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Your carbon footprint is how many greenhouse gases you release in your daily activities. Be remembered by your good deeds, not your carbon emissions.

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  Step 1: Turn thermostat up/down

  Turn your thermostat up in the summer or down in the winter by just two degrees, and you’ll prevent hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from being released each year.

• Tip

  Close doors to rooms that you are not using to maximize heating and air conditioning. Insulate windows and doors to save even more heating costs.

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  Step 2: Unplug electronics

  Turn off and unplug your computer, TV, and other electronics when you’re not using them. Even electronics in sleep mode draw power.

• Tip

  Leaving your TV cable box on 24 hours a day uses about 65% as much energy as a standard refrigerator.

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  Step 3: Change bulbs

  Change all the incandescent bulbs in your home to compact fluorescent bulbs, which use about 75% less energy.

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  Step 4: Do full loads of laundry/dishwashing

  Do your laundry or run a dishwasher only when you have a full load. It saves water and it’s an excuse not to clean.

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  Step 5: Eat local

  Eat local: An organic out-of-season vegetable from the other side of the world may sound delicious, but it had to make that trip on a huge container ship.

• Tip

  Take a canvas tote with you shopping, so you have a ready – and better – answer to the question “paper or plastic?”

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  Step 6: Bring own coffee cup/mug

  Bring your own cup or mug when you buy coffee and stop tossing an average of 20 pounds of disposable cups a year.

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  Step 7: Cut back on bottled water

  Cut back on bottled water. Most tap water is perfectly safe to drink, and making the plastic and transporting the bottles uses huge quantities of fossil fuels.

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  Step 8: Plant a tree

  Plant a tree. Trees help reduce greenhouse gases, and every one counts. Consider it a peace offering to the Earth.

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  Step 9: Consolidate car trips

  Don’t jump in your car every time you feel the urge to run an errand. Plan and consolidate your trips to cut down on gas.

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  Step 10: Carpool, public transportation, bike, or walk

  When you can, carpool, use public transportation, or ride your bicycle. Or walk, proud to be treading lightly.

• Fact

  Cattle produce as much as 37% of the atmosphere’s methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.