Today's Chiropractic Lifestyle

Discussion Board

Topic

Survey

Dec/Jan Survey

Results

Resources for Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Money & Style

Chiropractors share the ways in which they minimize their ecological impact.
By Holly O'Dell

In both his home and work life, Patrick O’Neill, D.C., of Buffalo, N.Y., has always tried to reduce his carbon footprint through eco-friendly practices such as recycling and walking or biking to work. But O’Neill took his environmental commitment to the next level three years ago, when he and his wife, Julie, an environmental attorney and executive director of the environmental organization Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, rebuilt a dilapidated house in Buffalo to incorporate numerous green elements.

The beautiful 3,300-square-foot, three-story Victorian home exemplifies what it means to live green. The O’Neills installed super insulation that’s extremely resistant to heat-loss transfer. Sunlight shines onto the concrete floor through the 8-foot-tall triple-pane glass walls on the home’s first floor, allowing the concrete to collect the sun’s heat and release it as the ambient temperature cools. For flooring throughout most of the home, the couple used bamboo, which has a re-harvesting rate of four to seven years, compared to nearly 100 years for hardwoods. Dual-flush toilets feature a “half flush” option for water waste and regular flush for solid waste, thus conserving water on most trips to the bathroom. Ceiling fans circulate cool air on the top two floors, while a gas fireplace heats the third floor. Energy Star appliances and energy-efficient light bulbs have also been installed.

The O’Neills’ lifestyle practices also match the green design of their home. More than a year ago, O’Neill opened his practice on the home’s first floor, eliminating the need to commute to work. Meanwhile, Julie walks or bikes to work whenever she can. The family of five only has one car, and they live in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with a good blend of commercial and retail that prevents them from having to drive all over the city and suburbs for errands. The family’s trash bin is one-third the size of normal ones, and the O’Neills recycle as many materials as they can.

Despite the extensive nature of the O’Neills’ commitment to reducing their carbon footprint, they acknowledge that even the smallest changes can make a difference. “It’s not an all-or-nothing process,” O’Neill says. “If you buy more energy-efficient light bulbs, you’ve just taken a step in the right direction.”

TCL interviewed other chiropractors who are similarly reducing their carbon footprint, to share how you can lessen your impact on the environment through simple changes.

Defining a Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint represents the effect of human activities and consumption on the environment in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced, typically expressed in units of carbon dioxide (CO2). Offsetting your carbon footprint may help reduce global warming, which is the gradual warming of the Earth’s atmosphere likely caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other pollutants.

According to the organization Carbon Footprint, there are two types of carbon footprints. One is the primary footprint, a measure of our emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels, including domestic energy consumption and transportation. The other is the secondary footprint, a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use, from our food to our clothing.

There are plenty of easy ways to reduce both your primary and secondary carbon footprint. One important consideration is how you use electricity. Simple methods such as washing your clothes in cold water or adjusting your thermostat by a couple of degrees can save hundreds of pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Dan Batchelor, D.C., who practices in Roswell, Ga., has implemented numerous techniques in his home and office to offset energy usage. His waiting room and private office feature large skylights that eliminate the need for lighting in the daytime. At home, Batchelor has a large tunnel skylight that incorporates many mirrors, which reflect sun into the space and replace the need for artificial daytime lighting. In addition, 4-foot roof overhangs and large sheets of fabric in front of the double-glazed, low-E energy-?saving windows block out the summer sun. Batchelor also dries his laundry on a clothesline and has installed overhead ceiling fans and a large whole-house fan to circulate air.

For Batchelor, practicing an eco-friendly lifestyle for the past 27 years has been the right thing to do. “It makes me feel good that I am doing something for the planet,” he says. “If you wear your planet out, where will you live?”

Another major factor in reducing one’s carbon footprint is to reconsider how you use vehicles, which emit several tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Obvious alternatives include biking to work, grouping your errands to avoid multiple trips and taking public transportation when possible. You can also improve your car’s fuel efficiency by avoiding fast braking and hard acceleration. Checking your vehicle’s air filter and tire pressure on a regular basis can help reduce CO2 emissions as well. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, look into a gas and electric hybrid, which reduces air pollution admissions thanks to its lower fuel consumption.

Shop—and Eat—Smart

How you shop also affects your carbon footprint. For example, try purchasing food that’s been grown locally, rather than shipped in from halfway across the world. If the local food is organic, you’re helping yourself and the environment all the more. Use tote bags when you stop at the grocery store. Choose products with recycled packaging that use soy or water-based inks whenever possible. Also reconsider how you select your water. According to Green Mountain Energy Company, Americans throw away 80 percent of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles they use each year. Connect a filter directly to your tap; if you do continue to drink from individual bottles, be sure to recycle the content, and all other papers, plastics and glass, for that matter. Not only does recycling reduce waste, but it also reduces energy usage.

A topic that is often left out of the carbon footprint conversation is the role of diet. A vegetarian, and more so vegan, diet emits less CO2; a report from the United Nations indicates that the global livestock industry generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation. If you feel particularly ambitious, consider growing your own food. Batchelor, for example, tends a garden with tomatoes, peas, corn, grapevines and five fruit trees. He combines the fiber from the fruit and vegetables, along with dried pulp from his daily juicing, then mixes it with a bag of sunflower seeds and feeds the concoction to the neighborhood wild birds and animals.

However you choose to reduce your carbon footprint, an individual and his or her choices—no matter how small at first—really does have an effect on the planet. “If one person lives the life, it will become more contagious,” Batchelor says. “And as more people begin living the life and raise children with the same philosophy, then eventually it can make a difference.”

The websites in the resources menu section include valuable information about how to reduce your carbon footprint. Some of the sites even offer a carbon footprint calculator to help you determine how much CO2 you emit with your lifestyle: