It is almost guaranteed that within the last month, you have ordered something online. With the convenience that websites like Amazon.com provide, it is hard not to. The ability to order almost anything and have it show up on your doorstep in 1-2 days is incredible. However, it is important to consider the impacts of online shopping.

Companies such as Amazon are expanding rapidly, developing a large infrastructure of fulfillment centers around the world allowing products to arrive at your doorstep faster than ever. However, vehicles and planes are still required to transfer your order from facility to facility, or to your home. According to Forbes, Amazon ships 2.5 Billion packages a year! That works out to about 6.85million packages a day. This means that within about 48 hours, Amazon has to move your order from where it’s inventory is, through about 3 fulfillment centers, through last mile delivery, and to your doorstep.

Due to the time constraint, Amazon has to send thousands of trucks and planes around the country. All of those trucks and planes contribute Amazon releasing 44.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018 according to AP News.

One way you can help reduce the amount of pollution produced is to simply go to brick and mortar stores. While you most likely will be driving a car, it will still produce much less pollution than having thousands of trucks driving from house to house. Additionally, plan bigger trips to the store, rather than lots of small ones. This will save you both a lot of time and will help to reduce emissions. Remember, its the little things that we don’t think about that often are the most damaging. Be conscious about the environment!