Key Takeaways
- Without a doubt, human activity is what is primarily causing greenhouse gas emissions to reach crisis levels
- More specifically, the biggest sources of greenhouse gases are mining and industry, our consumption habits, our transportation, and our agricultural systems
- These massive-scale problems are the results of individual choices. The hope lies in the fact that we can all contribute to more mindful choices that make a real difference
- At FoodCycler®, we focus on one of the best ways to significantly reduce greenhouse gases at home: focusing on reducing carbon-emitting table scraps and using them to replenish the planet.
Over the decades, we’ve welcomed more environmentally conscious words into our vocabulary, but not always our actions into our daily habits. Environmental buzzwords are pervasive, while the solutions for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are lacking.
It can feel be overwhelming when you consider how many sources of greenhouse gases there are. Chances are that if you’re reading this, you care deeply about what you can do. At FoodCycler®, we see your effort and recognize it for what it is: courageous. It takes courage to face such challenges at such a massive scale, knowing that you can still do your part to turn the tide.
The first step is learning what causes greenhouse gas emissions, and what to avoid doing or using going forward. The solutions for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home is more than a science; it’s an art and a lifestyle that can result in a cleaner, healthier home.
Time to Face the Mirror
There seems to be no end to the disturbing reports about climate change; one paper recently published in the journal Nature is sounding the alarm that the rate of global warming has nearly doubled in the last ten years. On a planetary scale, that’s akin to a massive fever that needs emergency room treatment.
While industries and factories have a part to play, the major amounts of global emissions are the result of humanity’s everyday living. It comes from every aspect of our lives, including how we travel, what we wear, what we eat, and what we do with the foods we don’t.
As a result, when it comes to patience levels, the scientific community is past the point of no return; sugarcoating the problem won’t change our reality. Even if we as individuals aren’t the world’s top polluters, we as humans collectively have to be willing to face the mirror when we asking the tough question, “who are the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases?”
The good news is that you get to keep looking ahead at that reflection when it comes to the solution.
What Are The Biggest Contributors Of Greenhouse Gases?
The deniers pay a lot of money to convince us otherwise, but human activity is the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases. The World Resources Institute notes that the most notorious sources of greenhouse gases include:
- Energy, including for heating and cooling homes and workplaces
- Manufacturing and Industry, including
- Our consumer habits, including fast fashion and our obsession with plastic
- Transportation, and especially cars, cargo ships, and airplanes
- Agriculture, both in production and as food waste
What ultimately causes greenhouse gases is a test case of the domino effect in action: one of those small parts of the whole is bound to be the tipping point that sets a nearly irreversible chain of events.
Despite the scale of the problem, we have a lot of agency about what we can do in our own sphere of influence. We can also take individual, tangible steps to protect each other. When we learn how simple it can be to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in our homes, we can extend that knowledge to our neighborhoods, counties, and even beyond.
How to Reduce Greenhouse Gases at Home
Some of the sources of greenhouse gases can feel very beyond us on the micro scale, including wide-scale, industrial mining, disjointed policy priorities as world leaders point fingers about who the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions are, and major environmental disasters like oil spills.
Take Inventory of Your Life
Among these prominent sources of greenhouse gases are many ways you can start reducing more of what causes greenhouse gas emissions. Consider these questions to help brainstorm:
- What are your purchasing habits? Whether it’s lithium batteries for a new electronic device, or jewelry with precious metals, it’s likely it came from under the ground.
- Where do you live, and what materials is your home made of?
- Can you choose another heat source for your home that isn’t based on fossil fuels? Does where you live
- How were those world leaders chosen?
- What did your local leaders do to protect you from oil spills?
Each answer is unique to you, your circumstances, and your values; knowing how we can individually respond to the climate crisis is one of the most important ways we can sustain our individual commitment.
One Good Question Deserves Another
The more you know what causes greenhouse gas emissions and their sources, the more you can think of solutions:
- How can you change your purchasing habits?
- Consider housing inventory in your area: there is an increasing amount of housing to rent or purchase that is made with more sustainable materials
- Which options have you considered that make your home more efficient? What local options are available for alternative energy, such as home solar panels?
- What voice do you have in your world and local leaders when it comes to addressing the sources of greenhouse gas emissions and policy solutions?
Learning to think on behalf of the planet is a worthwhile habit of mind to develop, and it’s a practice that will extend far beyond you, as consistent, mindful habits add up to a big difference not only for your own life, but even as inspiration for others.
Surprisingly, one of the biggest and easiest daily changes is our relationship with food.
One More Thing Off – And On – Your Plate
Knowing how to take care of what’s on your plate is central to how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the most notorious contributors of greenhouse gases include:
- Meat of any kind, and particularly beef, pork, and most seafood: It’s an uncomfortable reality to recognize, especially because food is so closely tied to our identities (read more for suggestions!).
- Non-local produce: The longer food travels, the more fuel must be spent transporting and preserving it.
- Highly processed foods: as the name suggests, processed foods require a more energy-intensive preparation process, with more plastic packaging to boot.
- Food waste: All organic material naturally releases greenhouse gases when composting. While decomposition is a natural and even healthy part of our ecosystem, what causes these naturally occurring greenhouse gases to become problems is the sheer magnitude of the food waste problem.
If knowledge is power, then we have some food for thought to fuel and empower your choices.
How to Leverage Your Kitchen to Reduce Greenhouse Gases at Home
Climate deniers often frame our mindful choices as sacrifices, and nowhere can that feel more insidious than when it comes down to how we choose to nourish ourselves.
- Plant-based proteins are delicious: It’s worth noting that one of the biggest lies from the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases in agriculture are about how much protein we need, and that you “need” meat, omitting the tasty fact that some of the best sources are plant-based.
- Even if you’re not ready or able to commit to a larger dietary overhaul, studies from the University of Michigan are promising that even modest changes will yield big results. According to researchers, “replacing half of all animal-based foods in the U.S. diet with plant-based alternatives reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions 1.6 billion metric tons by 2030.”
- Local produce is not only more sustainable, but it can be more delicious, nutritious, and even affordable! Besides, farmers’ markets are fun, and tending a home or kitchen-top garden is also a wonderful mental health booster.
Literally speaking, there is a natural intersection between the actions you can take to enjoy more local produce, and how you can help be the solution to a leading source of greenhouse gases.
How to Use Table Scraps to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Modern problems call for modern solutions, but who knew there could be something so innovative about table scraps? In addition to more traditional methods like backyard composting and local yard waste programs, our favorites at FoodCycler include:
- Preventing waste to begin with: thanks to savvier food-tracking methods and apps, you can prevent overpurchasing foods that ultimately go to waste.
- Urban gardening, including balcony and patio gardens
- Turning those table scraps into fertilizer for your own home garden, completing the farm-to-table cycle from just beyond your door.
Since the earliest humans learned how to cultivate crops, our relationship with the foods we grow and eat has always been one about innovation; all we’re doing is taking it to the next level.
Join the FoodCycler Revolution
At FoodCycler, we’re dedicated to doing our part by focusing on the aspect of food waste in the climate crisis, and doing that part well. It’s how we respond to the enormity of the challenge, and how we choose to show up and scale up our individual choices and habits company-wide and beyond.
Tackling the enormity of the challenge is our mission, and one that gives us hope: what we can do for a kitchen is a microcosm of what we can do for the planet. By empowering more individuals to combat the root sources of greenhouse gases while improving the quality of life in their homes, we can all take charge and take care a little better.
