Reduce Your Carbon Footprint - Look No Further Than your Backyard

By: The Green eBooks Directory Team

Burning any organic (carbon-containing) fuel like gas, coal and even ethanol, produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct. This is assuming that the fuel is efficient and burns completely. If it is not an efficient fuel, it burns incompletely and produces carbon monoxide, which is poisonous. Carbon dioxide gas is a 'greenhouse' gas, meaning it has the ability to trap radiant heat from the sun, and does not let this heat escape from the earth's atmosphere. This contributes to global warming, with melting polar ice-caps, rising sea levels and unpredictable world weather the result. The carbon emissions produced by human activities add to this mess every minute of every day.

The key to cutting down the size of your carbon footprint is awareness. One of the simplest ways to achieve this seemingly impossible goal is to go local. An average refrigerator in the United States is likely to contain produce transported over long distances, whether shipped, flown, or trucked in. When it comes to a carbon footprint, we Americans wear a size 12 shoe. If each family were to substitute five items on the dinner table with locally grown foods, the impact could be staggering. A simple start would be buying bread made fresh at the local bakery.

If you enjoy gardening, this is your chance to make a significant difference. Growing your own vegetables can be fun. Imagine having fresh, organic vegetables that have not been sprayed with chemicals, growing in your own backyard. Imagine knowing that it is safe to leave the peel on the cucumber. The health benefits of vegetable gardening are huge. Produce is often treated with chemicals to extend its shelf-life. A simple example would be wax-coated apples. The more expensive or exotic the food, the likelier it is to have been chemically treated to reduce chances of spoilage.

The enthusiastic back yard gardener will find heaps of easy-to-grow vegetables all year round. Beans are particularly high yield and low-maintenance. So are squash and tomatoes. All varieties of tomatoes are easy to grow. Given the price of organic heirloom tomatoes and the amount of antioxidant found in every juicy bite, it makes excellent sense to grow your own tomatoes.

Herbs can be grown on the window sill and in pots. Each little bit counts. If all you need is a few fresh leaves of basil for garnishing, imagine plucking it off your potted plant instead of opening the garage door (consumes power), driving to the store ( gas, carbon dioxide and expense) and buying a plastic wrapped (non-bio-degradable) bunch of basil that was grown 500 miles away and had to be transported to the store. It was probably sprayed with insecticide too and fed with artificial plant food to grow faster and yield more. It is obvious that kitchen gardening has manifold benefits besides reducing the size of the carbon footprint we create.

Just as not smoking is a smart choice, choosing to buy local produce can have an enormous impact on our collective carbon foot print. If the length of your daily commute matters gas-wise, so does the length of your food-commute. It is that much more gas burnt and that much more carbon dioxide produced.

If you are a beginner at organic gardening, it is helpful to research thoroughly before investing time and money in the garden. It also helps to start with easy-to-grow and low-maintenance vegetables. While you get started, farmers' markets can be a wonderful alternative for the gastronome. Farmers' markets bring you less-traveled organically grown produce. Not only do these vegetables and fruits taste better than their store-bought cousins, they make a positive to your health instead of giving your body more toxins to battle.

Making smart choices is the key to leaving behind smaller carbon foot prints. The choice is between walking to your backyard to pick your homegrown organic vegetables and driving to the store.

To get started with making a positive impact on the world around you, here are some do-able first steps:

• Consider growing at least one pot of herbs in your kitchen. These are available readymade. Rosemary is the hardiest of the lot.
• Buy fresh bread at the bakery closest to where you live. Find the nearest farmers' market and note its schedule. Build a shopping list in the days leading up to the market.
• Consider growing one vegetable at home. Tomatoes are particularly easy to grow. They can even be grown as decorative hanging baskets.
• Start looking at labels for origin. Choose local every time you can.

Thinking about making a positive lifestyle change for the sake of the environment is the biggest first step. The rest is a question of self-discipline and accountability.