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Community Corner

Five Everyday Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

From Driving Slower to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Here Are A Few Ideas That Are A Natural Fit For Your Life

What better way to honor Earth Day, coming up on April 22, than to reduce your carbon footprint?

It sounds cool to say “carbon footprint,” but do you know what it means?

A carbon footprint is "the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person," explains the UK Carbon Trust, a nonprofit providing specialist support to help business and the public sector cut carbon emissions and save energy.

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So, what are some good ways to accomplish this objective? Here are five everyday things you can do.

1. Slow down!

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"Drive a little slower," says Paul Nonnemacher, director of public affairs for the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, which serves Madison and other towns in Connecticut by developing and implementing solutions for recycling and solid waste disposal. He said that you reduce your fuel economy by about four miles per gallon (mpg)  for every 10 miles per hour you drive faster.

2. Recycle!

Nonnemacher says that in the year ended June 30, 2010,  just by recycling, Madison and the other 63 Mid-Connecticut Project recycling towns saved the equivalent of 5.6 million gallons of gasoline and "avoided producing more CO2 than could have been cleaned out of the atmosphere by 3.2 million saplings grown for 10 years.”

3. But a new car!

David K. Skelly, professor of ecology and associate dean for research at the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Madison resident, says there has never been a better time to choose a high mpg car. "Think about your car purchases," he said. "If one of the cars in your household is selected with mpg in mind, you can greatly decrease household carbon emissions." He said now is  great time to shop for such a car because "virtually all of the manufacturers offer outstanding choices that show how small the compromise really is."

4. Support your local land trust!

"These organizations are run almost entirely by volunteers, specifically your neighbors, meaning every bit of your support goes toward local conservation efforts that keep your town a place where you want to live," says Skelly, who is a member of the Madison Land Conservation Trust (MLCT). Conserving land, the professor explains, "keeps it forested and maintains the standing crop of carbon in the trees as opposed to releasing it to the environment." Check out the video with this story to find out about a recent property acquired by the MLCT in North Madison.

5. Grow your own vegetables!

“Grow a vegetable garden,” Skelly says. “There is no better way to reduce your carbon footprint than growing your own food.” Not enough room or enough sun in your yard? Consider checking with Bauer Park. Madison residents are allowed to rent a parcel to grow vegetables.The deadline for renewal is March 31, and new applications are accepted beginning April 18. To find out more and for an application form, you can go to the Bauer Park website.

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