1. Go Vegetarian
As a country, we have a problem with meat consumption. The meat consumption of America is roughly 200lbs of meat per person per year. All this meat takes a lot of grain to raise, “30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production,”, says New York Times columnist Mark Bittman. That means a lot of animal: about 10 billion a year, to be exact. In a study conducted by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan, it was found that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. In addition, the U.S. could feed 800 million people with the grain that our livestock eats, acconting for more than half of the nation's supply. Climatecrisis.org says the following, “Skipping meat one day per week would help save over 35,000 gallons of water. Cutting meat out of your diet entirely would help save 5,000 lbs of carbon emissions per year.”
2. Unplug Things You are not Using
Just because an appliance is not in use does not mean it is not using power. Idling devices such as televisions, DVD players, microwaves, computers, or stereos can put your energy bills through the roof. Many appliances can draw power without putting it to use; this is called 'Phantom Load', or 'Standby Power', and can contribute thousands of pounds of carbon to the atmosphere. By simply unplugging appliances that are not in use, we can save hundreds on power bills.
3. Plant a Tree
Trees act as huge carbon syncs, pulling hundreds of pound of carbon from the atmosphere, and replacing it with oxygen which is not a greenhouse gas. Over its lifetime, “A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon”, says Climatecrisis. Your new tree will also provide a habitat for birds, animals, and bugs, while enriching the soil. Plus, who doesn't love having a green, healthy tree in your backyard?
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=Rethinking%20the%20Meat-Guzzler&st=nyt&scp=2