Innovative Ideas to Help Reverse Climate Change

We Do Have the Power to Change the Future

Climate change looms as a large problem and a challenge that we are seeing the effects of every day. Climate change can seem overwhelming, but as individuals, there’s a lot we can do. We want to empower you to make some innovative changes in your life and encourage others to do the same. It will take a village in the largest sense to shift the dramatic changes we are undergoing, but it is still possible to change the future outcome for our sake, our children, our grandchildren, and our planet!

 

Innovative Ideas Save Money & Help Reverse Climate Change

Many of us are realizing that our planet is not dealing with climate change, but a climate crisis. What do you do in a crisis? You make strategic changes that can have long-lasting impacts. If enough people, communities, nations, and corporations make swift, smart, and long-term changes we can start to reverse the climate crisis. The changes we shared with you a few months ago were quick changes you could make, but the innovative changes we will share today have far-reaching impacts and take a little more time and money, but will save you money over time also!

So over the next few months, we are going to share some great ideas that you can implement to help reverse climate change. Even your smallest change and contribution can help counter a global challenge!

 

Let Good Change Begin

These suggestions are not listed in order of priority, price, or importance. Each of us must take a look at our lives and see what is possible. The last thing we all need with the last year and a half is more stress. So try to make these suggestions a family project or team up with another family or friend to make some of these changes happen.

Add Solar to Your Home

Solar panel pricing is plunging and there are many community programs that will help pay for your solar panel installation. It’s your decision whether you want to have solar backup power or be completely off the grid. Not only are Tesla and other companies making solar panels and solar batteries more affordable, but now there is also solar roofing, where your replacement roof is actually your solar panels. The US Energy Department has a good resource guide for homeowners and I have used Google’s Project Sunroof to help calculate the potential savings with installing solar at our house. Compared to prices 10-15 years ago, prices have dramatically reduced.

 

Programable Thermostat

There are so many choices today that homeowners have for programmable thermostats. Prices have come done so much,; you can actually buy a programmable thermostat for around $25. Higher-end thermostats allow you to customize your home’s temperature, so you aren’t overheating or over-cooling your home when you aren’t home. Not only does this help the environment but it also saves you money on your utility bill.

 

Cold Water Wash

Since I’ve washed clothes in cold water for years, I found this remarkable that most people wash their laundry on the warm water setting. Not only does this cost more money, it also is worse for the environment. I never knew that 75% of the energy to do a washer load comes from warning up the water, ugh! There are so many studies that show that washing in cold water is as effective as washing in warm water and it is also easier on your clothes.

 

Use Natural Light for Your Workspace

Just last year I purchased a small desk, to put under my large window in my office. Yes, I have a large office desk for my home office, but with COVID I wanted to brighten my mood, so I bought a small desk to look out of the window and see the view while I work. Not only was it a game-changer in my work environment instead of starring at a wall, but I was using natural light all day instead of lighting to work by. Natural light lifts your mood and costs nothing! Turning a few lights off 5 days a week might seem insignificant, but it all adds up.

 

Unplug Electronics

I never knew that cable boxes, laptops, speakers, and all those great electronic devices use nearly as much electricity in standby mode as they do on. We now have either put all our devices on battery backup or power surge strips to not only protect our electronics but also so we can switch everything off when not in use. It’s also good to turn off your computer from time to time and not have it constantly on. I didn’t know that a quarter of all residential power use is consumed by devices on idle or standby mode. A small change that can help the environment and your utility bill!

 

Remove Your Lawn

I know this sounds radical, but when I looked at the numbers I was astounded. There are more than 42 million acres of lawn in the United States, more than that is planted in corn nationwide. Lawns require a lot of water, gas-powered equipment unless you’ve bought battery-operated, and fertilizer pollutes waterways and groundwater. Less grass equals a slower warming planet. Think of replacing your grass with low-water need herbs and native flowers and shrubs.

 

Don’t Drink Bottled Water

Use a reusable water bottle. Try adding super greens or matcha to your reusable water bottle for some added nutrition. When I traveled to the southernmost point of the United States on the Big Island of Hawaii I was saddened to see acres of plastic waste that had washed up onshore. Landfills already contain 2 million tons of plastic bottles-do you think we really need more? The plastic bottles in our landfill will take more than 1,000 years to biodegrade.

 

Join a CSA-Community Supported Agriculture

Joining a CSA has many benefits; it helps support local farmers, it gives you local fresh produce, and it reduces your carbon footprint while helping you stay healthy. Four big wins in my book! More added benefits of joining a CSA:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually, get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from “their” farm – even veggies they’ve never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

Find your nearest CSA to start eating local and healthier: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/

 

Use Self-Service Car Wash

Do not wash your car at home! If you absolutely must wash your car at home using a waterless car wash formula saves water. Yes, they exist and they get the job done. Washing your car at home uses nearly 100 gallons of water compared to a self-service coin-operated spray device uses only about 12-18 gallons of water.  Also washing your car at home sends polluted water into the sewers which is bad for the environment. To save water, support your local coin-operated car wash and have some fun with your kids at the same time while keeping your car clean!

We can do this, small changes made by a lot of people have a large impact for the good! Crystal Clear Home supports environmentally friendly practices with our house cleaning techniques.  We also want to support our larger community in coming together to tackle climate change and have Sonoma County lead the way to reverse climate change. Be the change you want to see in the world!