At Flying Embers, we believe in creating better beverages for a greener Earth. We aim for progress, not perfection, and are constantly searching for ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint. You may not think kombucha can help fight climate change, but we humbly beg to differ.
What Is a Carbon Footprint?
You likely know that a carbon footprint isn’t a good thing, but you may not know why. Your carbon footprint is defined as the amount of greenhouse gases generated by your actions— the smaller your carbon footprint, the better.
However, the average carbon footprint of a person in the United States of America is roughly 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world.
It won’t be easy to lower carbon footprints on an individual level, and it’s even harder to influence the behavior of entire nations. But there are certain things we can do on a day-to-day basis to make an impact.
What Is the Effect of Carbon?
High global carbon emissions can have devastating effects on our planet, which includes the furry friends that we share our Earth with. The carbon emissions trapped in our atmosphere causes climate change, including the risk of rising temperatures, melting polar ice caps, and rising sea levels.
The levels of carbon dioxide are the highest they’ve ever been right now. Those CO2 levels are the basis of the notorious Greenhouse Effect, which we’ve all heard about in some form or another. It’s one of the biggest factors in all those scary climate change events, like shifting wildlife populations, floods, and other natural disasters, like the wildfires that are part of our origin story.
The Most Common Greenhouse Gases and Where They Come From
Carbon dioxide is responsible for about three-quarters of emissions and can linger in the Earth’s atmosphere for nearly a thousand years, so you’re breathing air that’s been around longer than sliced bread—way longer. CO2 from the Middle Ages might still be hanging around, and we’ve only added more since then, thanks to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas, wood, and solid waste.
Methane is another big contributing greenhouse gas released from landfills, natural gas and petroleum industries, and agriculture. Industrial farming and the meat industry, in particular, produce massive amounts of methane. Today, methane accounts for nearly 16% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Other notable emissions that cause catastrophic effects on the environment are (and try saying these ten times fast):
- Nitrous oxide
- Hydrofluorocarbons
- Perfluorocarbons
- Chlorofluorocarbons
- Sulfur hexafluoride
Okay, so there are lots of harmful gases heading into our atmosphere. What can we do about it? Technical details aside, what really matters is what you can do to reduce these emissions in your everyday life.
Individual Choices to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
First things first, calculate your carbon footprint using calculators like this to determine what impact your lifestyle is having on the environment. Once you’ve finished with the math lesson, you can decide what changes to make. Here are some of the quick and easy ways you can make your carbon footprint a little smaller:
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Drive a little less. Car usage is one of the major contributing factors to climate change, but a lot of the time, it’s unavoidable. Try taking public transportation every once in a while or carpooling with a friend to cut back on the carbon just a bit.
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Reduce your meat consumption. The meat industry is a pretty big force of pollution, so this change can make a big difference.
If you aren’t ready to make the swap to a plant-based diet, try just participating in a “Meatless Monday” once a week. Our cow friends will thank you for it. -
Replace your lightbulbs with a more energy-saving version.
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Turn off all lights, devices, and electricity-heavy objects when not using them. Not only will this lend a hand to Mother Earth, but it’ll help your electricity bill out, too.
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Consider switching to reusable energies like solar or wind (or even nuclear) as opposed to coal-burning alternatives. This isn’t a possibility for everyone for sure, but it’s something to consider if you have the ability.
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Reduce, reuse, recycle! You heard it from every elementary school teacher you ever had, but they weren’t lying to you. Paying just a little more attention to what you’re doing with your waste products can make a big difference.
- Be deliberate in what companies you support. Look out for brands with eco-friendly practices and brands that seek to protect our planet and make a conscious effort to be green.
How Flying Embers Is Helping
Here at Flying Embers, we have seen firsthand the devastating effects that climate change can have, and we understand that the way we treat our planet can truly transform it—both for good and for bad.
Flying Embers was born in the midst of the 2017 Thomas Fires, California’s biggest wildfires at the time, so we know the possible ramifications of climate change firsthand, and we want to do something about it. To reduce our own carbon footprint, we’ve started using carbon capture technology in order to naturally carbonate our beverages. That means we’re using our own natural, recaptured CO2, versus CO2 created by the petrochemical industry, in our effort to cut back on waste. We also use cardboard rings to package our cans, rather than the plastic ones that so often show up in the ocean.
Next, when it comes to ingredients, we choose to support small farms and botanical growers whenever possible. Our beverages are certified organic by the USDA because we know organic practices can create a serious change, including improved water quality and energy conservation.
Lastly, we’ve partnered with Carbon Fingerprint to make our online presence planet-friendly. We love likes, comments, and shares, but did you know the world’s collective Instagram activity creates the same amount of CO2 as flying a plane around the world 12,000 every day? By making both our Instagram channel and website carbon positive through reforestation efforts with help from Carbon Fingerprint, we help our followers and fans feel better about engaging with our pages.
Our Support
Through the Embers Foundation, Flying Embers dedicates 1% of all company revenue to address firefighter, first responder, and community needs nationwide. We structure our involvement and donations in three critical phases: rewild, respond and recover. Each of these pillars is essential to preserving and supporting our environment, with funds going towards wildfire prevention and education, real-time natural disaster response, and recovery programs.
Every time you crack open a can of Flying Embers, you’re helping local communities nationwide affected by climate change and disasters. Drink that in.
Sources:
Are Carbon Emissions Dangerous? | Green Matters
Carbon Dioxide Levels Are At A Record High | National Geographic