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Carbon Neutral Households

STEP 1 – Measure your impact using our carbon footprint calculator
STEP 2 – Develop a Climate Action Plan
STEP 3 – Invest in RegenAll’s Community Climate Fund

Measure Impact

Our carbon footprint calculator was developed using the most local data available so that you can understand your carbon footprint in the context of your local community.

Calculate your Carbon Footprint

Climate Action Plan

When you know what is contributing to your carbon footprint in: Home Energy, Transportation, Food, Materials, Land & Water Use and Services, you can being developing solutions to reduce your footprint. More information and resources to get you started with climate action planning are provided below:

Home Energy

Living spaces and how energy is used in those spaces contributes GHG emissions. Opportunities exist to take advantages of new technologies and the reduction of emissions. Learn more below.
Living Spaces
Reduce energy needs for heating and cooling living spaces.

Community
Get to know neighbors, discover opportunities to collaborate, reduce consumption and inspire one another.

Appliances & Electronics
Upgrade appliances to reduce energy needs and manage electronic energy usage.

Transportation

Improved fuel efficiency reduces the impact of fossil fuels, but increased utilization of alternative methods of transportation are necessary. Benefit your short and long term health by exploring the options.
Vehicle Transportation
Consider replacing one or more vehicles to reduce fossil fuel consumption or or to replace with an alternative power such as electricity. 

Earth Friendly Travel
Drive less and ride more for good health and the health of our planet.

Aviation
Air travel is calculated to contribute 1/4 ton of carbon emissions per hour of travel. Consider buying carbon offsets from the RegenAll Carbon Offset Marketplace (insert link) when air travel is a must. Or, or enjoy a train ride.

Food

What we eat impacts our climate. A passion for meat involving fossil fuel burning equipment, packaging materials, refrigeration, transportation, fertilizers and the use of nearly half of all agricultural land is estimated to contribute 18-20 percent of GHG emissions annually. It turns out, what we eat is one of the greatest contributors to global warming, along with the energy supply sectors. Delicious alternatives exist!

Plant Protein
An average of 6-25 kg of CO2 eq. are associated with 3.5 oz. of animal protein compared to 0.36-1.6 kg of CO2 eq. to produce 3.5 oz. of plant protein.

Buy Local
Locally produced foods support the local economy and reduce food transportation emissions. Organic foods and produce from regenerative farming practices deliver healthier food while building soil health that captures and stores carbon.

Food Waste
Reduce food waste and transition to low impact disposal.

Materials

Materials used to build our living spaces, to make the clothing we wear, and to deliver convenient consumables have a carbon footprint. Thanks to science, innovative technology, and bold entrepreneurs, we can choose earth-friendly alternatives.
Building Materials
LEED building certification is the industry standard for buildings honoring and preserving the environment.

Clothing
Fast fashion is acknowledged as a significant contributor to climate change. Raw material processing, manufacturing, transportation and all its associated waste releases greenhouse gases.

Products from Recycled Materials
Recycling becomes meaningful when manufacturers are motivated to produce products from recycled materials. Buy recycled! Otherwise, materials consumers are recycling may ultimately become trash.

Recycling
Opportunities to recycle extend beyond the recycling collection provided by a local trash service.

Plastic
Plastic pollutes the waterways and when burned, pollutes the air. Since plastic is manufactured from fossil fuel, it is also a contributor to GHG emissions.

Land & Water Use

Conservation and use of land and water have the power to reduce emissions, preserve biodiversity and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Opportunities for small and large scale impacts are at our fingertips.
Land
Preserving nature’s beauty found in wild places requires conservation, regenerative agriculture, raising livestock in harmony with nature and sustainable urban development.

Water
It is predicted that in the future water will be the “new” gold. We are trending toward that future with an ever-increasing pallet of tools and resources to reduce consumption, preserve and care for this limited and precious resource.

Native Plants and Pollinators
Nature’s intelligence promotes the growth of plants that flourish in the local climate and provide food for pollinators who in turn support the procreation of more native plants. Plentiful and healthy food is dependent on our caring for native plants and pollinators.

Finances

Spending dollars on earth-friendly services and products impact climate, but a less obvious impact is how dollars are invested. Are investments funding the expansion of sustainable practices and businesses or inadvertently supporting industries operating in opposition to the wellbeing of our planet?
Invest
Explore the financial marketplace to identify financial institutions aligned with personal values.  Shift financial resources to climate responsible banks, credit card companies and financial institutions. Cancel existing accounts and write a letter to inform companies on why the change was made.

Budget
Using a standard budget planning tool, determine what expenditures can be shifted to climate friendly alternative and identify new initiatives that can be committed for supporting with personal dollars.        

Carbon Offset Marketplace
One carbon offset is a payment you can make for each ton of carbon you emit into the atmosphere (carbon footprint). Your payment per ton is then invested in an initiative extracting an equivalent number of tons of carbon from the atmosphere. Your emissions have been offset (mitigated) and you have invested in technology that will continue to regenerate the planet. Using the RegenAll calculator (insert link), you can determine an individual carbon footprint, purchase offset for a particular activity monthly to offset an annual lifestyle contribution, or purchase one time a year to offset the entire year.

Advocacy

Many believe that significant cultural change cannot happen without political activism. Living in harmony with nature requires cultural change. Opportunities for political engagement are abundant: run for office, write letters, campaign, take to the streets. We have choices!
Strategy
Individualized strategies, making the best use of interests, special skills and passions, determine the success of activism. Dig in and explore the many available resources to learn the science of climate change, how to effective communicate on the climate, and find the path that is right for you.

National and International Engagement
There is one global community.  The United States ranks in the top ten for annual per capita carbon emissions and number two for total emissions. China, as number one for total emissions, garners attention, but in 2014, per capita emissions in China were 7.54 tons as compared to 16.50 tons in the US.

Local Engagement
Join like-minded climate activists in Lancaster to amplify a collective voice on the importance of caring for the earth. Together we are stronger!

Figuring out how to identify and prioritize climate actions in your home can seem like a daunting task, but we’re here to help! We’ve compiled information to help you create your own personal climate action plan. Follow our step-by-step guide to build your own climate action plan here:

Download Google Doc

Community Climate Fund

The Community Climate Investment Fund is a new approach to funding local climate projects. The vision of the fund is to provide a meaningful way for people to offset their emissions while directly investing in improving the environment in Lancaster County.

Offset Emissions
Learn More About the CCIF

Example Projects

Silvopasture

We are working with Trees for Graziers to identify and fund silvopasture projects in Lancaster, PA.

Energy Efficient Retrofit

We are working to identify community partners to implement energy efficiency retrofits, prioritizing low-income Lancastrians.

Rooftop Solar

We are working to identify community partners to implement renewable energy efficiency projects in Lancaster.