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Carbon Footprint. By Sarah Janson. What is a Carbon Footprint?. A Carbon Footprint can be defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.
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Carbon Footprint By Sarah Janson
What is a Carbon Footprint? • A Carbon Footprint can be defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide. • Carbon is one of the greenhouse gasses that causes global warming. It is important for people to monitor their footprint to cut back on the gasses emitted into the atmosphere.
What can you do? • There are many easy things you can change in your daily life that will reduce your carbon footprint. • Unplug items not in use. • Carpool when possible. • Stop using plastic water bottles. • These are just a few things you can do, you can find more on the internet on websites like this one: http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumed/tips.html
Unplug How often do you leave a light on when you walk out of a room? Or keep your phone charger plugged into the wall when you are not using it? Studies have shown that by turning off the lights when not in use has cut carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 60%. So without spending money or changing your daily routine, you can reduce your footprint by simply unplugging unused electronics and turning off the lights.
Car Pool • Gas is a huge part of global warming. Even electric cars leave a carbon footprint. However, travel is a big part of our everyday lives. What can you do? Car pool as much as possible. It may be a little bit out of the way to pick up little Sally down the street, but the knowledge of reducing your carbon footprint should be enough motivation to do so. If not, knowing the money on gas you will save when it is Sally’s turn to drive, should also motivate you.
Water Bottles • A report in 2001 showed that about 1.5 million tons of plastic are expanded in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year. This, and the amount of energy needed to manufacture and transport the water is very bad for the environment. Buying a reusable water bottle to carry water and other drinks in each day is much more environmentally friendly and more cost efficient.
Saving Money • Although some changes may cost more money at first, in the long run, reducing your carbon footprint will actually save you money. Electric bills will go down, you won’t need to buy gas as frequently, and the money spent on buying water bottles every week can be put towards something else.
Works cited • Jefferson, Millie, producer, and Weekend America. "15 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint | Consumed | Sustainability Coverage From American Public Media." Sustainability Coverage From American Public Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumed/tips.html>. • "The Effects of Bottled Water on the Environment." All About Water - Read, Learn, and Know about Water. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html>. • "Turning Off Electronics Is an Old Green Trick With a New Big Impact : TreeHugger." TreeHugger. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/turning-off-electronics-is-an-old-green-trick-with-a-new-big-impact.html>. • "What is a carbon footprint - definition | Time for change." Time for change | For whom enough is too little - nothing is ever enough. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition>.
