Did you know that we unknowingly emit immense amounts of carbon dioxide in our daily lives which then in turn could lead to severe results of global warming and climate change in long term. Currently, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at the rate of about one part per million per year. If this continues, the average temperature of the earth will increase by about 2.5⁰C. Though this doesn’t sound like much, but it is apparently enough to cause glaciers to melt and the global climate to change drastically.
Here’s how unknowingly we add to the C02 levels in the environment.
Using washrooms on the flight- Reached the airport late for your flight and could not save time to empty your bladder? Well then, you must know, you will be emitting C02 by using the washroom on the plane. Japanese airline ANA reasons that full bladders cause airplanes to be weighed down that little bit more, increasing carbon emissions and fuel use. If half of all travelers went to the restroom before getting on the plane, it would cut CO2 emissions by 4.2 tons each month, the airline says. So next time, pee carefully and save the environment!
Reading Books- Do you intend to collect bundles and bundles of your favorite romantic novels or murder mysteries and make a small library when you retire? Please Don’t! Like every other product on the planet, purchasing books is responsible for energy use and carbon emissions (in production, transportation, marketing and so on). Whereas a Kindle displaces the purchase of 22.5 books each year, on average, and saves carbon emissions of up to 168kgs. If the full storage capacity of the device is used, the Kindle stops the equivalent of almost 11,185 kg of CO2 from being released. So as contradictory as it may sound, we advise you get a little tech-savvy and save the planet, or the only books that will remain to be read will be on global warming!
Reading Spam Messages- Yes people who send spam messages are very evil but so are you if you read them! It's the people who read spam messages that generate significant carbon emissions. A study from ICF International and McAfee claims that the 62 trillion spam emails sent each year waste 33 billion kilowatt hours of power, enough to power 2.4 million homes. When it comes to spam mails, kill the curiosity bug in you and just install a spam filter. This is will not only save energy, but will also save your time in deleting the spam messages each day.
Working from home- Where companies have become liberal with their employees in allowing them to work from home once every week, they have missed out on a crucial aspect that could affect our lives in the near future. A report from the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology claims that working from home increases CO2 emissions for many workers. That's because it can increase home energy usage by up to 30%. We know travelling for two hours to reach your work place is a headache, but think about it.. your huge effort will save the environment in a way.
After all, for all the global warming and the effects its showing, we have only us to blame!
Photo by JohnLeGear.
