Footprint

Every year the seasons seem to be a little off, never at average for that time of the year. Always a bit above or below annual temperatures. Most people say global warming is the problem but most people don’t realize that their everyday actions greatly contribute to the international problem. Every person on our planet plays a role in impacting our home’s environment, for better or for worse. It’s called a carbon footprint. In the recent years, the topic of turning your footprint green has arisen.
Our carbon footprint is calculated based on the amount of green house gases produced by our actions, it is measured in units of CO2. A person’s affect on the problem depends on what type of footprint they have. Primary footprints, the direct amounts of carbon dioxide emissions which are given off due to burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation, have a larger opportunity on the topic. Secondary footprints, the indirect CO2 emissions from the entire lifecycle of products we use (their manufacture and eventual breakdown), have a smaller opportunity to help the problem.
As an 8th grade student I have a secondary footprint. Why? Well I don’t have the power to choose which car my family drives, whether it’s a hybrid or a fuel hog, but I can choose whether I walk places or ask my mom to drive me there. I might be tired of walk but I’ll be helping my environment and would get some exercise. I can’t tell my school to use solar energy but I can ask the teacher to turn the lights off in class. It might be a little harder to work in class but I would be conserving electricity and on sunny days the lighting wouldn’t be a problem. If I had had a primary footprint I would have drove a hybrid car or installed solar panels in my school. There are many pros and cons of picking the green choice, but in most cases the reward is greater than the refinement.
If you’re still wondering why it’s so important to turn our footprints green, I’ll tell...
My personal carbon footprint was calculated through the Cool Climate website (http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/ ). The website calculated my Carbon Footprint as 96 CO2e/yr, as opposed to the US average being approximately 67 CO2e/yr for a household of similar size.
The main contributing factors of this were food purchases, services, public transit(as well as airlines), miles /yr driven, and household bills (such as electric or gas). These all were key questions asked on any of the sites available to calculate the footprints. My household is composed of three people all with vehicles. I believe that this was another strong contribution to the reason for it being above the national average. The miles per year were quite a bit above, but the reasoning for this was not so much wasteful driving as it was the fact that we live in the countryside where anything and everything is 20 miles from your household (a prime example being when I was in high school it was 45 minutes round trip, when someone living in the city would only put about 10 miles round trip to school and back).
Ways to lower the carbon footprint calculation would be: for food purchases it could be eating a little healthier and less expensive, when it comes to services – lower the amounts required to the necessities, for public transit – simple – take less trips that are unnecessary or plan them a little better. Miles driven per year, speaking from personal experience, it would be best to plan everything you can in a trip to town to avoid wasted mileage, and household bills such as electricity (which is what my household uses) would be another simple one to complete. When your not in a room just cut the light out, or turn off the TV when your done watching it don’t leave the room with it on. Another easy fix could be lowering the thermostat when away from home for a while. These are all small, but if all used together can make a big difference and thus drastically reduce...
Reducing your Carbon Footprint may be easier for some than others, although there are many things that can be implemented around the home with little effort. Be wise when lighting your home. Are you making good use of the natural light that enters your home? Probably not. Lets start getting into the habit of switching off lights when leaving a room and picking up the energy saving light bulbs that are widely available in supermarkets today. Filling the kettle to the acquired level will save on water and electricity used. By keeping televisions radios and computers switched off when not in... Once people understand the affect that their carbon footprint hasg on the planet, they often want to know how they can reduce their carbon footprint. One easy way to reduce your carbon footprint is to minimize the energy you waste. Shut off lights, air conditioning, and electrical appliances when you aren't in a room and use heat and air conditioning sparingly. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs, which will not only help the planet but help your electricity bill, too.
You can conserve water by taking shorter showers and keeping the water off while you brush your teeth. Conserve paper by using reusable canvas shopping bags. Buy locally grown produce or even better, start your own garden. Lastly, reconsider your transportation choices. Walking or riding a bike not only reduces your carbon footprint, it brings health benefits.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/183436-the-importance-of-reducing-a-carbon-footprint/#ixzz29l8ymcxu