How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint - A Year of Living Better Guides

One of the easiest and most effective ways to begin reducing your carbon footprint is to reconsider how much, and how often, you travel.

• Drive Less: take the train, catch the bus, ride a bike, or walk where you need to go.
• When You Drive: have your car serviced regularly, check your tires, cut down on air conditioning and city driving, or carpool to work.
• Fly Less: just taking one less round-trip flight could shrink your footprint significantly.

• Cut down on red meat. It’s better for the environment. The production of red meat uses a lot of feed, water and land. Cows even give off harmful methane emissions!
• A vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian diet is likely to be best for the environment.
• Eat low down the food chain as often as you can.
• Fill your plate with vegetables, fruits, grains and beans.
• For meat-lovers, swap meats like beef and lamb with chicken or fish. Better yet, make a few meals vegan or vegetarian.

The average American family wastes around 40% of the food they buy. 

These simple tips will help save money and help reduce your carbon footprint:

• Take stock. Organize your fridge regularly. Make grocery lists before you go to the store.
• Be wary of bulk. It may go bad before you can eat it all.
• Plan. Don’t cook more food than you can eat.
• Get creative. Reuse leftovers.
• Freeze. Food lasts longer.
• Doggie bag. Take home half of oversized restaurant servings.