As I reflect on my daily habits and lifestyle choices, I cannot ignore the fact that my carbon footprint is pretty high. From the amount of energy I consume to the transportation I use, I recognize that I am contributing to the negative effects of climate change. It is time for me to take responsibility and make changes to remediate this impact. I will commit to reducing my energy consumption, using public transportation or walking instead of driving when possible, and recycling as much as I can. It is essential that I acknowledge my role in this issue and take proactive steps to reduce my carbon footprint for the benefit of our planet and future generations.

I totally agree with you on reflecting on my own carbon footprint. I also feel a bit guilty for my carbon footprint being very high as well. I really like how you're self-aware and list ways to plan on changing it; I think that's very inspiring. I wonder how your experience in a different country varies from the experience with carbon footprints in the US?

Hi! I love how you are taking action for your high footprint! I wish I lived in an area that I could do the same but it is just not feasible for me to do so. I already help out with my footprint because I do recycle, but it is the transportation that is getting me.

That's a fantastic attitude man! You're right, we have to take responsibility for our footprints, even the smaller ones as it all makes a difference. We always have room for improvement so I'm sure that we all will be working on those areas of our lives that we can change to benefit our world.

Best of luck to you, Razvan. That is the first step that all of us as inhabitants of this beautiful planet must do if we want to see change for the better. We must admit to our mistakes and change and improve. If we all do that together, then there is still time to save the world.

I agree with you completely. In day to day life we all use our cars frequently and don’t recycle bear as much as we should. Due to this we are not benefiting our environment in any way. Also walking/biking is always a great way to get exercise and reduce your carbon footprint.

Congratulations, the dedication is the hardest part now. You have realized where you could to better now it is time to execute. I also see myself driving a lot or even just sitting in my car wasting gas and hurting the environment. I also will try to either car pool or ride a bike to somewhere that is close enough to ride to.

I love how you are able to realize a problem you are making and fix it that is very important to decreasing carbon emissions. I am sure after making these lifestyle changes that your carbon foot print will decrease greatly. I hope this path towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle works out well for you.

Hello! I love the self awareness from your post. You could not be more right, if everyone could use that attitude we would start to see some real change in the world. It seems to insignificant to just try and live your life a little differently to make a difference in the world. If everyone thinks that it doesn't matter if they contribute in small ways where they can because not enough people care about it then no progress is made. All it takes is recognizing where you go wrong and what you can improve to start little by little.

I agree with everything you said about thinking about my carbon effect. I also feel bad that my carbon effect is so big. I like that you know yourself and have a plan for how you're going to change. That's very inspiring. I'm eager in learning how your experience with carbon footprints in another country is different from your experience in the US.

Very good that you know that you need to take action to reduce your carbon footprint. Keep up the mindset and you'll have that number down in no time.

This is a great way to see it! While one person making some changes in their methods won't save the whole planet, if enough people take action and work on their footprints, we will see a difference. It would be much better for our environment if more people carried the same mindset as you. Keep working on it!

It is very admirable to not only see you reflect on your impact, but take action too. To take initiative and change how you do something is something that I believe more people should do. It seems a lot of people nowadays expect scientists or researchers to simply find a solution to global warming but don’t actually see their how much their own actions mean, and how much of a difference it would make if they tried. It is very hard sometimes to recognize when you are doing something bad and then have to change your ways when you have grown accustomed to it. I myself have a high carbon footprint as well and this inspires me to make a change too.

It’s really cool that you are taking action to change your carbon footprint! All the things you mentioned are all really good ways to do so. I really like what you said about acknowledging your role too. I hope many more people choose to acknowledge their role so that we can slow or even stop climate change.

I understand I do have my fair share of contributing to this negative effect. I often try to recycle us as much as possible I also use public transportation to get home and school but I do notice I use a lot of electricity. I am almost always on my phone when I turn on the lights when it is not needed. My solution is to stop being on my phone and go outside  and pick up trash if I see some and stop wasting energy.

Hi Razvan,
I'm glad i'm not alone when it comes to my carbon footprint being higher than expected on things in my life i can easily work on not doing or using as much,your we'll both be helping our earth out a lot, We got this!

I am also ashamed that my carbon footprint is high but alas, with the conditions of living nowadays, it is impossible to stop using all of the stuff we need.

Hi Razvan,
I'm glad i'm not alone when it comes to my carbon footprint being higher than expected on things in my life i can easily work on not doing or using as much,your we'll both be helping our earth out a lot, We got this!

It's so gratifying to see someone reflecting on the consequences their habits have on the environment.
It's important that we all recognise our impact, every single step is essential for the well-being of the planet.

Your initiatives are all good ways to reduce your footprint, you are an example for all of us to follow.

I can completely understand where you are coming from! It's refreshing to see someone who sees the issue of their carbon footprint and wants to fix it. I think that a lot of people should be this way and try to help fix this issue of the large amount of carbon in their footprints. When I was calculating my carbon use, I realized that there are a lot of things I should try to cut back on to help lower my carbon use. I now often feel a bit guilty for the amount of carbon I use in my day-to-day life and I want to strive for a better environment and try to find myself in a good mindset set as you have shown. I wonder how my carbon use would be different if I had been more aware of carbon and why it's bad for our environment.

I am glad that you have seen the impact that us humans have on the world. Although many of us may think that other people will handle this problem it is truly up to us in order to better the world ourselves.I have also felt this way through seeing how much power I use to play video games or how many lights I leave on in the house and I have also devoted my mind to think more about how I can be more sustainable and better the earth. according to an article published by the European Youth Portal they suggest that we eat less meat and if your willing to give that up then I think that is a great way in order to lower your carbon footprint, this is something I have worked on aswell

This takes a lot for some people to admit. I often feel guilty as to my carbon intake as well, Personally i have been trying less but i still use a good amount. It is admirable though that you can admit this and really try to take bigger steps. While it is also important to do what you can its also important to remember the role big cooperations. One big step you can take to help with reducing carbon as well is spreading word of how much these corporations put out. Try spreading knowledge about it to your community, or getting people to sign petitions. These are some other steps you can take to help with our carbon footprint.

I definitely agree with your view on this and it opens my eyes to be more aware of my carbon footprint. Being able to own up to these issues at a young age is a skill many people don't have. When you are aware of it young, it will benefit everyone in the future. We are the generation that can make or break our earth. I found it very interesting that even thought you are in a different country than me, we have very similar experiences with our feelings toward this issue.

Planes are a huge contribution to carbon emissions. For me personally and my carbon footprint, my transportation segment was up to 13,626kg which is very high considering the average in my region is 2,557kg. I was below average in all the other categories but transportation is what seemed to trip me up. According to sierraclub.org, just 2 people in a fairly efficient (30 mpg) car generates lower emissions per person than the average plane. To put this into perspective, one gallon of gas produces 19.37 pounds of carbon dioxide, and one gallon of jet fuel produces 21.50 pounds. Although plane rides are sometimes inevitable and we cannot completely avoid them, it is important to sometimes think about alternative options to flying and really run through how much CO2 the plane you're onis emitting into the atmosphere.

Plane rides are one of the most carbon-emitting ways of transportation. From my personal carbon footprint, my transportation section was up around 6,000 kgs more than normal because I took many plane rides around the world. According to billiontrees.com, a plane emits around 90 kg of C02 per hour. To put that into perspective a normal car emits around 1 kg of C02 per hour. Planes emit way more carbon because they burn a lot more fossil fuels than any other type of transportation. A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon (about 4 liters) of fuel every second. Although it is hard to avoid plane rides, the next time you are on a plane think about how much carbon the plane is emitting into the

There are therefore profound ways in which students can adopt the following to help to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the ways of converting it is through the transformation of physical resources to digital resources for academic work. For instance: Instead of re-printing out numerous drafts of a potential dissertation students can use online platforms and services. Instructors who require assistance to complete their work can easily look for services and get quality services by simply searching Google for Buy Dissertation Uk to help you get the best services as an instructor while remaining environmentally friendly. Students also save trees when they use computers as they replaced the drain of energy and cutting down trees during the writing process.

I greatly agree with this statement. replacing physical resources to digital resources really could make a difference with reducing our carbon footprint by not using certain physical sources, like papers and such. Considering paper is more cheap than digital devices, do you think money could be a roadblock to this carbon footprint solution, considering some countries may not have the money to provide these digital resources? as stated in many sources, some countries do not provide money for education, like Comoros, where education spending is around 2.4% of the total GDP. In addition, At my old school, we could not afford enough computers for every class, resulting to most of our work being done on paper. Your idea displayed can definitely help many schools and students around the world reduce their carbon footprints, but I do think money could be a big factor between whether certain schools and students can or cannot switch to this decision.

source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/25-count … otal%20GDP.

In this world, people are still learning about the problems for combustion engines, and transportation such as cars planes and buses that have on the for the fossil fuels to our atmosphere. All transportation run by combustion engines releases mass amounts of fossil fuels into our atmosphere, which leads to climate change due to greenhouse gasses. Planes especially have a contribution to the fuels, since they are huge and need lots of power to take off and maintain speed while flying. Also, with millions of cars on the streets daily, fossil fuels are also being released at an alarming rate. Even electric vehicles require a lot of energy to produce which causes the release of fossil fuels. There are a few possibilities to where we can fix this problem. For one, taking public transportation is one of the best ways to begin shortening our carbon footprint. Two, buying electric vehicle takes a huge step from combustion engines, which will extremely shorten our carbon footprint. Although they require a lot of energy to produce, if used long enough, they are more efficient than combustion engines. And finally, making commercial electric planes will help reduce the carbon footprint of many travelers.

Clothing and purchases are a huge issue relating to carbon emissions. Not only do factories release harmful gasses into the air, but it is hard or almost impossible for the materials used to decompose. According to airly.org, factories emit lots of pollutants into the air, a main one being green house gases, which mainly consist of carbon dioxide. Especially this day in age, keeping up with the trends is super important, but at what cost? People need clothes, but many purchases people make are just wants to have more. But, the more people buy, the more impact it has on our environment. 10% of carbon emissions are due to fast fashion industries. This really has me thinking, is my next purchase worth it? What do you think? Next time I will try to think before I buy.

Schimbările climatice reprezintă modificări semnificative ale climei Pământului într-o perioadă lungă de timp. Există o mare consens în comunitatea științifică că schimbările climatice sunt reale și sunt cauzate în principal de activitățile umane. Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră, cum ar fi dioxidul de carbon, provenite din arderea combustibililor fosili, precum cărbunele, petrolul și gazele naturale, contribuie la creșterea temperaturilor globale. Defrișarea masivă a pădurilor este, de asemenea, un factor important. Aceste schimbări climatice pot avea consecințe grave asupra mediului și societății, inclusiv creșterea nivelului mărilor, fenomene meteorologice extreme și pierderea biodiversității. Este important să conștientizăm aceste probleme și să luăm măsuri pentru a reduce emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră și a proteja planeta noastră.

Vehicles such as cars are a big part of getting around in the present day. But the carbon footprint they leave is huge. Gas cars release about 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year, as more cars are bought and produced the number quickly climbs. About 60% of Americans don't take public transportation or other forms of more environmentally acceptable transportation. Instead choosing to take their cars to travel, around 79% being gas cars. Instead, promoting public transportation or other forms of eco friendly transportation can support the ecosystem. Replacing travel with a gas car with public transportation reduces 45% of carbon emissions to the atmosphere, doing the same with a bike or walking can further help.

One major habitat that is hugely impacted by an increase in temperatures is the coral reef. These groups of reefs serve as home to many incredibly diverse species. However, as the ocean temperatures rise due to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the corals go through a process called "bleaching." Corals have a symbiotic relationship with a kind of single-celled dinoflagellate called zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae live inside the corals, giving them their vibrant colors and energy through photosynthesis while the corals protect the organisms. As the temperature of the ocean rises, the corals experience stress due to the shift in their environment, leading them to release the zooxanthellae. This rids them of their beautiful colors (hence the "bleaching" part) and their main source of food. So, as these corals starve and eventually die, all of the organisms that rely on the reefs as a habitat are also affected, effectively destroying an entire ecosystem. When such an important ecosystem is impacted so strongly, the rest of the world will be affected in some way, so it is vital that coral bleaching is stopped and measures are put in place to protect the reefs and other environments affected by climate change.

I agree, coral bleaching is a very serious problem impacting our oceans, and there needs to be action to fight the massive disruptions to coral reef ecosystems. For example, many species are getting pushed out of coral reef ecosystems or having to adapt to their changing habitats. Invasive species, like lionfish, are also becoming a problem in these habitats. Research by NOAA outlines the effects of invasive lionfish on coral reefs and how they add to the stress of coral reefs.

There is clearly a correlation between the two situations. in 1980 NOAA recorded an average ocean surface temperature of 0.25 degrees celsius. In 2022 the recorded an average of around 0.7 degrees celsius. Below is an image comparing images from the Great Barrier Reef from 1980 to 2020.
[img]file:///C:/Users/Findley/Downloads/338_2021_2144_Fig1_HTML.pdf[/img]

Degradarea mediului înconjurător este un proces lent, dar sigur. În prezent, poluarea și epuizarea resurselor naturale reprezintă probleme ce afectează o mare parte din populația planetei.
A venit vremea să conștientizăm faptul că resursele naturale NU sunt interminabile și că orice mică acțiune pe care o exercităm asupra mediului înconjurător, cum ar fi simpla aruncare a unui ambalaj pe stradă, va avea consecințe negative.
Iată cum puteți contribui la protejarea mediului înconjurător:
1. Nu mai aruncați gunoaie pe jos!
Pentru început, adoptați un comportament ecologic prin a evita să mai aruncați gunoaiele direct pe stradă. Există recipiente speciale pentru colectarea deșeurilor, amplasate în fiecare oraș. Fiți cetățeni responsabili și încurajați reciclarea materialelor din sticlă, hârtie și plastic, plasând deșeurile în pubelele corespunzătoare.
2. Dacă dețineți o fabrică sau o firmă care poluează mediul prin arderea materiei brute, asigurați-vă că apelați la serviciile companiilor care se ocupă de colectarea și reciclarea deșeurilor industriale, cum ar fi GREENGlobal, pentru a reduce gradul de poluare.
3. Conduceți mai rar!
Mașinile poluează EXTREM de mult prin arderea combustibilului și evacuarea acelui fum negru și toxic, care este atât de nociv pentru mediul înconjurător.

Although you may think that public transit can give off more carbon due to things like trains and subways being much bigger than the average car, that is actually not the case. Especially with big family cars like S.U.V.s, the standards car companies have to meet is much lower than the criteria that average public transit has to follow. Public Transit is made to have their vehicles emit less and less carbon every year, something that most companies do not follow. According to newyorker.com, car companies are able to classify S.U.V.s as trucks, making it so the window of carbon they are allow to emit is much larger than the average car. To conclude, yes more public transit is a solution to help stop climate change of carbon emissions.

If I had my own home, something I would do to make it more energy efficient would be remembering to turn the lights off every time I leave the house and I won't be back for a significant amount of time.  I would get my electricity from solar panels that I would put up myself attached to the roof, and make sure to put up just enough so that I would solely need the energy produced by the solar panels to survive successfully in my home.
My house would be located somewhere near a city, so it would take less carbon emission to go places every time I had to go somewhere. I would also live somewhere by public transit so that it would be more eco-friendly to take the bus or the bart train once in a while. I would grow my own food in a garden in my backyard, so I wouldn't be wasting food or money.

There is a big difference between the wants and needs. Stuff like water, shelter, food, clothes, etc. Needs are flashy shoes, high end computer, the newest phone or devices. Buying excess wants can lead to waste of resources and cause pollution because of the creation of our wants. Needs are the things we need to survive in our life. Wants can cause extra things that we don't need which becomes a waste. Having a lot of waste can cause unnecessary pollution to our Earth.

Pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death. Pollution causes more than 9 million premature deaths, the majority of them due to air pollution. That’s several times more deaths than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Air pollution is the leading environmental risk to health, causing 7 million premature deaths each year. This is equivalent to the number of people that have died from COVID-19 since March 2020. Pollution of all types hinder development outcomes. Air pollution, exposure to lead and other chemicals, and hazardous waste including exposure to improper e-waste disposal, cause debilitating and fatal illnesses, create harmful living conditions, and destroy ecosystems. Pollution stunts economic growth, exacerbates poverty and inequality in both urban and rural areas, and significantly contributes to climate change. Poor people, who cannot afford to protect themselves from the negative impacts of pollution, end up suffering the most. More than 95 percent of deaths caused by air pollution occur in low- and middle- income countries. In individual countries, the economic burden of pollution associated with premature mortality and morbidity is also significant, equivalent to 5 to 14 percent of countries' GDPs. Recent evidence points to the similar devastation caused by exposure to harmful chemicals, such as lead. In 2019, more than 5.5 million adults died from cardiovascular disease arising from lead exposure. 90% of these deaths occurred in lower- and middle-income countries. In the same year, children younger than 5 years of age lost 765 million IQ points. Lead exposure costs countries $6 trillion, equivalent to 6.9% of global GDP. It is critical to address pollution because of its unacceptable toll on health and human capital, as well as associated GDP losses. Pollution management can also make substantial contributions to climate change mitigation through actions such as reduction of black carbon and methane emissions, which contribute to both air pollution and climate change. In addition, pollution management can enhance competitiveness, for example, through job creation, better energy efficiency, improved transport, and sustainable urban and rural development.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poll … 20combined.

It really depends on what the want is.  For example, electric cars (Teslas) are made to lower the amount of carbon emission out of cars.  But the trade off is that when the lithium for the batteries is mined, then it emits 15 tons of carbon as well.  Sometimes it is alright to pollute if it will help the earth in another way but most of the time we should not pollute our planet for our material wants.

Needs are something that every person has, and as time goes on these needs will be completely different from 100 years ago. Everyone needs water, shelter, and food, but as time goes on it becomes more necessary for adults to have things such as smart phones and cars in order to keep their other basic needs. While these things do cause extra waste they still are necessary for people to have in a modern society. So to combat this it's important that people make use of these things for long periods of time making sure they use their phones for multiple years and possibly utilize electric cars in order to reduce their carbon output.

Clothing and fashion are two of my biggest interests, yet what is happening behind the scenes? According to NRDC anywhere from 4-8.6% of carbon emissions are from clothing production. I love to go thrift shopping and try to reuse clothes as much as possible, due to the fact that the fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions; and waste nearly 97 million tons of clothing. Are these trends so important that you should value them more than mother earth? NO! Next time you walk into a store to purchase a clothing item, think of how much carbon has been emitted to create it. Is it really worth it?

Over the past couple of weeks I have been learning about carbon and the atmosphere, but this calculator really put the amount of CO2 into perspective for me. Our lifestyles, especially in America, are so damaging to the atmosphere and most of the things we do to contribute in this way are not worth the effects. Things such as buying unnecessary clothes, eating at fast food chains such as mcdonalds and starbucks. I, like most people my age, enjoy these things however, when I calculated my carbon footprint a big portion of it was due to shopping or driving an unnecessary amount. When everyone has as big of a carbon footprint as me, and I am sure most do, we cause tremendous damage to our atmosphere and everything on this Earth. So I ask again, is it worth it?

The problem of food scarcity for many people has persisted for at least 50 years, if not longer. There are areas on Earth where people literally die of hunger and receive aid only from humanitarian organizations, which, of course, cannot solve this huge problem on their own. Additionally, in recent years, even in the wealthiest countries, there has been an increase in poverty, which, of course, leads to difficulties in accessing food.

To solve this problem, both internal and external, there should be a massive economic commitment from the wealthier countries. While they work to address the internal issue of poverty and food shortages, they seem to completely ignore those countries where people are dying of hunger. Only the wealthy part of the world could currently make a difference by providing real economic aids and educational support to help these countries make the most of their limited resources.

In some of these countries, it is also unfortunate to note that the political situation plays a role, with extremist governments refusing foreign aids.

I totally agree with these statements and believe that these government officials should be doing something about the amount of food waste, and amount of hunger that is contributing to the overall human carbon footprint. According to a recent study done by CarbonBrief.org, it says that about ⅓ of the world’s carbon emissions come from food production through to consumption. Also, about half of one-third comes directly from food waste. It is absolutely crazy to me that so many people in the world are starving, while others throw away so much food. Also the ISCFC website under the food waste and hunger category, it says that about 1 in 7 people in the entire world are affected by malnutrition and do not have enough food or access to food. Many large countries such as the United States contribute a lot to food waste as it says, on average, the US wastes 60 million tons of food each year. That is simply not okay. In contrast, many countries in Africa are affected by starvation and malnutrition. People need to stop ignoring these facts and help out so that we can make a difference. If we stop wasting food altogether, others who truly need the food can have it, which would lessen the carbon footprint of food waste.

I agree with your statement, world hunger is a real problem and it is scary knowing that people don't acknowledge the plight. Food waste contributes to major problems like world hunger and carbon footprints contributing to Global warming. The ideal carbon footprint is 6000-16000 pounds of greenhouse gases per person per year, due to global warming this isn't a realistic number for us but with food waste the production of gases is the same as 32.6 million cars worth of harmful greenhouse gases. I feel like people should be more aware of this problem because one of the many steps that will lead us to try to end world hunger/food waste is to freeze our leftover food if we don't eat it completely. Once we learn how to save our leftovers and not discard them right away, we will not only be able to stop food waste but also take advantage of the precious resources that sometimes we take for granted and help stop emitting greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Bringing awareness to this topic is major because a large population with fewer resources are not able to get food which can lead them to hunger.

I agree that food scarcity is a growing issue that we need to combat. According to worldvision.org 45 million children are dangerously malnourished. This issue is especially prevalent in Asia and Africa. Wealthier countries should be focused on helping these less fortunate countries in providing food to people because together we can solve this issue. According to usda.org production, transportation, and handling of food contributes a significant amount to Carbon emissions. Living in a more fortunate country, we often waste food or take it for granted.

I agree that food scarcity is expanding in places of the world and it is effecting a lot of people leaving them in jeopardy. For example in Sudan 20.3 million people are starving and it has doubled since last year. Along with that, since 2019, the number of people facing acute food insecurity has tripled from 5.8 million to almost 18 million. But some of the saddest reasons is how the International aid is arriving in Sudan but it's being blocked by the military from reaching areas where starvation is severe.

-Christian Sanchez BOD27

I completely agree! World hunger is such a layered topic, especially since it seems there is not much we can do to stop it. I think people have this idea that big issues cannot be affected by one singular person, and while I totally agree with this, I also think that if everybody chooses to ignore this and instead work towards creating a better, more sustainable world, then we can reverse the effects of climate change. World hunger is a big issue because it is one that negatively impacts both people and the planet. According to the World Health Organization (or WHO), in 2021 alone, 828 million people faced world hunger. That's almost 10% of the world's population. To deal with this issue, many people think that we should produce more food because not enough food is being produced to feed everyone. This, however, is false. The World Counts stated that roughly 30% of the food that is produced is wasted. Thats 1.3 billion tons. In other words, if we redirected the food that was previously going to be wasted to hungry individuals, we would be able to feed everyone who is hungry around the world and still have some left over. In order to get to the root of this issue, we must change the way so many of us live. This means committing to purchasing only what you are sure will be consumed. Lowering the demand for food results in lower prices, which would allow for more accessible food globally. Additionally, grocery stores should be accessible to everyone, not just individuals who live in a certain area. By allowing access to healthy, budget-friendly, environmentally safe foods, people who previously relied on fast food industries will cut down on their carbon emissions both because they wouldn't have to drive as far to access clean food, but also because they would be purchasing organic foods rather than fast food, which is worse for the environment. This is extremely important because according to Our World in Data, around 25-30% of the world's carbon emissions come from the food industry. Has this number come up before? Yes, the % of food that is wasted. As food decays, it releases previously stored carbon, so by reducing the amount of food waste, we will actually reduce the carbon footprint of the food industry. In summation, it is imperative that we work towards directing unpurchased or (what would have been) wasted food to places in a state of insecurity to not only better the lives of those individuals, but also minimize the impact of the food industry's carbon footprint on global warming.

Major company’s such as Zara, Starbucks, Coca Cola etc. claim to be more environmentally friendly than they in fact are. In order to avoid facing repercussions for their negligence. This creates a false narrative that they are not causing as much damage to the environment as originally thought. Even in my community we see green washing within what our schools invest in for scholarship money. So a small group of students including myself have started a discussion about divestment, and making sure the company’s we invest in are environmentally friendly. In order to enact true change we need to know what we are dealing with first, and Green washing is preventing that.

Greenwashing is a huge issue, especially for big companies who want to flaunt being environmentally friendly so people will be more willing to buy from them. The Federal Trade Commision website has a great guide for criteria for consumers who are looking to buy from a genuinely green company. It also makes it easy for companies to understand what practices they need to change in order to be more friendly to the planet. If anyone is interested in this info, it can be found at: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/ … een-guides

I totally agree with this. I think its so sad how companies such as the ones you mentioned above are lying to people. It also sucks that people think they are doing good by supporting those brands that are claiming to be green but instead of helping make the CO2 levels better, its just getting worse. I am glad that there has been something created that lets people know what companies really are green. Even though websites like this exist, so many people still do not realize that they are being lied to and may go on forever buying from these brands. I hope that your websites as well as others can continue to have awareness being spread about them so that as many people as possible can help limit their CO2 levels.

In my science and environment class, we have been learning about climate change and how we contribute to it. Based on the calculator my most above-average category was transportation. Because me and my family travel a lot by car, plane, and other ways we have gone above average. One thing we have done correctly is having an electric car. This helps to put less carbon in the air. Now that I know I have contributed to this problem more than others, I have to find better ways to bring it down. Things I have found that could help is traveling by things you need to move physically. Another category that was above average was food. During class, we found out that certain foods release more carbon than others, and those foods seem to be the ones I consume more. One of the strategies that was offered in class was to take a day out of the week to not eat those types of food to help contribute as much. Now that I am aware of how I harm and ways I can undo the harm and help, I will try to do better with the choices I choose in my daily life.

Clothing is one thing I truly enjoy, but at what cost? I love shopping but after my class took the carbon footprint calculator I realized clothing is such a huge contribution to carbon emissions. According to NRDC anywhere from 4-8.6% of carbon emissions are from clothing production. I talk about how I love to buy second-hand or used clothes however as much as I would like to think I mostly thrift, I have many new clothes from stores that contribute to fast fashion. Are these new clothes really something I need to be getting? Finding clothes from thrift stores is much more friendly to the environment because you are actually taking out of the 92 million tons of clothing thrown away each year. When I'm out shopping I often think "buying just one top won't hurt the environment" but in actuality the amount of people that have the exact same thought as me is what causes extreme rates of carbon in the atmosphere. Next time I'm at a store and I want to buy a shirt, I really need to think about carbon emissions that have gone into our atmosphere due to the production of this clothing item and how many clothing items have been produced along with it.

Clothing is one thing I truly enjoy, but at what cost? I love shopping but after my class took the carbon footprint calculator I realized clothing is such a huge contribution to carbon emissions. According to NRDC anywhere from 4-8.6% of carbon emissions are from clothing production. I talk about how I love to buy second-hand or used clothes however as much as I would like to think I mostly thrift, I have many new clothes from stores that contribute to fast fashion. Are these new clothes really something I need to be getting? Finding clothes from thrift stores is much more friendly to the environment because you are actually taking out of the 92 million tons of clothing thrown away each year. When I'm out shopping I often think "buying just one top won't hurt the environment" but in actuality the amount of people that have the exact same thought as me is what causes extreme rates of carbon in the atmosphere. Next time I'm at a store and I want to buy a shirt, I really need to think about carbon emissions that have gone into our atmosphere due to the production of this clothing item and how many clothing items have been produced along with it.

Recently my whole grade took this footprint calculator, and the following question was then asked all around the school; "what was your footprint"? While it may be easier to joke about how high or low someones score it is important that we actually think about these numbers and how they affect the world around us. Looking at my score I was struck by how the averages compared to my personal numbers. I will admit that many of my choices are not based on how eco-friendly they are, but more based on how convenient when it comes to transport and how cute when it comes to shopping. Both of my parents work is surrounding climate change, so growing up I was constantly being encouraged to make the choice that was more climate friendly. I often ignored this, if my friends parent offered me a ride home I was going to take it, or if I thought a shirt was cute it was a given I was going to buy it, even if I didn't NEED that ride or shirt. In the future I will strive to base my choices more on how it affects the planet.

What is the difference between wants and needs? In my opinion, wants are things that I can live without, but needs are things I can’t. For example, water, food, clothes are obvious needs. But what about those shoes that you want, do actually need them? If you have no shoes then yes, but what about those shoes sitting at the back of the shoe closet. Buying whatever you want and getting sick of it is just a waste of money and material. Prioritizing needs over wants ensures efficient resource allocation. Indulging in wants without consideration can lead to wasteful consumption. Being mindful of consumption habits not only benefits finances but also reduces environmental impact and promotes sustainability. Therefore, before indulging in a want, assess its alignment with needs and values.

I agree. Things that are essential to life, such as food, water, and shelter, are called needs. Conversely, desires are items we would want to have, including toys, new technology, and more. Most of the items we purchase, including pricey clothing and other items, wind up in a landfill. Anything that we use and eventually breaks or grows too tiny ends up in a landfill. Over 92 million tons of apparel end up in landfills, according to the report. This is due to fast fashion. Fast fashion is very common these days and shops like ZARA, H&M, and TOPSHOP are the biggest producers of it. This is why we have to consider when we buy clothes. Be reasonable. Don't buy clothes every single day.

Wants and needs vary, a simple definition is needs being things you must have to survive most which fit under the criteria of food, rent/mortgage things that are necessities. While wants are simply things you want to have could be a game console, a new tv or some snacks. The separation between wants and needs is that the more necessities or needs that you have the more money or time/effort you have to put into it which in some cases causes more pollution which isn't good. Aswell as adding to that with your wants, the more wants the worse it can be. So ultimately your wants and needs can affect your pollution and your carbon footprint. They can affect it with things such as lights.Also anything that affects energy can add to your footprint. As well leaving a tv on and running adds to your footprint which in some cases are wants like when you want to watch tv and then your done and leave it on it constantly adds up more and more and other things like food the more snacks and stuff you buy just because you want it also adds to your footprint. As well as your purchases this adds as well and driving around. All these things add to your footprints and can be affected by how you use them for your car. Maybe you have to drive to work but after you want to go to McDonalds, that's a want that affects the pollution. Maybe you're at the grocery store and you see some clothes that you want that affect your carbon footprint.

I 100% agree. Wants and needs are completely separate things. While food, water, oxygen, and shelter from the elements are things that we could not live without, there are so many things that we use that are unnecessary. In California, USA, the average person uses 1,191 kgs of CO2 on purchases alone. I use 119 kgs of CO2 alongside my purchases. I know that a lot of those purchases are unnecessary and I also know that it will be higher when I have to pay for everything myself, however, this is just to show the high level of wants vs needs in the world, specifically the USA and my own state.

I think that there is a part of me that wants to fuel my want, and another part that tells me to not be wasteful. I 100% agree that needs are what should be prioritized and that we should be mindful of every purchase we make, but there are some times where being frivolous is good if regulated. I think even if purchase causes waste, we can still balance the slightly unnecessary buying habits and the waste that we produce, maybe just to twice a year or something like that. Knowing that a balance between these two is the ultimate want, It begs the question- Which should/can we choose first, the fulfillment of human want, or the necessity of global cleanliness? I think that this is what the world is struggling to work past. the general public, governments, people in power, i feel, have been taking the easy route. they have been focusing on themselves and what directly affects them or their group in this moment, which is not always what we should be thinking about. they have only scraped the surface of what it means to have a balance of the two in the last couple years, and even through all the protesting and attention that this movement is getting, it just isn't enough. I know that once the necessity of global cleanliness has caught up to the people in power who chose to step aside, who chose to deal with other matters first, will be then facing a problem that they cannot handle. this is what scares me.

I agree as well. Nowadays, with social media constantly advertising new products and steadily generating new trends everyday, our consumption numbers have gone up significantly. This has caused our carbon footprint to increase. Content creators are constantly displaying a plethora of new clothes and “trendy” items they purchase consistently and influencing their thousands of followers to do the same. In my own personal experience, I see influencers on social media buy frivolous pieces of clothing that are an example of fast fashion. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, fast fashion is, “an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” In other words it is cheap, poor-quality clothing, made quickly to keep up with the trends being perpetuated by social media. This clothing is not sustainable because of its poor quality and because it is a part of a trend that will most likely “go out of style” within the next few months. Once one trend fades, another is created and the cycle continues. People will continue participating in fast fashion to keep up with the trends, just to throw away those clothes in the subsequent months. All this clothing is being quickly produced and just as quickly thrown away takes a humongous toll on our carbon footprint. Giving into these trends and purchasing unneeded clothing is leading to wasteful consumption.

I agree with everything that has been said on this thread but I would like to add the aspect of how influencers can cause us to make "impulse purchases". When we see someone we really like to watch advertise a product on social media it causes us to have a more biased take on the product, as if one of our own friends had recommended it, we feel like because this "internet famous" person owns and loves this product, and since they are recommending it then it must really be a good product. But their praise may cause us to cloud our view of if the product is actually worth it or not. Many influencers just advertise products for the money even if they don't like the product and see it as a useless item. I would recommend everyone having their own unique checklist as to what is worthy to buy and what is not, and just because an influencer praises something doesn't mean it should meet your checklist. By making these impulse buys just because we saw it online and it is easy to order through amazon, we waste our time, the workers time, our money and precious resources which are limited to this world. Every time we make an unnecessary purchase we have a bigger impact on the earth because of the carbon footprint from that item being made, transported, and then dumped into a landfill. We need to cut these purchases out of our lives.

I concur. The things we need to survive, like food, water, and shelter, are known as needs. On the other hand, the things we desire, such as toys, new gadgets, and more, fall under the category of wants. Unfortunately, most of the items we purchase, including expensive clothing, end up in landfills. Anything we use that eventually breaks or becomes too small is also discarded.

I definitely agree. Purchasing things you don't need, such as clothes and other products, to merely stay "on trend" is wasteful and has a bigger impact than you think. The transportation and shipment involved in each purchase contribute to these carbon emissions. From the resources used in the production to the emissions generated during transportation, each step contributes to its overall environmental footprint. According to BBC.com, "The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions." Most of this impact comes from raw materials such as cotton, synthetic materials, oil, and chemicals from dyes. These wants are nonessential, while our needs are crucial to human survival in today’s society. These needs include food, water, shelter, and healthcare. Prioritizing these necessities is vital for people to live fulfilling and dignified lives.

Reflecting on my family's footprint, I did not realize that the contributors to carbon were either extreme or did not make much of a difference. Throughout the test I would take note on how much that certain category would contribute, and most times it would be shocking. Most of the time, I had previous knowledge from others such as teachers and my dad, but I never knew it would be that much. For example, I never thought water usage in showers would count for so much. I always had knowledge that the amount of water one uses wastes clean water, but I never thought it would be so huge in regards to carbon. Another question I was shocked at was my diet, not being vegetarian. I never knew that what you eat contributed to over a fifth of my footprint. I would like to know why/what causes it to be so high.

Over the past few classes, my class and I have learned about climate change and how our lifestyles contribute to the problem. As an assignment we took it upon ourselves to take a carbon footprint quiz. My carbon footprint was 6,269, which is under average of the region I live in. I learned that the average carbon input is 9,727kgs in California. Though my carbon input is low, I can easily change my eating habits to make it even lower. The amount of carbon it takes to process red meat is 36x the amount it takes to process poultry. If I make the switch from eating red meat to poultry, my carbon input will lower significantly. My family is very energy conservative, so I have gotten used to turning off the lights and stop the faucet when not in use. Another way I can reduce my input is by stop purchasing from fast fashion companies and start shopping at thrift stores. If everyone in the world could make a few changes in their life, the state of our climate could improve so much. I watched this video by Amanda Gorman who is a poet and activist, it really motivated me to make a difference in the world.