The carbon production of our individual activities while attending a sporting event is minimal in comparison to the carbon emissions generated by lighting and providing energy for these infrastructures, the travel and resources needed to accommodate teams, and much more.

The next time you prepare to bleed Orange and Blue on football Sunday, be sure to visit the
Carbon Cut Colorado website and offset the costs of your carbon production using the Colorado Day Out calculator!

Three actions you can take to be a greener sports fanatic:

1. Use the Carbon Cut Colorado Calculator to determine how much carbon you are generating going to and from the game. Donate to balance this amount!
2. If possible, opt for public transportation instead of driving your personal vehicle.
3. Always be sure to put your Cracker Jacks and Coors Light cans in the appropriate waste bins to recycle them.

Sources:

• https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/14/1826238/-What-s-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-Superbowl-Or-the-Avengers-films-Or-the-blogosphere
• https://theecologist.org/2020/jun/11/hockey-leagues-carbon-footprint
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2017/12/11/big-sports-events-have-big-environmental-footprints-could-social-licenses-to-operate-help/#79681dc650cf
• https://www.wm.com/sustainability-services/documents/insights/Stadiums%20and%20Arenas%20Insight.pdf

The post Carbon Footprint of a Broncos/Rockies/Nuggets/Avs game appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.

College is arguably one of the most exciting times in young adulthood! While you are making lifelong friends and pursuing your passions, this is also the perfect time to develop lifelong healthy and sustainable habits that can have lasting impacts for you and the environment. Some of those habits can focus on reducing your carbon footprint.

Here are a few great tips to help yourself get started:

1. Get a Breath of Fresh Air:
   With the pedestrian-only Pearl Street mall and over 150 miles of hiking trails, Boulder has a national reputation for being a Gold-Level Walk Friendly Community. On top of that, Boulder has an average of 300 sunny days per year. One of the easiest changes you can implement in your schedule as a college student is opting to walk, bike, or take public transportation to class, instead of driving your personal vehicle, all while soaking up those 300 days of sunshine!

2. Dont Crank up the Thermostat:
   In the winter months, try limiting the use of your thermostat by stocking up your dorm or apartment with cozy blankets and comforters. This can save you money, and the planet! Plus, who doesn’t like being under a warm blanket in a cold room?

3. Re-use and Refill!
   The average reusable water bottle holds 32 oz of water, as opposed to the 16 oz of a throw-away plastic bottle. With twice as much the water, you are saving from using twice as many disposables. That can add up fast!

4. Avoid fast fashion:
   Boulder is home to so many unique thrift stores. Before you place that next Shein order, consider visiting a local thrift store such as Common Threads or Rags Consignment to pick up something pre- loved and vintage. In 2020, the fast fashion industry emitted nearly 1.7 billion tons of CO2 per year (WBUR.org).

5. Turn it Off:
   Make sure to switch off lights and turn off appliances when you aren’t using them. It’s that simple!

6. Give it a Rest:
   Power down your computer or laptop when not in use. Did you know that a computer that is shut down uses 65% less power than one left on idle or sleep mode?

7. Recycling:
   CU Boulder is equipped with hundreds of recycling containers all across campus. Simply throw your recyclables into their designated bins! If you are curious about the recycling process at CU, you can find more information here.

   You can also recycle or refurbish any old electronics at Blue Star Recyclers – Eco-Cycle CHaRM, Boulder, CO   A 501c3 nonprofit social enterprise. Our mission is to create local jobs for people with disAbilities by recycling and refurbishing electronics.

8. Support like-minded businesses, make a day of it!
   Start with coffee and a hike, then grab some sandwiches and do some shopping, then end your day with a bike ride and a beer. While you’re relaxing at the tap room, take a moment to donate to Carbon Cut Colorado and cut some of that carbon footprint from everything in-between!

   Conscious Coffees Sourcing our green coffee with Cooperative Coffees is a cornerstone of our business. Since joining Cooperative Coffees in 2003, we have not only eliminated middle men in the value chain by importing directly, we have also been able to create and maintain long-term relationships with individual farmer organizations. Buying coffee from the same producer partners, year after year, enables us to maintain consistent quality and also guarantee the farmers a reliable source to sell their harvests.

   Organic Sandwich Company Creating fresh, gourmet, organic sandwiches is our thing. We believe you are what you eat which means our food is made with only the purest ingredients to satisfy a hungry belly. We support our local farmers and give back to our community so we can all thrive together.

   Fair Trade Winds – Pearl Street We care about family. We’re a family business that considers all of our artisan partners and customers as members of one big extended family. We’re all on this planet together and when we work cooperatively we can create incredible change!

   Upslope Brewing In 2008, Matt Cutter, Henry Wood and Dany Page, kissed their homes in Cleveland, Atlanta and Argentina goodbye to bring their beer-brewing love affair to Boulder, Colorado. With that, Upslope Brewing Company was born. They believe that the more you go out exploring the earth, the more likely you are to take care of it. That’s why we package all our beers in 100% recyclable cans, perfect for transporting wherever the trail may take you. And it’s why, from the water and energy we use to the waste we make, we do everything possible to leave a mark with our beer, not our footprint.

   Carbon Cut Colorado Balance Your Carbon. Impact Your Community. When you cut your carbon through Carbon Cut Colorado you support energy-efficiency upgrades for income-qualified families. Your donation goes directly to Energy Resource Center and each of their upgrades reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. You’re helping people and the planet with one quick action!

   Boulder County is also home to the PACE initiative- Partners for a Clean Environment.
   Businesses who have been PACE certified have committed to implementing environmentally sustainable practices! Visit pacepartners.com for a complete list of local businesses that are also taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

Reducing your carbon footprint as a college student doesn’t have to be hard or expensive! Start implementing these tips one step at a time and you’re already on your way to making your environment and community a better place.

The post Protecting Our Planet Starts with You – Simple Actions for Students to Make Big Impacts appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.

DENVER, April 23, 2021 — A new program headquartered in Colorado gives everyone a chance to make a local difference using their own carbon footprint as their guide.

Carbon Cut Colorado was launched by the Energy Resource Center (ERC), a Colorado-focused non-profit founded in 1979. The Carbon Cut Colorado website offers calculators for determining the carbon impact and carbon cost of things like driving miles, electricity use, gas consumption, and flights. Users are able to donate their carbon cost to ERC, an organization that uses the funds to do energy-saving projects for income-qualified households in 27 Colorado counties.

“We are calling it ‘carbon balancing’ because you can make a local impact based on your own carbon use which will help tip the scale of carbon emissions,” says Mike Mazzola, Development Director for ERC.  “For example, if you take a drive to the mountains, you can use the Carbon Cut Colorado calculator and make a donation based on those driving miles. We will then use those funds to replace inefficient equipment, upgrade a home to LED lightbulbs, and more, possibly right in your neighborhood, which will decrease carbon emissions.”

On average, the work ERC does reduces the carbon footprint of each home by 3,755 lbs per year and reduces the demand on coal-fired power plants by replacing inefficient and wasteful appliances and equipment. By donating to the organization, individuals and businesses can balance their own carbon footprint and support work that reduces carbon emissions. The donations will be used to increase the number of households that ERC works on each year.

“We know that reducing a carbon footprint is the first step to a healthy environment, but when we can’t fully eliminate that footprint, Carbon Cut Colorado will balance it by funding work that is proven to reduce carbon emissions in our state,” says Howard Brooks, CEO of ERC.

According to Brooks, “ERCs goal is to end energy poverty in Colorado. We can do that if we can expand the number of households we work on every year. This program will help fund that expansion, and carbon emissions will decrease with each home we complete.”

Carbon Cut Colorado uses nationally recognized formulas for their calculations and provides information on how they calculate their impact at www.carboncutco.com.

ABOUT CARBON CUT COLORADO

Carbon Cut Colorado is a program of Energy Resource Center that aims to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the state by providing ways for individuals and businesses to balance their own carbon impact. The program funds the free energy-efficiency work of Energy Resource Center.

ABOUT ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER

The Energy Resource Center is a non-profit organization with offices in Loveland, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Alamosa. ERC serves households across 27 counties. Since 1979, they have helped thousands of Colorado families make their homes safe, warm, and energy-efficient.

The post Carbon Balancing: A Practical and Local Way to Make a Positive Impact appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.

Mountain Equipment Recyclers (MER), Kids on Bikes, and Pedal Station share a brick-and-mortar storefront in Colorado Springs. Together, they get people of all ages outside by offering recycled outdoor equipment for purchase, bikes and bike parts, and a place to do bike repair.

They are focused on sustainability and community, which means the carbon offset program is a great fit for them. As a storefront, their carbon footprint rests in their utility use, which is how they decided to calculate their impact.

“Our mission is based in sustainability and community support, and this carbon offset program supports both those causes. We calculated our donation to ERC based on our average monthly electric and gas usage extrapolated over the year,” Ryan Gentges told us after they made their donation.

The donation they made will go towards the equipment and labor necessary to make homes around Colorado more energy-efficient. This work is done for free for income-qualified families in 27 Colorado counties and can include new appliances, insulation work, weather-sealing, and more. On average, the work stops 3,755 lbs of carbon from entering the atmosphere, per year. It also saves money by lowering the utility for the household.  A family lives more comfortably, and we all breathe easier.

Thank you, MER, Kids on Bikes, and Pedal Station!

The post MER, Kids on Bikes, and Pedal Station Offset A Year of Utility Use appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.

For 40 years, Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) has been working on the great outdoors. Building and repairing trails and taking care of the environment is part of their DNA. It is no surprise that they jumped on board to transform their fleet’s carbon footprint into a positive environmental and community impact.

RMFI covered a year’s worth of mileage to and from project sites around Colorado. Their donation will provide energy efficiency materials and labor for an income-qualified family in Colorado. The impact is right here, for a family in need, with a quantified environmental impact.

Thank you, RMFI, for paving the way.

The post Rocky Mountain Field Institute Offsets Fleet Mileage appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.

Ever wonder what your carbon footprint might be? The Nature Conservancy helps calculate areas you are expending the most greenhouse gases and encourages ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The Nature Conservancy also tells us that the average carbon footprint of one individual in the United States is 16 tons.

Creating ways to reduce your carbon footprint will not occur overnight, but growing in awareness and making conscious changes will contribute overtime.

How to reduce your transportation footprint:

How often do you travel? Driving contributes a substantial portion of greenhouse gases. In fact, driving creates 2.6 tons worth of carbon dioxide, according to a study done in 2017 at Lund University and the University of British Columbia. In 2018, the 28 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States were transportation related.

• The next time you need to buy a car, consider the gas efficiency and electric features that limit fossil fuels.
• Ride a bicycle to work or walk on small grocery store visits when possible.
• Carpool to work and events.
• Drive the speed limit and avoid accelerating when possible.
• Take a less busy route to avoid sitting in traffic.

How to reduce your home’s footprint:

According to a 2020 study, 20 percent of residential emissions are related to heating, cooling, and powering homes. Energy efficient appliances are becoming more popular, but it isn’t enough to move percentages of emissions down.

• Seal drafts in your home including around windows and doors, and make sure you have sufficient insulation.
• Choose energy efficient appliances the next opportunity you upgrade.
• Program your thermostat for day and night temperature control.
• Replace lightbulbs with LED bulbs and don’t forget to turn off lights when you don’t need them.
• Go solar.
• Hang-dry your clothes.
• Limit water use while washing dishes.
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

How to reduce your food footprint:

Did you know that 13 percent of emissions are created by transporting and producing our food? The amount of water and petroleum-based fuels required to supply our food contributes to our food emissions and 83 percent of carbon emissions come from the storage and growth of our food.
There are several ways to make a shift in this area:

• Eat local produce by shopping at farmer’s markets.
• Grow a garden.
• Eat less beef and dairy products.
• Avoid processed foods.
• Go vegetarian or vegan.
• Recycle packaging or limit the amount of waste from groceries.
• Eat in-season produce.

Working to reduce your carbon is the first step in reducing the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. But, when you can’t reduce your footprint to zero, you can still make a positive difference by offsetting your remaining carbon usage.

We offer carbon offsetting for car travel, plane travel, and utilities. Your usage is translated into a dollar amount with our calculations – see the calculations here. By donating this dollar amount, you increase the number of residences that receive energy efficiency services from Energy Resource Center. On average, each house that receives upgrades removes ### pounds of carbon from the atmosphere.

See the impact you could have by calculating your offset here.

The post Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint appeared first on Carbon Cut Colorado.