I thought it would be interesting to find out what TDers are doing to lower their carbon footprint.
For myself, I am cutting down on meat consumption although I have not cut down much on dairy as yet.
I do not have heating as winter in QLD is bearable without it. I use minimal hot water and mostly cold water for showering.
I recycle as much as possible and buy products in glass when I can. I reuse plastic bags and use paper bags.
I use my car only when necessary which has cut my car fuel consumption (allowing for my increased motorcycle consumption) by about 60%. I use a bicycle for short trips and motorcycle on longer ones.
I am currently getting quotes for a solar electric system. I repair rather than replace electronics and white goods, mostly I do my own repairs including repairing clothes rather than replacing where possible.
I have a low water use dishwasher and clothes washer. I do not have A/C and only use ceiling fans, although I have designed a refrigerated air conditioning system that uses solar power in the day for cooling at night and hot water heating in the day. (Anyone who is interested I will share my design) which I will install after the solar is fitted.
I will be fitting a 4.5 kilowatt system which is restricted due to my roof size which will meet my needs and will feed back into the grid. I do not have any gas appliances at all so hopefully I will be carbon neutral or possibly carbon negative in houshold energy consumption. I use rain water for the garden and toilet.
I still have a way to go, but I have cut my carbon footprint substantially in the last 7 years.