Conserving is one of the biggest ways to our future, which is why I made this blog post. I will discuss my efforts in conserving energy and helping to prevent climate change. Though many of you may not make the changes I have made, even if you make one change, it could save you time, money, and slowing down climate change.

Though climate change is a highly debated topic, it is true that our world is warming. I won't get dramatic or panic you about it since many of you may already know the impacts. However, I do want to mention ways that I've personally gone about preventing climate change in my own life.

Turn off ALL lights, fans, computers, monitors, and phones not in use.
- This may seem very cliché, but believe it or not, you probably aren't doing this as much as you think. Whenever I'm at home, I make sure that every time I walk by an area with a light on without reason, I will turn it off. It's become a strong habit of mine that's not just saving electricity, but it's also saving money. Ceiling fans are also left on quite often when nobody is home, so make sure to turn those off. Doing these things will also save you money on your electrical bill.
- When vacationing, many lights are turned on and left on during your stay! Make sure that you turn these off before leaving the room or if they are not in use to begin with!

Turn your A/C up by one extra degree!
- I've made it standard that during the day, if the outside temperature is 10+ degrees the indoor temperature, the A/C will be set to 80-82 degrees. At night, it's 78 (unless cooler outside, windows are open and A/C goes off). Again, this is just my personal preference, but many people set their A/Cs to 68-72 during the day when they aren't home, which is using critical energy at a larger scale. Again, turning up your A/C even by a single degree will save you money on your electrical bill. 
- When vacationing, turn up your A/C when you leave your room! A lot of the time, your A/C will be set to 65-70 in your room, so make sure to turn that up even a few degrees so that you aren't wasting energy when you leave your room! Overall, this could help lower hotel costs if everyone were to do this!

Buy Solar Products or GO SOLAR! 
- Solar is currently our future of energy. It doesn't use greenhouse gases, it saves you money on your electrical bill, and it is CLEAN for the environment, Yes, solar panels are expensive, and if you don't have the money for them, you can always buy solar products! A few of the solar products I've purchased that were under $30 was a solar fan, a solar keyboard, solar outdoor lights, and a solar USB charging port for phones. If you would like to check these out, here's a link to the ones I've purchased:
SOLAR FAN: amzn.to/3ukTrx9
SOLAR KEYBOARD: amzn.to/3R94zXo
​SOLAR OUTDOOR LIGHTS: amzn.to/3RjQ2sn
SOLAR USB CHARGING PORTS (2 USBS): amzn.to/3ulGDqa

Change to LED Lights!
- LED Lights are proven to be over 50% more efficient than fluorescent lights! They also cost A LOT LESS on your electrical bill than fluorescent lights. Also, LED lights take twice as long to be changed in comparison to fluorescent lights. Take an hour of your weekend to replace all of your lights around your home from fluorescent to LED. You won't regret it! Check some out here:
LED LIGHTS (6-pack) (~$11.50): amzn.to/3nyro9x
LED LIGHTS (24-pack) (~$25): amzn.to/3NK2azE

Stop throwing away leftovers and snacks that aren't finished.
- This is another one of those that is cliché, but there is a significant amount of food wasted on a daily basis. If you can simply either finish your food or save it for later, you could save a cargo ship for importing food, gasoline to transport food to grocery stores, and more! Not just that, but all of the food that you consume is usually packaged, which produces pollution when made.

When going to or leaving work, stop at the grocery store or restaurant instead of making an extra trip!
- With higher gas prices, this will not just save you time and money, it will help limit CO2 going into the atmosphere (which is the biggest contributor to climate change to begin with). I've practiced this and easily saved 5-6 gallons of gas for every tank I get.

Next Car Purchase: Get an ELECTRIC Vehicle or a Hybrid!
- Many electric cars produce CO2 emissions when made, but have lesser impacts overtime as they do not consume nearly as much CO2 when driving. Most notably, if you have solar panels and have a car charger, you may not emit hardly any CO2 after the car purchase!
- If you cannot afford an electric vehicle, there are several hybrid vehicles that have higher MPG! Some vehicles have MPG as high as 55! If you want to make a big difference, ask your car dealership for coefficient vehicles!

On the highway, go the ECO speeds and don't SPEED!
- Yes, you may find it cool to go fast or find it faster and think you're saving money and gas. The truth is, most cars do not run well after 78 MPH. My car has the highest MPG between 70-75, yours may be higher or lower than that. Though you should never speed, if you are to, try to stay at that "sweet spot" speed that will give you the highest MPG. I believe that most vehicles are between 65-75.

Drink more water!
- This may also sound crazy to those who love drinking Dr. Pepper every day (I was like that forever!), but water is not just better for you, but it also saves the waste of plastic and also sugar! Again, making that small change actually makes a bigger impact so that plastic pollution is lowered!

Stop buying water bottles!
- Water bottles cause plastic pollution and ocean pollution. If we can all stop buying water bottles and use filtered water from your fridge or refillable water stations, we could save a significant amount of money and pollution! If you cannot afford a fridge with a water filter, consider getting water jugs instead.

Buy a Reusable Straw!
- Every time you get fast food or to a restaurant, you are likely using a straw for your drink. Instead, you should purchase a reusable straw and tell the waiter or employee to keep the straw! This is another major change that we can make to stop pollution in our oceans and plastic pollution. If you want to check out the straw that I use for under $10, find it on amazon here:
REUSABLE STRAW: amzn.to/3OWvlR9

If you make any changes to your daily life from this blog post, please message me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! I would LOVE to hear your stories on how your changing your own habits! If you have been making conservation efforts for a while and want to share those, contact me!

This blog post will continue to be updated as I continue my journey with conserving!