Danny Seo

Do Just One Thing

Do you watch TV shows and movies on your phone or laptop? To save energy, consider downloading your entertainment instead of streaming it. While downloading requires a short burst of energy for a large data transfer, it avoids the sustained power demand of real-time streaming, making it a more efficient option overall. If you plan to watch something more than once, downloading is an even smarter choice. Better still, download over a 5G network, where newer technology can make data transfers more energy-efficient.

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Do you invest in the stock market? You might be wondering if your portfolio is eco-friendly or supports sustainable business practices. The ESG rating (short for Environment, Social and Governance) gives companies and mutual funds a score. The higher the ESG score, the better on the environmental scale; low-scoring companies are considered less involved in eco-friendly practices and social issues. The website spglobal.com is a free resource that gives you any publicly traded company’s ESG score.

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Even in major cities full of giant skyscrapers, wild animals live among us in green spaces like parks, and they need our help. If you have a dog, always be sure to keep it on a leash; dogs can kill small animals, destroy birds’ nests and harass other types of wildlife when allowed to roam free. Avoid putting used gum in outdoor trash receptacles, because birds can mistake it for food, ingest it and die. Be sure your trash containers are secured and closed, and only put them out the night before trash collection day.

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One of the easiest ways to lower your carbon emissions and also be safe is to simply drive the speed limit. When posted maximum speeds are around 60 mph, driving that speed versus a faster 75 mph is actually 25% more gas-efficient. Faster speeds create more wind resistance, which equals more overall fuel usage. Of course, hybrid cars are even greener, and fully electric cars emit nothing at all, but driving slower means less charging is needed for the car battery over time, too.

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There’s one type of seafood that’s affordable, nutritionally dense and even helps improve the environment: mussels. According to the National Library of Medicine, mussels are a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and they produce far less greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to other protein sources such as beef, lamb and pork. Plus, they are “filter feeders,” which means they remove impurities in the water around them. What a win-win!

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Did you know it’s often better for the environment to choose a traditional taxi over a ride-sharing app like Uber or Lyft? Studies show that ride-hailing services can increase vehicle emissions by as much as 70% due to “deadheading” — the time drivers spend cruising without passengers while waiting for ride requests. That extra driving wastes fuel and adds to traffic congestion. In many cities, taxis are more tightly regulated, must meet stricter fuel-efficiency standards, and typically wait in designated pickup lines rather than circling for fares, making them the more eco-friendly option.

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Have you ever been prompted to upgrade your cloud storage because it’s “full?” Consider hitting “no.” Data centers are massive energy consumers, responsible for up to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions — and that number is growing. Yet nearly 90% of the data we store is never used. Known as “dark data,” it consists of redundant or obsolete files that simply sit on servers. Take time to delete what you don’t need, and enable settings that automatically remove files after a set period to help shrink your digital footprint.