding the problem: FOSSIL FUELS CARBON EMISSIONS Coal, oil, and natural gas come from fossilized plants and animals that have been buried for millions of years. The overload of carbon released from using fossil fuels can’t be absorbed by the earth’s natural carbon cycle. GLOBAL WARMING The excess carbon traps heat near the earth’s surface, acting like a blanket causing a global rise in temperatures causing climate change. DISASTER Climate Change is causing increasingly worsening, personal and economic impacts leading us closer to catastrophic consequences. Replace Fossil Fuels with Renewable Energy RENEWABLE ENERGY CARBON EMISSIONS Wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy come from sustainable resources that are naturally replenished. ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com GLOBAL WARMING HEALTHY & SUSTAINABLE Renewable energy is clean and does not fill our air with carbon pollution avoiding the negative impacts of fossil fuels. 30% 1. Home Energy 30% of your carbon emissions at home is from energy. A third or more of our Carbon Footprint comes from using Fossil Fuels, Oil (Petroleum), Coal, and Natural Gas, to power and heat our homes. In the United States, 90% of our coal and over a third of our natural gas is used to produce electricity. In total, fossil fuels provide an estimated 80% of the total energy used in the United States, making us second in the world, behind China, for having the most pollution from Fossil Fuel Emissions. Key #1: renewable energy sources making your electricity footprint clean. Enroll in a Renewable Energy program! Get renewable electricity from a renewable energy supplier. This is one of the easiest and most impactful ways to combat climate change without installing anything. A renewable energy supplier will source your electricity from Wind, hydro and other The utility will still deliver your electricity just as they do now, bill you and respond to outages. If you use heating oil consider getting bio fuel as a renewable source. If you can make an investment, Geothermal and Solar options are also available with many states offering incentives with a good return on investment. ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com 30% 2. Transportation 30% of your carbon emissions at home is from your transportation. How we get around, using gasoline in our cars is another large portion of our carbon footprint. Over 90% of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel. Over 40% of a barrel of crude oil is used to produce gasoline with passenger cars being the main source of transportation-related emissions in the United States. Key #2: Get an Electric Vehicle or Hybrid the next time you go car shopping. The EV and Electric Bicycle markets are growing, making costs more affordable. There are claims that charging an EV at home is cheaper than paying for gas as well. In the meantime, consider bicycling and walking ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com more. If you happen to fly, travel with airlines that offset their carbon footprint If you do have an EV or Hybrid already, offset your electricity with Renewable energy otherwise you have Fossil Fuels in the form of Electricity powering your car. 30% 2. Transportation FOSSIL FUELS DIRTY POWER DIRTY EVs Promotes global warming and climate change. Electricity in the form of Fossil Fuels powering your EV. Charge your electric vehicle responsibly with renewable energy. RENEWABLE ENERGY GREEN POWER ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com GREEN EVs Supports a healthy and sustainable planet. 25% 3. Sustainable Shopping 25% of your carbon emissions at home is from shopping. Approximately twenty five percent of our home carbon footprint is attributed to where we shop. Energy is put into making, storing and shipping products. Business are becoming carbon neutral and are taking efforts helping in creating a clean energy economy. Other businesses are not making efforts to move forward and are Fossil Fuel dependent. Patronize local businesses that are doing their part to help the world. Key #3: Energy is put into making, storing and shipping products. Spend your money to support brands that are eco-friendly and/or buy second hand or recycled goods where possible. You can also invest in longer lasting products rather than disposable or ones with a short shelf life. ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com 15% 4. Food 15% of your carbon emissions at home is from food. In the United States, food production and waste accounts for 10 - 20% of our Carbon footprint. We discard more food than any other country in the world. Approximately two- thirds of food waste at home is due to food not being eaten before it goes bad. When food is wasted, all the things that went into its production goes to waste as well, including the water, energy, transportation, and storage. Key #4: The most important thing you can do is to start managing your food waste and only buy what you need. Freeze food before it goes bad. Frequent local farms and farmers markets, farm to table and vegan restaurants more often. Feed animals your leftovers. Start composting, it reduces greenhouse gases and is also improves soil. SOURCES:EPA, USDA, RTS, Energy.gov, NASA.gov, MIT ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com Climate Heroes We are building something meaningful and important that the world really needs.. Climate Heroes is a shopping guide for clean energy products and services that support a clean energy economy. When using the guide, you’re helping to combat climate change and supporting other climate heroes in your community. We all want to help, sometimes we see a problem so big, we question if our action will make any difference. This story comes to mind. A small child was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t possibly save all these starfish! ” The girl stopped for a moment, then she bent down, ©2023 Climate Heroes | www.cleanenergylocal.com picked up another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference for that one!” The old man looked at the girl and thought about what she had said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. We all make a big difference when taking small actions. What you do inspires others and together we make the world a better place. Simply take action in the four key areas to get closer to carbon neutral or better. Share with another on how they can do the same, together we will all do our part and make a big difference for the world. Stay in the know join our free newsletter today! Visit ClimateHeroes.com