First, I apologize for the long sabbatical! I am back to blogging now and I am so glad that you are here reading this. The topic for this week is in regards to an issue that has become extremely important to our environment, culture, politics, and how we live. We are going to discuss our Carbon footprint and the relationship between tiny living and carbon emissions. I would love any comments and information that you may have to contribute so we can all grow and learn from one another on such a vast and critical topic.

First we should address what a carbon footprint is. Your carbon footprint is determined by the amount of carbon compounds such as carbon dioxide among others that you emit by the utilization of fossil fuels. Every person, company, and organization has a carbon footprint. By burning fossil fuels we are emitting more carbon compounds into the atmosphere, which has been the main contributor to global warming. While we can argue that global warming is a cyclical phenomenon that our planet has seen numerous times over its existence, it is undeniable that the rate at which our planet is warming today has accelerated significantly due to the burning of fossil fuels. Here is a quick visual of how carbon compounds impact global warming thanks to skepticalscience.com.

Why do we care? We care, because if we continue this same pattern we will not be able to sustain various ecosystems that are vital to the biodiversity of our planet, our economies, and our cultures. Entire ecosystems WILL be extinct in OUR lifetime if we are unable to slow down the rate at which we are warming the planet. Ok that last part sounded pretty intense and it is, but I am not one of those dooms day environmentalists that think humanity is the bane of all existence. Yes, we have as a species done some pretty terrible things to our environment, BUT I think we are extremely adaptable, intelligent, and pragmatic as a whole. Together we can make some impressive strides into resolving this issue.

Before we continue I would like for all of you to check out this carbon footprint calculator and see what your carbon footprint is. It is kind of fun and you may be surprised or not so surprised at what you are emitting annually. My carbon footprint is 11.3 tons of carbon every year. Yikes I know! Now I have starting point though and can start making changes to bring that down. So now it is your turn! co2.myclimate.org Now that you know your carbon footprint I will give you some averages so you can see where you fall. The average American’s carbon footprint is about 20 metric tons. That is an enormous amount especially when you compare it the global average, which is about 4 metric tons. Did you hit around that 20 tons average? That is ok! Because there are several pretty easy ways you can get that tonnage down! I strongly suggest checking out this site that has a plethora of information on how to reduce your carbon footprint. It ranges from making sure your tires are inflated to getting solar panels among other great tips. This is definitely a great starting point for individuals and families looking to lessen their impact on global warming http://channel.nationalgeographic.com.

While there are several things we can do to help decrease our individual imprints on global warming, here we are going to specifically look how living tiny can reduce our carbon footprints. Living tiny has numerous benefits and as you might have guessed it definitely is more beneficial to our environment that traditional homes. Why? Tiny homes require significantly less resources. There is less construction or nearly none if you are using a recycled item such as a camper or shipping container that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill, which means less water runoff from construction sites, less raw materials used, and less energy used. So even at conception tiny homes use less. While solar panels have come a long way over the years and they are much cheaper and easier to install now, it is extremely feasible to use solar panels on your tiny home. That means more renewable energy consumption and less electricity from fossil fuel power plants. Obviously the space difference in a small home is extremely helpful. It takes significantly less energy to heat and cool our tiny home, which is one of the leading contributors to a lot of folks’ large carbon footprint. We also use less water in our home. We do not have appliances such as a washer for laundry or a dish washer that uses copious amounts of water. We also have a mechanism on our shower that allows us to adjust how much water we want to use while we shower so we that we can limit our water waste. Utilizing rain barrels is another great way that any home can save water for watering your gardens.

Can living in tiny homes rescue the planet from extreme climate change? Eh, maybe, but it isn’t really conducive for a lot families which is why is it so important that you find what things are feasible for your family to do in reducing your carbon footprint. For those of you considering living tiny, you can make a tremendously positive impact on our environment by making the switch. Whether a tiny home is your cup of tea or not we can all stand to use less and I hope the resources included in this blog will help you get started. What will you start doing to limit your impact? Drive or fly less? Invest in solar panels? Eat a more plant-based diet? Take showers instead of baths? Let me know what your efforts are in the comments!