Hayle Clark

7 September 2014

Chapter 18 #1

Lowering the amount of climate impact that people have the environment will be better for the whole world. There are a few things you can try and due to limit your amount of climate impact. The things you can do are make a commitment, assess where you stand, decide and plan where you want to go, de-carbon your life, get energy efficient, switch to low carbon energy, invest in offsets and cleaner alternatives, get efficient, offer or buy low carbon products and services, buy green, sell green, team up, and talk. Lets start by making a commitment by reducing your carbon footprint. Telling people will reduce carbon emissions, but simple actions like announcing your commitment to go carbon neutral can be effective, while asking for ideas can lead to creative and innovative solutions. Assess where you stand is a way get to know where and how you generate greenhouse gases so that you can take the first step in reducing them. Based on your assessment of climate related risks and opportunities a action plan can be developed which means that you decide where you want to go. A plan to reduce carbon emissions will first focus on the type of energy and the way that it is used. If all consumers, manufactures, and lawmakers all think about low carbon and climate friendly savings in carbon emissions will multiply. Other ways of reducing your carbon footprint include wasting less time and energy on travel. If cities can improve public transport options, companies can encourage low carbon habits and individuals can car pool or use public transport. sometimes simple actions can produce a shift. Improving the efficiency of your buildings, computers, cars, and products is the fastest way to save money, energy and carbon emissions. Energy efficiency is about increasing productivity but doing more with less. More efficient buildings, cars, and products will leave a direct and long lasting contribution to limiting carbon emissions. Look at your life or business through a carbon neutral lens is something that can help you in other ways by increasing the efficiency of resource use. Avoiding and reducing waste and ultimately improving your overall performance and reputation. The market for climate friendly products and services is growing rapidly, from energy efficient products to new renewable energy systems. Actions as simple as adding energy efficient specifications into the design process, can produce a design that minimizes energy consumption during its use and saves customers the time and energy from making adjustments to a product after a purchase. The market for green products and services is growing rapidly. In many countries consumer surveys report that growing numbers of consumers are willing to buy green products if given the choice. However, the market for green products remains underdeveloped because people still find it difficult to locate products or trust their environmental claims. Many private sector companies are increasingly working with non-governmental organizations, cities, or governments to identify and implement best practice solutions to reduce emissions. The increase importance of climate change means that companies and organizations will need to communicate. The internet and other new media mean that companies, organizations and governments cannot hind behind greenwash. All of these things will help people lower their amount of climate impact on the world.