With so much going on in the world, many people have put their desire for reducing their carbon footprint on the backburner. However, protecting and preserving our environment is still as important as ever.

While you might not think that your small contributions could really make a difference, even little daily changes in habit and routine can have large positive results. To help you see how this can be done, here are three things you can do today to reduce your carbon footprint. 

Eat Less Meat

People have to eat to survive. However, while it’s good to get enough protein in your life, what you don’t need is to eat too much meat. Not only can this be bad for your health, but it can also be bad for the environment.

According to Jesse Holth, a contributor to The Huffington Post, it takes more than 5,000 gallons of water just to get one pound of beef. Additionally, agribusiness produces more greenhouse gases than the use of fossil fuels. All of this goes to show how you can really make a big impact by eating less meat in your daily life. Even if you just have one meatless meal everyday or a few times a week, this can make a big difference with your carbon footprint. 

Buy Local

Another way you can make small, daily changes to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy local products. ClimateCare.org shares that this is especially helpful and important when it comes to produce.

By buying local produce, you’ll likely be getting food that hasn’t had as many pesticides used on it as you would be getting from mass market produce. Along with this, local produce doesn’t have to be transported as far to get to you, which means there will be less emissions for trucks or other modes of transportation. 

Rethink Your Laundry Routine

As far as what you can do at home to reduce your carbon footprint, you may want to rethink how you accomplish certain tasks that are likely using a lot of energy or other resources that contribute to your carbon footprint.

One of these tasks is doing the laundry. According to Michelle Debczak, a contributor to Mental Floss, washing your clothes on the cold setting will save your washer 75 percent of its carbon emissions for every 300 loads of laundry. And once your clothes are washed, consider hanging them out to line dry rather than throwing them in the dryer.  

If you’re ready to start slowly but surely reducing your carbon footprint, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can accomplish this with some of the everyday tasks you do as part of your life.