US EditionOne in 10 Americans Switching Habits Could Cut Billions of Pounds of Carbon
Changing four common habits by 10% of Americans could cut nearly 200 billion pounds of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to removing over 1 million cars from roads, AP analysis shows.
- This year, The Associated Press modeled a one-in-10 scenario across four everyday habits and calculated annual national emissions impacts, finding tens to hundreds of billions of pounds of carbon pollution avoided.
- The Associated Press focused on four everyday behaviors—food, transportation, home energy and clothing—to test whether small personal choices add up, relying on federal agencies and Levi Strauss & Co.'s life‑cycle assessments.
- Transportation accounts for 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and if 23.77 million people switched to electric vehicles, emissions would drop by roughly 175 billion pounds.
- About 60 million U.S. households rely on utility natural gas furnaces, and if one in 10 switched to electric heat pumps it would avoid about 11 billion pounds of CO2 annually, comparable to taking 1 million cars off the road.
- If 34.2 million people bought secondhand jeans this year instead of new ones, it would avoid roughly 1.5 billion pounds of CO2, said Levi Strauss & Co. and Constance Ulasewicz.
27 Articles
27 Articles
Everyday lifestyle choices can add up to significant climate change impact
By AYA DIAB, Associated Press Climate change is often viewed as an issue that’s too big for individual action to matter. But calculations show that when personal choices add up, the impact can be significant. The Associated Press looked at four everyday behaviors in the U.S. ranging from food and transportation to home energy and clothing. The question was then posed: What if just one in 10 Americans who currently eat beef, drive gasoline cars, …
What if Just 1 in 10 People Changed How They Eat, Drive, Heat or Shop? - Bucks County Beacon
Climate change is often viewed as an issue that’s too big for individual action to matter. But calculations show that when personal choices add up, the impact can be significant. The Associated Press looked at four everyday behaviors in the U.S. ranging from food and transportation to home energy and clothing. The question was then posed: What if just one in 10 Americans who currently eat beef, drive gasoline cars, heat their homes with natural …
Climate change is often considered such a big problem that individual action does not seem to matter. But calculations show that, when personal decisions accumulate, the impact can be significant.
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