Climate protection is everyone's business!

Dear page4 friends, dear readers!

Climate protection is everyone's business. It is not enough to wait for politicians to act. The last few years have shown that this doesn't really get us anywhere. It is much more important to take action ourselves. Each and every one of us can only make a small contribution to reducing the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere. But many small parts make a difference in the long run.

Our way of life has led us to face a major challenge. The point where we can't change anything is ominously close. If we continue like this, we will inevitably reach that point, be larger than it, and the consequences from this "continuing like this" will have a massive negative impact on the fate of our children and grandchildren.

A big factor in CO2 production is electricity consumption and the source from which electricity is produced. It is possible today in many areas to ensure that all electricity needs are met from renewable sources. At page4, we have a private and office electricity provider that supplies 100% "green" electricity and this electricity is quite affordable.

We currently host all of our customers' websites with Hetzner in Germany. Hetzner also relies on climate-neutral energy supply. We register our domains exclusively with NIC Direct (Vautron), a provider for "resellers". NIC Direct also acts environmentally conscious . We also work together with DomainFactory. DomainFactory is also climate neutral.

For your page4 website we provide server, software and domain. This service consumes electricity, which is produced in cooperation with our partners to 100% climate neutral. You can now show this on your page4 site with a logo from us. As soon as our own website is ready, we will of course show the logo on our page as well. At the end of this article we will explain how you can embed the above logo on your page4 site.

There are 4 major areas where we can do something or more than before:

1) Heating and electricity; the share of CO2 production is 20.6 %.

2) Mobility accounts for 18.8%.

3) Food is responsible for 15 % of harmful climate gases.

4) Consumption is responsible for 39.3% of CO2.

1. Reduce hot water by using economy showerheads, aerators or flow limiters. The necessary material costs about 50 USD and saves 300 kg of CO2 or more per year.
2. Reduce room temperature by 1 degrees Celsius, insulate radiator niches, seal old windows and install new thermostats. The cost depends on the size of the household. Depending on consumption, you can save 300 to 600 kg of CO2 per year and save money.
3. Set refrigerator to 7 Celsius, if possible; buy LED bulbs when changing lamps; use timers and power strips to turn off appliances that are not in use. The cost is a few euros. Depending on consumption, this saves 200 to 400 kg of CO2 per year.
4. If you are a homeowner and the house does not meet the current standard, it is worthwhile to carry out an energy refurbishment, which may be subsidized by the state. It's not cheap, but it saves between 1,000 and 2,000 kg of CO2 per year and lowers heating costs.
5. When your old car has had its day, replace it, if possible, with a more economical and smaller model. This saves up to 500 kg of CO2 per 10,000 km.
6. Drive fuel-efficiently, i.e. max. 100 km/h, at a steady speed and with foresight. Don't carry unnecessary ballast in the car and use roof racks only as needed. This alone can reduce CO2 emissions by several hundred kg per 10,000 km.
7. Ride your bike more. Just 3 km by bike instead of by car saves 300 kg CO2 per 1,000 km.
8. Eat less meat and less animal products like dairy. If you eat only 15-30 kg per year instead of the average 60-80 kg, you will reduce your personal carbon footprint by 300-500 kg per year and also live healthier. Vegetarians produce 570 to 800 kg less CO2 per year than "normal eaters". Vegans, who also don't eat dairy products, have a CO2 footprint that is 700 to 1000 kg less than the average person. Replace meat with vegetables rather than meat substitutes.
9. If you fly a lot, reduce air miles if possible. Within Germany, flying should not be necessary at all, as rail connections are actually very well developed. If you travel 1,500 km by train instead of by plane, this already saves 250 kg of CO2. 

• Buying organic products usually also reduces the CO2 footprint and protects the environment, as fewer toxins reach the land and the humus soil is cared for.
• Do not waste food. Everything that is produced causes CO2. When we throw away food that can still be eaten, it is incomprehensible. Many products are still edible, even if the MHD has expired. It's best to shop planned and think about what you're using up beforehand.
• Buy fruits and vegetables in reusable bags that you bring yourself. Even if some plastic bags are made from natural raw materials - they are mostly superfluous.
• Do not throw away, but give away and sell. Books, computers, etc. that are still intact but no longer needed will be happy to have new owners and thus relieve the climate.
• Buy regionally and in season. Live a life without tropical fruits and so-called flying fruits. Also: food from heated greenhouse cultivation causes up to 10 times more CO2 than open field cultivation. Grow your own whenever possible. Goes in the smallest garden and on the balcony.
• Use public transportation. Saves up to 2,500 kg CO2 per person and 10,000 km.
• Switch to an ECO bank. This way you avoid investing your own money in climate-damaging forms of energy, weapons or food speculation.

Of course, the logo may only be included on a page4 website (whether free or a purchased version, it doesn't matter). You can download the image to your computer with this link and then upload it to your website:

https://en.page4.com/documents/page4-co2-neutral-website.png

See you soon and keep having fun with your page4 website

Manfred and the page4 team

PS: We use km here, one km is 0.62137 miles.  Also we use kg and not pounds. 1 kg is 2.20462 lbs. We ask for your appreciation that we have chosen this notation.