Sustainability has become of utter importance in our world today. The average carbon footprint for an individual within the world is four tons but, an average American has a much greater carbon footprint than that. It is no secret that the United States has one of the highest emission and carbon release rates in the world. As environmental awareness becomes prevalent within our society the sensible person wants to think of ways, they can lower their emissions and carbon footprint. Moving off the grid is the greatest way to reduce the effects of global warming but also the most extreme, people off the grid can harness renewable sources of electricity, adopt more sustainable practices, and thus, in hand, decrease their reliance on fossil fuels. Adopting this lifestyle can help not only the country but the world reaches its new sustainability goal.
One major way that off-grid living helps to reduce an individual’s carbon footprint is through renewable energy sources. Other than relying on energy derived from fossil fuels like coal, almost all of the off the grid households utilize alternative energy methods such as solar, wind, or waterpower. Solar panels, first used by people living out of bounds of normal electricity grids, have now started to become commonplace in suburban and urban areas of the country, thus, decreasing carbon emissions as a whole.
In 2020 alone, electricity creation created about 25% of the total United States greenhouse gas emissions, with the majority coming from combustion due to fossil fuels. Off-grid homes that use renewable energy avoid contributing to this sector’s emissions. Not only does this reduce their individual carbon footprint, but when adopted on a larger scale, it can significantly help in lowering the country’s overall carbon emissions.
Waste has become a growing problem within not only out country hut the world. No one likes to see a giant landfill popping up in their backyard but that is the reality for more and more Americans each year. on top of this, it’s becoming commonplace now for people to learn about the country sized island of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean, it has become one of if not the saddest sight to see on this very planet. Now, what does living far from society in your own retreat have to do with waste? Like I said, no one wants to see landfill on their lawn, when you are off the grid on your own your waste is on you, which makes people more inclines to utilize practices such as composting, recycling, or even just simply reusing containers and such.
Now, as a college student, how can I lower my carbon footprint, its simple, do the little things. Living in dorms we do not pay our electricity bill or water bill but that’s no excuse to leave the lights or gadgets on when you are away from the room. On top of this, avoiding plastic containers and adopting glass or reusable metal containers can help put the cherry on top of your lower emissions. As a whole, as college students, we have a debt to pay not only to our institutions but to our world as it is our future to inherent, these practices will not be a burden on your life but just take maybe an extra three minutes to clean that bottle once a week, all in all, be sustainable as best as you can, because you’ll be the one to reap the reward or eat the issue.
This is a great post! Make sure to include formal citations instead of links to a website. A formal citation should be MLA, APA, or Chicago! Also, make sure to provide in-text citations when you include super specific facts.