I fly every year or two to see my family in Japan and it adds a lot to my carbon footprint. Even though it might have a big impact, it's extremely hard to skip out on seeing family I rarely ever get to see. My family and I do still try to be green whenever we can for our trip, we choose the eco friendliest routes that have the least stops, and sometimes my mom even brings home some recyclables because there is no recycling system in rural Japan.

By far the largest impact to my carbon footprint was transportation, specifically flying. This is because I have family across the country that I visit twice a year, as well as I travelled to visit extended family across the world for the first time this year. This is a difficult decision for me, because while I care a lot about lowering my carbon footprint, I do not know if it is worth it to sacrifice seeing my family. Though my family does purchase carbon offsets to help mitigate the impact, I still feel bad about flying so much when I know it has such a huge negative impact. I think this is a difficult issue for people who live far away from their families, and I'm not sure what is the right thing to do.

Hi tivakc, I think what you are saying makes perfect sense; yes, it uses lots of carbon to fly places but it's also necessary if you want to stay in touch with your family. I also have family out of the country and in different Provences that I would not give up seeing just because of the environmental impact. There are so many other things I (and many others do) to reduce their carbon footprint. I believe it is up to the government and engineers to make flying more sustainable. The plane was a great invention at the time but now as the environment is at risk, it is time for a change, and unfortunately, as individuals, we can not make this change. However, we can write letters and campaign for a change.

Something that I know contributes to my carbon footprint is my consumption of meat. However, I find myself unable to give it up. This is due to the valuable amounts of protein, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that the human body acquires when you eat meat. I understand that it's bad for the environment because of the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Another reason that meat consumption is bad for the environment is because land used to raise animals loses water, soil, and trees while untreated waste pollutes streams and rivers. I believe something I could do to still eat meat but reduce my carbon footprint is got only eats meat two days a week at most. I currently eat meat 4-5 days a week and while I can't give it up entirely, I think that trying to reduce the amount of meals I eat with meat in them, by eating vegetarian or plant-based alternatives to meat, could help the environment.

i think what your doing is honestly super good because i know that not every one can completly cut out meat from there diet. if every one ate meat only once or twice a week the green house gases being released would decrease by alot. though i dont completly agree with your first statment because you can acquire proteins and such from many other things that dont put the welfare of an animal down.

I think you cutting out some of the meats is great, but you can find other sources of finding protein for your diet. You wouldn’t have to fully give up meats and just have it a few times a week instead of cutting it off and finding different sources, though keeping the meat intake down keeps the green house gasses down a lot.

I think that it is very good that you are cutting on your meat consumption to help the environment but I suggest instead of just cutting out all meat and animal products you could instead start trying new forms of protein and other source of nutrients like soy based forms of protein like tofu or eat other alternative meats like beyond beef that is made of plant based ingredients so you get the sources from meat but without the methane and co2 emissions so I think its a very good ting you should try it

I can totally relate to you Louisa! I'm in the exact same position where I fully understand the impacts that eating meat has on the environment and my carbon footprint but I also am not able to fully get rid of it. This is because of my culture and my family for we eat meat for at least 3 meals a day, and because I have eaten meat my whole life, abruptly getting rid of it can have many different negative effects on my body. Even though it is difficult for me to completely give up eating meat, I still try my best to reduce my meat consumption by eating more vegetarian meals and reducing my meat consumption to 1-2 meals a day or every other day and even less in the near future (like how you eat meat 4-5 days a week and are trying to reduce it to 2 days a week). I'm taking it slowly because there's times like dinner where I don't really get to choose what to eat as I eat dinner with my family, but I'm slowly convincing them to eat more vegetarian/vegan meals. Other ways that I try to reduce my meat consumption is alternatives like tofu. You can find many delicious no-meat recipes to make in replacement of your usual meat meals.

one thing that is off the table for me is eating meat. Even though i do realize meat is a crucial part of a lot of people’s diets and not an easy thing to give up, and i still think a lot of people aren’t aware of the serious affects meat has on our environment. The 1st thing i have to say about meat is how much land it takes to raise meat that is fully grown, one thing i’m not sure most of you know is that feeding someone who is vegan for a year takes only 1/6th of an acre of land while someone on a meat and dairy diet for a year uses 18 times that amount of land. i think this is a very scary statistic but also a very real one, raising meat does use a lot of land and meat eaters have to realize that. the 2nd thing i have to say about meat is how much methane cows produce, cows produce this methane through there farts, burps or poop, we contribute to this by eating cows considering how many are bred because of the demand we put on them meaning more of the methane they produce is going up into the atmosphere. i think it is a really good idea for people to consider eating less meat and dairy meals each week as it is a great way to help save our planet.

Hi i think this is a great point and is honestly very informative, i did notice you put this under the “Off the Table” category and off the table means something you wouldn’t do. I agree completely and this reality is horrifying. I’m really considering cutting off on as much meat and dairy as possible for me.

hi, thank you so much i just noticed this, please disregard this message as i am going to put it in the right category soon.

One thing that Is "off the table" for me Is my phone I always listen to music when I'm doing my work like I am right now and I need It to find out If I am getting picked up after school or walking. I also to let my parents know where I'm at when I go hang with friends. And sometimes when I don't have my laptop for school I use my phone to turn In assignments that are due or to look something up. But I have to have to charge It a lot I also have a portable charger i keep with me because my phone die's fast but It also charges fast and It take my whole lunch brake for It to get to 40% witch is pretty good.

I agree with you as I also am not willing to let go of electronics. They help me with many in my daily life in so many ways like communication with friends and family, listening to music, learning new topics, and more.

I also agree! Using electronics can be really helpful as learning and communication tools, but I, and a lot of other people, are also very guilty of having them as our main source of entertainment.As I'm getting into sustainability and the effects of our carbon footprints, I believe this is something I need to change. So while cutting electronics out entirely is off the table, I think I should at least limit how much I use them.

I for one agree that us as a population should limit our screen times so we can lower the power that goes to not life dependent appliances like showering and cooking but I also understand that using your phone can have heaps of great benefits for you like learning new things about how to be as eco-friendly as possible so there's pros and cons but I think its a good idea to be more mindful about how our screen time can affect the environment that is around us

I mostly agree with you because i need my phone for school and communication with parents or friends. However, i think i could be on my phone less. There are times when i loose track of time watching mindless videos on TikTok or other time wasting apps. I’m not saying to never go on your phone or not go on those apps at all, i don’t think they are bad i just think as a society we don’t need to be spending as much time on them. Treat those apps as down time not an all the time thing.

I agree that phone use is mostly off the table for example i need my phone to contact my parents sometimes and i think that phones are off the table for safety issues. But at the same time i think we can minimize our screen time and thus properly balance our own safety and minimizing carbon emissions. something personally off the table for me is driving, i wish i could change my driving significantly as it is a my main carbon emission source. But since my dad lives far away from my school it is necessary for me to drive a long way to get to school and other places too.

I play a high level of hockey which requires me to drive to training 4 times a week as well I have games during the weekends, and sometimes I have to travel to rinks that are very far away and I have to go there on a team bus, for example a few weeks ago I had to play a team that is a 13 hour drive away from me not to mention tournaments as well. Basically hockey is such an important part of my life so for me driving is off the table.

I agree with KPR#31. I also have to drive a ton for my activities. I live really far from my school and have to drive about 80km for sports per week. It isn't great and I wish I could make some changes, but don't really think many other options are feasible. I've considered using public transit, but it would add an extra hour to hour and a half to my commute time, which isn't really an option when I only have about an hour and a half between school and sports. In short, I wish I could do something, but driving is really the only option

I know eating meat and animal products are horrible for the environment, but it isn't really something I think I could give up. As an athlete, I think animal products are one of the best protein wise and for building muscle, but for example: it takes 3,000 litres of water to make a single burger. This is really bad for the environment and is definitely not sustainable, but personally think plant alternatives and beyond meat just cant really replace it.

I know eating meat and animal products are horrible for the environment, but it isn't really something I think I could give up. As an athlete, I think animal products are one of the best protein wise and for building muscle, but for example: it takes 3,000 litres of water to make a single burger. This is really bad for the environment and is definitely not sustainable, but personally think plant alternatives and beyond meat just cant really replace it.

After doing my calculations, the CO2 released from just driving came to 2271kg, only coming second to my meat-eating. I would like to bring that number down, but that wouldn't be feasible for me. I play hockey, so I have to drive around a lot, even going to rinks up to 3 hours away 2-3 times a week. Any other form of transportation wouldn't work for me, to take my bag on the bus or train would take up too much space and I would be afraid with the price of my gear to lose anything. Hockey is such a big part of my life and I'm not willing to give it up to bring down my transportation carbon footprint.

After going through the carbon footprint survey I have realized that my carbon footprint just from travel is insane. I can't control this as much since it is driving to baseball which is around 2 hours a day 4 times a week. Also, driving to games all the way across the country. There could be some ways to minimize this though like if we had an electric car we could save less on the C02 emissions from gas. The Department of Ecology says "Driving faster burns more fuel and emits more air pollutants. Accelerating gradually also burns less fuel. Getting a vehicle moving from a complete stop uses the most energy, so go easy on the accelerator. Try to anticipate the road ahead and avoid racing from red light to red light."(Melanie Foster). Doing this well taking long trips would be a very good start to making my travel safer for the environment. Another big issue that my family has is since we are always on the road we tend to have to waste lots of food because we are going out to eat all the time. Our always buying out. I also struggle with off the table with my consumption of meat since it is the main source of every meal I eat because I just enjoy the flavor so much and be I need the protein to be able to be able to perform my athletics at a high level. Some ways I could take this down by eating out less. Making meals that we can make in a hotel that is healthier to the economy like plant based foods. The United Nations says "Plant-based foods – such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils – generally use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas intensities than animal-based foods."(United Nations) Doing some of these steps could make a massive change in my carbon emission.

I agree with this because my transportation carbon footprint number is also the biggest contributor since I do activities four times a week that I drive to  and from which are really important to me. Although it is possible to take public transportation to and from my activity. So I will sometimes but it is just annoying after a long tiring day to have to walk to the bus then bus home so I usually drive the twenty minutes. So to bring my number down I’d want to do other things like bus to school in the mornings instead of taking my ride to my activities away.

One thing that i struggle to limit myself with is definitely my electricity use. In this society especially, we rely on most of our entertainment, communication, and school and work resources online. Especially with our current world situation, i think i speak for a lot of us when i say i find myself turning to my phone or laptop quite a bit to spend free time or just to occupy myself. Although i do hope we can move more towards using solar energy/more eco friendly energy sources in general, i think its quite hard to cut down on my energy use at the moment.

I agree. Like you mentioned, my electricity usage has also gone up with our current situation. Most of my homework/learning happens online, and I have found myself spending free time on a device instead of spending time outdoors or meeting friends. Although personally limiting the usage of electricity is off the table. I am willing to charge my devices for less time (instead of all night) and completely turn it off when it is not used. I hope to slowly limit my time spent on energy sources and reduce my carbon footprint.

I agree. Before COVID, the majority of my time was spent going out either to go out with friends or to go to sports or any extracurricular activities. Now, we need to be extra careful when doing these activities, so I do spend a lot of time on the computer or my phone; sometimes for school and sometimes to catch up with some friends online. It is hard but I am trying to get better at not being on my phone/technology if I'm not doing homework or something productive.

I agree wholeheartedly. Before the coronavirus my electricity usage was low but now it is increased significantly. Now I need to use it for schoolwork/class and for playing videogames. But I try to reduce my carbon footprint by removing my charger when I am not using it and turning off my lights when I am not in the room.

I agree. Before covid, I was just starting to think about how much electricity I used and now it's even worse. All my work is online and I find myself grabbing my device a lot more. Then whenever I finish doing my homework I usually go straight to another device because I feel like there is nothing else to do (coming from someone with a very short attention span). Obviously there are other things but I still need to find something that interests me.

I also agree. I do not have many hobbies or I struggle to stick to any, so electronics such as my phone and laptop are what I use daily to cure boredom. I also have trouble when it comes to sleeping because I need for a show to be on in order for me to fall asleep, which I use my laptop for. I am trying to find hobbies to stick to but it is so hard, especially when my laptop is something I am already used to.

I agree too. While my parents tell me to put the electronics away, I can't get myself to do it sometimes mainly when there is nothing there is to do.

My electronic use went up 100% because of our current situation. We depend on electronics for a lot of different things and also just use them for fun which I do a lot.

While I agree that sometimes it is quite hard to get away from your phone or computer, I think we should move towards not only using solar panels, or eco friendly sources, but also start to have more social life as there is more and more opportunity now that covid is settling down a bit. Social life and just spending time with other people reflects a LOT on our development as ourselves and I think is is incredibly important that we can have that again.

Personally speaking phone and computer charging is very little of our home energy usage, however it was much larger during distance learning. About 35% of energy usage relating to IT (data centers, communication networks, computer software, etc.) is from computers so this pandemic would have affected this a lot. It will be interesting to see how the rise in electric cars in the coming decades will affect global electricity usage.

I totally relate. I've been trying to regulate myself and my screen time lately, but it's kind of hard to do that when pretty much all my school work is on my laptop/phone.

Using electricity is definitely a major concern because it’s one of the hardest things to cut out. The way our society is wired, especially after the effects of the pandemic, make it impossible to not use electricity. There is of course a simple solution; clean energy sources. Unfortunately not everyone has the money or access to solar panels, a windmill or something similar. It’s incredibly frustrating to know that there is a solution but so many people can’t use it because rich people refuse to let go of the energy sources they have invested in.

I definitely agree with this, energy is difficult to cut out in this society. We live in this world of heating, cooling and lighting, things we couldn't live without. Since we are trying to limit our paper use, we end up spending more time on phones or laptops to do homework, pay bills or check the news. There is no way to cut off our energy use completely, our world is not built for that. I think energy use should be on the table for something we can fix because there are solutions. Like as "folklore" said clean energy is one. But you can also try to limit your energy use now by putting on a sweater instead of turning the heat up and turning off lights when you leave a room.

one thing that is off the table for me is eating meat.
personally, i eat meat/eggs quite often, and i am willing to bring that frequency down, but i dont every see myself being vegan or vegetarian. the reason why i couldnt is that 1, i do like the taste of eggs and meat, and enjoy eating it, 2 many meat substitutes like soy are growing on land that was rainforest, and was razed to plant soy,so i feel like its almost as bad? and 3 i am quite active, and i dont know how i could eat enough protein without animal products.
even though my family still eats meat we try not to eat beef that much, and we don't drink milk at all, so i would still say we are doing our part to reduce carbon emissions.

i agree with your first reason and that is completly valid and that's your opinion. your second reason is not quite right because according to a statistic plant based diets use 75% less land then a normal diet so more meat is being grown on that land then soy ect. i am also very active and a really simple sustaitute is iron suplaments you just take a pill every other day and you will not be short on protien in the least. i think its really great that your limiting your meat and dairy though.

i completely agree with frhfbhadksbc, niobe b, your first point was very understandable and makes a lot of sense.
i do think though that your second point is not entirely true because a according to you can grow 37,000 lbs of vegetables in a year on the same amount of land you can grow only 375 lbs of meat. livestock growth is also responsible for 136 million acres of land being used worldwide. i think this really shows that eating dairy and eggs is worse for the environment then the soy substitutes. so please do more research before you say such blunt things. however i am glad you are willing to eat less meat meals and make a sacrifice for our environment.

(this is what i was supposed to say by the way) i completely agree with frhfbhadksbc, niobe b, your first point was very understandable and makes a lot of sense.
i do think though that your second point is not entirely true because a according to the conspiracy documentary you can grow 37,000 lbs of vegetables in a year on the same amount of land you can grow only 375 lbs of meat. livestock growth is also responsible for 136 million acres of land being used worldwide. i think this really shows that eating dairy and eggs is worse for the environment then the soy substitutes. so please do more research before you say such blunt things. however i am glad you are willing to eat less meat meals and make a sacrifice for our environment.

Some things might not be able to be off of the table for some people, such as driving less, which is oftentimes beyond their control. Someone can’t always choose to drive less because of places that are essential, but might not be close enough to them to be reasonable to make a trip to as often as necessary. An example of somewhere that a person might need to travel to is their place of work. It’s necessary for some jobs to be far away from other things, such as an airport or military base. Also, there can sometimes not be reasonably priced living accommodations nearby, or none at all, which would cause them to have to have a longer commute to work everyday. Another thing that might cause a greater commute distance would be needing to go to a certain store, whether it be for prices, preference, or dietary needs.
An additional thing that might be uncompromisable to some people is limiting their electronic usage. In the modern world, electronic usage is oftentimes essential to most people’s day to day lives. They might be used for  entertainment, communication, work, education,  but oftentimes there is a lot of usage of electronics for the latter two which cannot be adjusted.
Overall, there would need to be a greater change than just people changing their habits, such as the availability of certain resources in shorter distances to all people, in order to decrease emissions caused by commute time. There would also need to be a change in the way that some people have work, education, communication, or entertainment, which isn’t always possible. An alternative solution to these problems might not be to restrict the amount of them that people do, but rather make driving and using electronics less harmful to the environment.

I completely agree. I live a thirty-minute drive away from school, which means I drive five hours total to get to and from school every week. And I can't exactly just not go to school to reduce my carbon emissions. However, I do carpool with two other students to reduce my carbon footprint, but that does not take away from the fact that I must drive to school every day. The electronic thing is additionally a valid point! In this day and age, I use my computer and phone every day. My electronics are how I communicate with others and get my schoolwork done. I can admit that I should probably spend less time on my phone for entertainment, but I do use it for school and to communicate every day. In addition, I think that computers are a much better alternative to paper. With the current rate of deforestation, I do not believe that using my computer is more detrimental than chopping down trees so I can do my Spanish homework.

Fireworks are very frequently used and in heavy, unhealthy amounts. Disneyland itself spends over $50 million on hundreds of thousands of fireworks every single year. Even if they stopped doing that, all over the world on Halloween, Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, birthdays, weddings, ceremonies, and many more special occasions, fireworks are being used every single year. Have you noticed that gigantic cloud of smoke after the fireworks at an event? That's all the toxic smoke that pollutes the air we breathe. And that's just after a single event you attended. Fireworks contribute to combustion and release greenhouse gasses at the same time. Apart from that, much of the debris from used fireworks is not biodegradable and ends up being left on the ground as litter. A much safer and eco-friendly alternative to fireworks would be using paper confetti poppers or even cannons and blasters for celebrations.

Wow, I never realized fireworks could be so harmful to the environment. Still, to conserve the fun and joy spent watching fireworks, we should instead focus on creating more easily accessible eco-friendly fireworks. Disney developed a soot-free firework that is much better for the environment than most. But, these are sure to be expensive and hard to come by, so if we can make these fireworks accessible and less expensive, then maybe we can enjoy a good fireworks experience. In the meantime, we don’t need to have fireworks on every occasion, big and small. Lastly, we can use alternatives such as laser shows, confetti poppers, and bubble machines.

I completely agree, fireworks are often associated with celebration and joy but we often don't think about the environmental repercussions of them. On one hand, I have seen fireworks bring people together and inspire creativity, but I am also aware that they negatively affect the environment and our air quality. I often see people set off their own fireworks on big events such as the Fourth of July, when others nearby are doing the same thing. Along with finding more eco friendly firework alternatives, I think it would be beneficial to come together with large groups of people when setting off fireworks compared to small groups if there isn't an eco friendly alternative available. This way, the amount of fireworks being used is smaller and the times when we do see fireworks is more magical.

It's impossible for humans now to suddenly stop using electricity and find other energy source and replace it. However, we can still try our best to stop wasting the unnecessarily used electricity.

I am not willing to take my electronic device off the table because they are very important to me.
My phone is essential for communicating with friends and family.

I understand this feeling very well and I find it to be one of those things that would be very hard to stop using completely. While i don't think it is entirely impossible there are just to many pros like communicating with friends and family.

I agree and understand how you feel because phones are kind of essential now and it's something we use every day now. There are a lot of things that are easier to do with phones and it's easier to connect with friends and family.

I agree with this, since basically everyone now depends on the internet. Something to think about is limiting your tech uses.

I agree with what you're saying because I also use my electronics in my daily life. It is the easiest and fastest way to communicate with family.

I agree with you and I am also not willing to take my electronic device off the table. Phones, laptops, and other electronic devices are very useful for schoolwork and communicating in my everyday life. Even though they use electricity, they aren’t necessarily bad for the environment. Electronic devices can help save paper by doing schoolwork online instead of in a notebook. I do think that it’s still important to limit your device use for the sake of the environment. For example, you could play less video games and instead spend time playing sports outside.

I agree. Me personally... I don't use my phone all that much, I also don't talk to many people but what if i really had to? You can't really take something like a phone off the table because it is an important communication device. It could also be used in emergencies.

Everybody has made some really good points, needing phones for emergencies, communicating. The main reason being that phones have just become too central to our daily lives, we live in a society where we cannot live without many modern technologies, including phones.

I agree that electronic communication can be important whether you are usng it to communicate with your family or friends. Phones can also be helpful for students, for example students can search up things they don’t know and learn new things. They can also use their phones to entertain themselves and have fun.

I agree with this because i use my phone for so many essential things. such as using it for directions, or contacting family that i don't see often or for family that lives far away. i also just feel safer walking alone when i have my phone, because it gives me the option to call for help if i need too. i also just enjoy being able to take pictures with it or look something up if i don't know the answer to things. I've also discovered many different things that i like from my phone, such as different types of music.

I agree with you, my phone has become an essential part of my life. I need my phone to communicate with family and friends. For sports, I use my phone to stay updated on when my games and practices are. At school, I often need my phone for activities like Kahoot, and Microsoft Teams has become essential to staying updated on homework, and is needed to communicate with teachers when away from school. My Phone is what keeps me connected to the world, through the news, through new music, and through learning new things. In our modern day, things are constantly changing, and phones are necessary to keep pace with these changes. I would not be able to give my phone up.

I'd say this is off the table. The amount of stuff we need to save time is inevitable and we can't change that. Time is one of the most valuable things in the world and we made the devices mentioned in the project to save our time to focus on other tasks. Examples are jobs, studying, other chores around the house, without the technology we have today we spend more time doing daily chores and less time to focus on important work or relaxing and getting a mental break. What I'm trying to say is, we can't stop using most of this technology or we will be wasting most of our time on chores.

i agree with you that we wont give this tech up but we don't need it to survive. like even 50 years ago they didn't have half the technology we had and they still managed to do fine and survive without it, so why cant we do the same? But realistically we are never going to give it up so we just have to switch to cleaner alternatives and hopfully not become to relient on these things.

One thing that I can see most people not taking off the table are gasoline powered cars. Over 95% of people in the U.S drive a gasoline powered car over an electric powered one, and this could be for several reasons. It could be because of price, as a 2023 electric car costs $5,000 more than a  2023 gas powered car ($53,469/$48,334). Or because people think it takes up more time to fuel an electric car than a gas car, because of the scarcity of charging stations around the country. Nonetheless, I don't think people would be willing to get rid of their transportation to places in order to improve their carbon footprint.

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source … -emissions
https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/how-much … t%20prices.
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/20/10557189 … ic%20fleet.

Something that is off the table is my electronics which is probably what is causing my carbon footprint to be so high. But I will not give up as I use it on a daily basis with various things such as communication, texting, or calling friends and family. Also with internet access at the tip of our fingers, we can learn new things or educate ourselves. With a phone, it makes things easier and saves effort and money. Electronics do cause the rise of my carbon footprint. It also helps me in many ways.
https://edubirdie.com/examples/the-impo … 0computers.

Personally  I don’t think i could truly live without electronics.For school work is has become such a necessary about half of my assignments are on the computer. Also for communication I use my phone to communicate with my parents when i'm away from them. When i need to talk to my teacher about something,but I don't have enough time to see them i use my computer and email them. I was raised being able to go on the internet and look up stuff if i didn't know it. Having electronics has kind of been a thing for me and I think adjusting to not having them would be almost impossible.

Something that I personally feel is off the table for me is getting rid of my electronic usage. While I recognize the negative effects of electronic usage, I personally feel that it is a necessity for me. Some reasons I use electronics are for schoolwork, communicating with my parents about where I need to be picked up, talking with friends, and even just for entertainment. While I do not believe in completely stop using it I do believe that cutting down my screen time would also be beneficial. Overall, I cannot promise to not use electronics, because I need them for daily tasks like homework, keeping up with friends, etc. I feel that while it may not be the best it is too big of a component of my life to completely get rid of.

The human population has changed over time because about a decade ago it was at 2 billion people in the world. Currently it is about 8 billion people in the world. So basically the human population has quadrupled in the last century. This is how the human population has changed over the last century. Even though it has grown very rapidly we still may hit logistic growth because no population on earth can just stay exponential. Even if we do not, we will at least hit a massive decline in our population size.

https://ourworldindata.org/population-g … r%20planet.

https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world- … ation.html

Something I am not willing to take off the table is my phone because I use my phone for lots of things. I use it to write reminders for school, ask questions to my teachers, read articles, and even do actual schoolwork. I also use my phone to stay connected to old friends that I don’t see, talk to my family when they aren’t with me, and for downtime. Things like games or fantasy football that just allow me to decompress from school and sports.

One thing that is off the table is my phone. This is because it's what I use to communicate with family, friends, and other important people like my teachers.

It is unrealistic to expect individuals to drastically change their lifestyle simply to reduce their carbon footprint. For instance, how can we expect people to drive less in a place like the United States when there is so little infrastructure for people to do anything else? Solutions must reach beyond the individual.

I agree and I'm glad someone said something about this. Most of the time the way people want us to change our lifestyle is just not possible. Another example being our eating habits. Although going organic would be great, it's incredibly expensive to uphold.

I don't disagree with you two, but I would caution to you not to fall into a different trap: the one where you absolve yourself of any personal responsibility.

Ruiz: on eating habits.  Yes organic food is more expensive, but eating sustainably can include your choices of what to eat.  Eating less meat really lowers your personal impact quite a bit, and it can be done cheaply.

Zoe: on driving less.  Sure, but this points to a bigger problem - lack of alternative transportation choices.  This is an important thing to advocate for, but when they are available, do you use them?  Buses and trains for travel rather than driving or planes when possible?  Riding your bike on shorter distance trips? 

I am a firm believer in the concept of "me to we": we start by modeling environmental behaviors in our personal lives, and that leads us to greater and informed advocacy.  For example, as a  bus rider myself, I know a LOT more about what makes for a good public transportation system than someone who has never been on a bus.  It also makes me a more trustworthy spokesperson.

A great example is Great Thunberg.  She started by modifying her own personal behaviors (her own diet and transportation choices) with her family, convincing her parents to go vegan, then she started advocating for climate in front of her school.  And that became an inspirational global movement. 

So...don't cut out the personal just because that seems ineffective by itself.  It's all connected.  And when you act personally you avoid the "cop out" trap where you excuse yourself for any behaviors because you don't see them as having a big effect by themselves.

If you paid attention to the test, you saw you needed 1000kg of carbon emitted by you for a sustainable future, which I now want to get into.

For me both food and house sections are above 1000, so that’s not a good start, mainly because I use wood for heat and eat meat and eggs.

The workaround for hitting 1000 is using sun/wind/geothermal-based energy, which is not realistic for our family, and eating way less meat, which is not for me.

I eat meat because it’s tasty and because it gives me way more energy than I would hope for, while vegetable can barely keep up. They’re tasty and refreshing, but they simply can’t compete.

Lab-created meat won't work either. You can't convince me a pill can create what takes a few years in the real world.

Look, I'm not trying to be against this, I'm just stating the personal reasons that make me go against this low of a carbon footprint, despite having one of the lowest in my class.

Mainly aimed at the experts that supposedly look at these posts. If you got anything else to add, feel free.

Take care.

well yes, you may not be able to reach the goal of 1000 kg, that doesn't mean that we can simply change that value. we can't just say that the goal is 2000 kg because well, 2000 is TWICE the amount of 1000. and I can understand the distaste for lab grown meat, even just hearing that statement scares me, id rather simply eat less meat than eat lab grown.

I've read a lot of the other posts on this topic and I see that a lot of them are about meat. I totally understand that and would agree if it wasn't for the amount of electricity I use. This electricity usage could probably be decreased, but I don't think I could live life without it. All of my schoolwork, the shows I watch, the music I listen to, and even talking to my friends, use some type of electronic device. And I know that people before me got along just fine without electronics, but because of the internet, I can meet people who live across the globe from me. I can talk to people who have totally different experiences than me and that can really teach me something. So while it would be extremely difficult for me to part with meat, I can always have a plant substitute. Electricity is sadly a ginormous part of my life.

Me and my classes calculated our carbon footprint yesterday and the value is a little less than the average in my country but higher than the global average. Me and my family aren't big consumers for a family that has 5 members. However, there are some things we can't do to lower our footprint:
1.Using the car less. Me and my mother prefer walking but my dad uses his car more than he needs (for example, when he wants to go shopping he drives,even though our city isn't that big). We tried to convince him to walk more but in vain.
2.Recycling.Even though my dad keeps telling us to recycle the milk cartons and cans of juice, I often forget that.
3.Unplugging the laptop or TV when I don't use them. This is because it's hard for me to look for the cable when I want to watch TV again and I hate when my laptop tells me that there is 10% left from the battery.
I hope that we'll manage to change our habits.

Does recycling work or does it just end up in a dumpster in india?

Yes, it does work. Where I live, all (well mostly everybody) recycles their trash (paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, everything) and it does help. We are an island and they don't import their trash to India or anywhere else, they reuse paper and plastic to make other things.

Yes, recycling does work! While it is true that some of what is recycled ends up in landfills, most of it goes to facilities that convert them into something else. There is a factory close to where I live that turns recyclables (plastic, glass, aluminum, etc…) into flooring tiles.

Although I am willing to sacrifice a lot in the face of environmental activism, on a personal level, I think it'd be extremely difficult for me to become vegetarian. I have allergies to a lot of things vegetarians consume to make up for the protein from not eating meat, such as soy, green beans, tofu, and nuts.

Yes as human we would want to make sacrifice for the place we live in to keep it in a good condition but there would be some stuff like you mention food that most people can't really change anything about it.

I agree that going vegan would be hard, I personally love milk and cheese so that would be really hard. However going vegetarian I think would be why easier because the only meat i enjoy eating is chicken and bacon and sometimes steak. I do not like pork or lamb
and i think the benefits of going vegetarian or vegan would heavily help stop climate change and even more if lots of people did so.

I think you rise a good point. going vegetarian would be pretty difficult. personally I don't have don't have any dairy products for health reasons anyways so, most of the time the main place I get my protein from is meat and eggs.

If going vegan or vegetarian sounds hard, or you cant because of allergies, then think about buying local meat, or just cutting out red meat. If everyone started to Make little changes like buying locally, or cutting out certain meats, we could really limit the emissions some of the farming for these certain products create.

To be completely honest and realisticI don’t think I would ever choose to be completely vegan, or vegetarian. But I want to put emphasis on the completely part of that. I try not to eat much beef, and pork, and other meats but I don’t think I would cut these things out completely. I just want to say that you can still help out even if you aren't vegan, or vegetarian simply by being conscious and making small changes in your diet and habits. I also agree that it is super important to buy locally. Which is another simple change that can help greatly. I think that local food and other things should be more widely available and easy for everyone to access. It is typically more expensive which makes sense and I think that living locally should be something for everyone not just those who have a lot of money. Even if it doesn’t make sense financially or whatnot to eat completely local, it could certainly make a difference just to trade in some of the things you eat for the sustainable and local alternative.

I completely agree with the user “Awnin”. The economic logistics makes it very hard for those who are low-income or face other economic challenges to become vegan or even vegetarian. I also agree with the user “Clara V”, who stated a great way to reduce your carbon footprint if you cannot commit to a new diet  - Buying local meat and produce. By doing this you are not only reducing how far your food has to travel and thus use less CO2 from trucks, planes, and/or boats, but also are supporting your local farmers!

Personally, coming from a mainly vegan household a see both the good side, and bad sides of the lifestyle. I understand being vegan can be hard for many people because of allergy’s and medical conditions, but if you don't have any of those, going vegan or even vegetarian is an amazing option. I will say I was reluctant at first to cut out animal products and still I sometimes eat them outside of my home, but cutting a big portion of my diet, has substantially  helped my health. I don’t even notice anymore that I don’t eat meat very much, but I will say I notice dairy. I used to love milk and I hate other nut milks, so that was really hard to ween off of. I’m definitely not saying I don’t ever eat animal products. Once and awhile ill get cream cheese, or some milk for cereal, but I can say that I have cut almost 80% of it out of my life, and it wasn’t very difficult.  Even if you can’t have a fully vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, I think just being conscious of where you’re buying your products from and what exactly you are eating is a really good step in the right direction.

I understand what you mean in a sense. When I was younger I was vegetarian for a year because people told me I didn’t have the willpower to do it. However, during that year I suffered from a bad iron deficiency. I tried so many different things that were high in iron, but it never helped much. Because of this, it’s really hard for me to be vegetarian even if I want to for the environment. But your health needs to come first, and you need proteins. Try having vegetarian based meals every once and awhile, not ones that have things your allergic to in it. However, they may not have the best protein so you can still have meals with meat in it some nights. But maybe have a meal or two that uses black black beans as the main protein, assuming you’re not allergic to those as well.

The one thing that would greatly reduce my carbon footprint is the one thing I am not willing to give up, having a dog as a pet. Dogs have always been a part of my life, and having one has helped me get through the COVID-19 pandemic, because I couldn't talk with my friends. Without my dog my mental health would be a lot worse. Also, dogs manage to lighten mood and make a home complete.

one thing I just can't change is buying electronics. my family rarely buys electronics but when we do its if our current ones don't work anymore. but for in the environmentalist spheres it feels as if the community turns down their nose at people who cannot let go of technology. it feels like I'm a bad activist if I still buy electronics or eat meat.
I know that the vast majority of studies point to plant based diets as the solution but personally I am from a majority indigenous family that has hunting and using animals as a cornerstone of our teachings and culture. I feel as if the documentaries and filmmaker view these problems from western, white perspective.

A lot of activities that my family does such as traveling is very fun to do, and unfortunately, it adds on to our carbon footprint. Not only is it also very costly for us, it adds unnecessary carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and this stuff destroys our planet. When I am older and in more control of my life, I am for sure not going on as many trips as my family does nowadays. Eating habits is also a problem, as I never see myself going vegetarian or vegan. Buying and eating meat, especially processed foods, isn’t good for the earth but yet it is hard to let go of, since it is part of my everyday meals.

I can also relate to this, my family also travels once in a while, and with our eating habits, we cannot live without processed meats because they are what makes most, if not all our meals, especially when they help speed the process of cooking.

Even though you may need processed meats to cook meals a good idea is switching to chicken or fish. Cows produce so much methane it greatly affects our atmosphere. Eating cows causes more demand which then leads to more breeding of cows leading to more methane being produced. Cows produce 14.5% of all green house gases going into our atmosphere. Just cutting cows out of your diet will help your carbon footprint decrease by a lot.

I think that for me I use a lot of materials like paper or plastic for school. I think that it does have a significant impact on my carbon footprint but I don't think I can make any drastic changes to this aspect because I need these tools for school.  I still do believe though that schools( and myself) can find better ways at managing the amount of waste we use. This could mean using double sided paper, creating school events that don't require using a lot of disposable materials and generally taking better care of textbooks and gym equipment so that they last longer.

I don’t think people should keep making cotton shirts. They actually use up a lot of water. They take 2,700 liters just to make 1 cotton shirt. If we start to produce less of these (or even stop making them at all) that would conserve a lot of water.

I think people could also think if those shirts are really needed so they don't waste money and also resources

This is very true considering what happens under my household. In my family, my mom does quite a lot of shopping online and in malls. Most of the time she buys things that are really not needed considering she already has a bunch of clothing at home, in her closet. This goes the same for shoes and handbags, most dads like mine, buy tons of shoes when the only difference is the color or designs. As well for handbags, they might look the same just because of the name or color and design. This is why people should really consider weather they NEED it or they WANT it.

I agree with your point. People often buy things they do not need such as shoes or scarves. My parents also experience the same thing, they often buy things they want when they have the same design at home. If it is actually needed such as a clothing that is damaged, it would be reasonable to buy a new one. If it a new piece of clothing that has not been worn or tried on at all, I don’t see a reason to buy a new one. Also in different events such as Halloween, I don’t people need to buy a new costume every year. You can rent one or buy one at least once every 2 to 3 years. If we stop buying clothing that we don’t need, we can conserve much more water.

I agree because one cotton shirt uses about 2700 liter which is enough for a average person to drink 900 days which is really wasting water just for one shirt i strongly believe we should start find new resources or material to make shirt that doesn't waste water

I agree with your points about people buying way more clothing than they need. Fast fashion is a major contributor to climate change, using lots of water and energy from fossil fuels. It is also very unethical because the people producing the garments are often working in dangerous conditions, and many are not even paid a living wage! I don’t think that we should stop making cotton shirts though, instead I think it’s important to buy less of them and embrace the concept of slow fashion. This is basically buying much less clothing, but higher quality items so that they last a long time. The individual pieces are often more expensive, but in the long run slow fashion can actually save you a lot of money. The price of lots of cheap clothes adds up! More people need to understand that what’s cool isn’t always having the clothing that’s on trend, it’s building your own personal style while being kinder to the environment.

Personnaly, i would give up meat if the rest of my family didn't love it so much. meat is something that is a common every day ritual for a lot of people but behind the scenes, the meat indistry has a very large impact on carbon admissions and the enviornment. it takes so much space to grow and feed cattle, and its just not sustanible. everyone has heard of the cow fart thing but they really do produce methane which is a natural gas. if every stoped eating meat we would have so much more space to grow food to feed the people in poverty that lose most of their food to the animals that are then eaten by weller of humans.

Somethings that I'll try my best to bring off the table is asking to drive to reasonable walking /bus distances. I do mostly walk but I can see where I can get lazy. I do strive to think the most green but the fact that I'm not in control of my energy producer, what food I eat (some of the time), and how most of the things around me work, is sometimes an inconvenience. But if I feel so strongly about being sustainable, I can give ideas to the people in charge to rethink their actions. Work with the system, not against!

One thing that is off the table for me is traveling. My family lives really far away from me and I can’t do much to help that, however they are also one of the most important things in the world to me so yes I am going to continue to see them no matter how far I have to go. If someone were to propose another idea for getting to my family that didn’t take several days, then yes I would do it in a heart beat. Flying is currently the easiest way for me to see my family and until someone proposes a better way, it is off the table.

My extended family lives far away from me as well. They’re on a different continent, so the best way to visit them is flying. It’s not the most environmentally friendly way to travel, but it is the fastest, so it’s usually how I visit them. If there were other ways that were faster and more environmentally friendly, I would definitely rather choose them too.

I know we all have something that we could change in a way that makes our carbon footprint to be lesser. I think these two things that are making my carbon footprint to be high. It's the food I choose to eat and how much usage of technology I do. Yes I know i could change both habits of main to maintain my carbon footprint to be balance, but food is something that I live of while technology is everything today. You talk with your friends and do most of your work online and sometimes there is no other alternative way for it to be done.

I live where it’s hot 8 months out of 12. I know, repeat, KNOW that I wouldn’t have survived if not for air conditioning. I would have died of overheating a very long time ago. It doesn’t even have to be in the house. In the car, at school wherever. It gets very hot and so, I cannot give up air conditioning. Not now, not ever. Thank you, and goodbye.

GOd, life would be miserable here without air conditioning. Especially when the humidity is over 90% and the UV index is like 12. Especially because personally I have issues with my autonomic nervous system and regulating my body temperature, but I know everyone else hates it too. BUT I remember seeing this design for a recycled air conditioner that used no electricity when it was first released publically, and the concept has stuck with me since. It's not as good as conventional AC, but when you're in Bangladesh in the summer 5 degrees C definitely makes a difference

https://inhabitat.com/this-amazing-bang … ectricity/

I agree with you sometimes it gets really hot during the summer I really could not let go of the air conditioner. It is a really important thing to have in my opinion

I agree with you on not being able to give up air conditioning entirely, but I think it would be a good idea to keep the AC at a higher temperature, such as around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. This decreases the amount of energy your AC uses because it puts less of a strain on the system. Many people tend to keep their homes very cold during the hot months, and just simply sacrificing a small bit of ideal comfort can make a difference. I also live where it is hot 8 months out of the year, and we had to do this the past summer to prevent the electricity from blacking out. It was not too bad and still much cooler than outside. I will be doing this again in the future and recommend others to try too.

People have got to start conserving more water, especially the ocean. 70% of the Earth’s oxygen comes from our oceans (phytoplankton). The ocean soaks up bout 30% of the CO2 that people on Earth make. The CO2 kills the the coral reefs in the ocean.

The plants here are also a big part that help Earth and the people in it. About 40% of the medicines that humans make come from the plants on Earth. Wildfires also hurt the environment a lot since they release CO2 into the air.

Traveling is off the table for me because I use it to visit family and get me places where I can learn to make a positive impact. It is an asset I can't live without.

I feel this way too, hard to help but still need your getaways at the same time

I am not willing to take my electronic time off the table. Even though this is probably my main producer of my carbon footprint I am not willing to take it off the table. What about you? What's
“off the table” for you?

For me, it's the same I'm also not willing to change my electronic time off the table time.

I agree with your answer because my electronic devices helps a lot and is something I would not get rid of.

I agree with you, i'm not willing to take my electronic device off the table because that's how I communicate with family and friends that i'm not able to see everyday. Another thing I would like to add is that, we can also turn off any unneeded lights if we want to lower our carbon footprint but don't want to give up our electronics.

I agree with you, i'm not willing to take my electronic device off the table because that's how I communicate with family and friends that i'm not able to see everyday. Another thing I would like to add is that, we can also turn off any unneeded lights if we want to lower our carbon footprint but don't want to give up our electronics.

i agree with you, my electronic time is important for me for many reasons such as listening to music, entertainment and of course communication.

i agree. I live with my dad in a different country and almost never get to see my other family. Using a gadget is absolutely the easiest way to communicate and reach out to friends and family.

Taking long showers. I just can't imagine myself being done in like 20 mins. Concerts, breakdowns, reflections, etc.
All of that stuff happens in the shower and there is no rushing it. (ps. im sorry)

One thing that's “off the table” for me would be my phone. I can’t give up my phone because I literally can't live without it!! I’m constantly checking my phone and sometimes it distracts me, but other times it helps me out. Often my phone comes in handy, it helps me with my work, as well as keeping in contact with family and friends. Most of the time I’m usually just watching YouTube or on FaceTime with friends.

I agree with this very much. I personally think that I use my phone to much but I can’t rlly give it up. It keeps me in contact with my family and friends. Aswell as entertainment.

I agree with you, I understand your problem but there are so many other things to do in your daily life. If you like drawing, or reading something like that, it can help you to let go of your phone. You think about something else and it distract you in an other way. You just have to go step by step.

Something that is off the table is gaming and my showering. I need these things in my daily life. without these things i can not get through life.

Yes, I see something is off here. I strongly agree with your statement kool-aidman help is on the way.

I also agree agree with this statement.

Hey! I can give you some advices, for example: you may take a shower for less time (daily) or change your routine and take shower one time every 2 days. And, about gaming, you may set a maximum daily time to play them, for exaple 2 hours. The other time you may go to walk on your city or stay with friends.

I understand what you mean. A huge part of my footprint was because of heating, but I live in a place where having heat in the winter isn’t optional. I definitely wouldn’t give up heat, though I’d be more than willing to switch to a more efficient source. Another thing, like yours, is showers. I’d be willing to shorten my showers, but honestly not by much. Showers are kind of a big part of my day. Very relaxing.

I can understand this. I need my showers but I’ve been cutting down on my shower time. As an athlete i especially relate to this.  Its hard to come home from practice and  not  shower everyday when I’m sweaty and tired, but a long shower isn’t necessary. As far as the gaming thing, I feel like its extreme to say you can go through life without your games, but I understand not wanting to get rid of something that makes you happy. My suggestion for you would be try spending an hour less than usual gaming, and spend that hour outside with friends or something. If you have a good time in that hour try it more often. I think you’ll find life is possible without a video game.

One of the many ways we can reduce the carbon footprint is by using reusable grocery bags and stop using the plastic bags because the plastic ones end up in the ocean and they kill most types of sea animals

Are these bags cheaper or more expensive depending on your state

The place I live has actually banned using plastic bags which has been going well! Everybody is using either decomposable paper bags or reusable bags. It’s not that big of a change in life and it improves the environment!

I agree with this because I think we should stop creating so much waste as well as stop the cause of our polluted oceans.

For me meat is one of the important foods in my diet and its just something i refuse to stop eating so it is off the table for me. Its something that if I give up it will be as if something big is missing from my life. Even when not eating meat is off the table for me striving to balance your diet with meat still in it is an option that I am sure many will find to be a more plausible choice to make. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ … nsumption/

To me the one thing i can’t take away from my carbon footprint is definitely my car. I drive around to go to school, work, and hangout with friends. Yes i know walking or biking would be better but it’s harder to get to places that way safely. I know I definitely drive way to much but its also an escape for me. https://www.wired.com/story/american-ro … s-walking/

in order to reduce my carbon footprint which is now currently 212,153 kgs (it is a lot yes, but thats okay. were all different) what i wont get rid of is probably traveling, i like to travel and go see the world. i will work on reducing my home carbon footprint. my home footprint was off because i keep everything plugged in and the lights on. i want to reduce this.
what are you willing to give up?

what are you willing or not to give up to reduce your carbon footprint?

I live in the central valley of California and something I am not willing to take off the table is my electronics even though it's my most carbon footprint because I use them a lot such as entertainment, texting etc. What's off the table for you?

I can completely agree because electronic devices is one thing I need in my every life.

One of my off the table is my electronic devices. One of the reasons I would not give up my electronic devices is because it helps my boredom and helps me do my school work. What about you? What's your off the table?

One of the things that I can just not let go of is my electronics and for two reasons they help me do my schoolwork, homework or join important online classes that I need to join but mainly they help me stay entertained if there’s ever a really tedious day. Another good example is air conditioning and the heater because sometimes during the summer there are extremely hot days that I need fresh air and as well as during the winter there are really cold days and I need the heater to keep me warm. But the most important thing by far is food and water because we need that to survive. Those are just a few things I personally can not let go of.

For me, it's the same I am not willing to change my electronic time.

When we look at the fashion trends through the years, we often notice leather, fur, feather covering our clothing pieces. But why is that? Why don't we just put an end to it? Now, we all know that thousands and thousands of years ago, in the Stone Age, people used to kill animals for food and use their fur to warms themselves. And that's completely fine since they had no alternatives and it was the only thing available at the time. But today, in the modern age, when we have countless choices available, we still choose clothes and footwear for which animals had to suffer. Especially the world's most popular fashion companies such as Gucci, Versace, Dolce&Gabanna, etc... There are videos out there that prove what kind of torture animals go through. In conclusion, we all wonder why do animals suddenly go extinct, we hear these controversial stories nearly every day, but we do nothing about it. At last, animals are the miracle creatures of nature and we must do everything to keep it that way.

I agree, as you said we have other alternatives. We should also buy more clothes that are made out of natural fabrics like cotton over polyester which is made out of plastic, as an example.

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I agree, I believe that fast fashion and non vegan materials should be minimized to save our planet. We now have a lot more resources to chose from and there is no more need to use the skin/ fur of an animal. Also, I believe that it would minimize our carbon footprints immensely if we limited our online shopping. The plastic packaging and transportation that it takes for a package to arrive at your doorstep is insane.

I completely agree with you. In this day and age, we now have so many man-made alternative options for fabric and feathers. I think people just turn a blind eye because it's easier than facing the truth about what these companies are doing to these poor animals, but I also think that people who see this cruelty and injustice don't know how to help stop it.

I agree and I'm intrigued by this new perspective, this is a problem that I haven't considered yet. As "Moffatm1295" mentioned, people like to hear what they want to hear. People know that we have other cruelty-free options. But since high-end companies use real animal fur, that is what most people go for without giving it a second thought. Animals are a crucial part to our planet and the world wouldn't survive without them. That's why it's important that we find solutions to man-made problems like this.

I agree! I think it's interesting to consider how almost every single factor of corporation that we purchase from has one foot in environmental harm. The negative sections of fashion don't only extend to feather, fur, and feather covering ( which is more rare and common amongst richer) but also fast fashion, which is extremely common and most people don't even realize they indulge even, even though it makes up 1/10th of the world's carbon emissions. 9To explain in simple terms, fast fashion is an extremely common profitable business based off of mass producing current trendy fashion designs at low costs. Clothing production costs a lot of resources, and because of this, it has a large environmental footprint in it's production and also in it's disposal, because this clothing is based off of current popularity of clothing trends, which change a lot.) In terms of fast fashion, I think many people genuinely do not consider how the clothes they buy can negatively impact the environment, and for many people, it's too much work/business to research other factors.

I agree I feel that we know so much now that we didn't know back then that we can use that knowledge to be able to help our planet grow in a safe way and be able to shop fashionable items in a non cruel way that is not just damaging to our planet but our people as well and generations to come. Having these sustainable places to shop make it easier for us to be able to shop in a more sustainable way and not let our clothes go into landfills.

I agree, I believe that fast fashion and nonvegan materials should be minimized to save our planet. We now have a lot more resources to choose from and there is no more need to use the skin/ fur of an animal. Also, I believe that it would minimize our carbon footprints immensely if we limited our online shopping. The plastic packaging and transportation that it takes for a package to arrive at your doorstep are insane.

I live in the central valley of California and I am not willing to take my electronic time off the table. Even though this is where I produce most of my carbon footprint I am not willing to take it off the table. What about you, what's off the table for you?

One thing that I’ll never give up is what I eat. I know that meat and milk might be contributing to greenhouse emissions but I’ll never give up the convenience of the taste, and nutritional value on the table and off the table.

I feel that in every store there is nothing that is not made with plastic packaging.Such as Grocery bags, water bottles, chip bags, soda packaging, and even when you are wanting to buy a sustainable item there is plastic packaging around it (in most cases). Which this makes it hard for people to shop sustainable when they need necessary items, in many fruits you buy it is covered with plastic packaging and many can say to go buy your food at a farmers market but what people don't tend to understand is that in most cases it's harder for families to go to a farmers market and shop sustainable or people don't realize how much plastic they are using. Which ways we can help control this item in even the smallest of ways is use reusable bags as well as if you have plastic bags reuse them many times, and try making small changes in your life when going out shopping one other way can be bringing your own jars for your food.

One thing that I don’t think I’ll ever give up is what I eat. I know that meat and milk might be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions but I don’t think I can give up the convenience, taste, and nutritional value that comes with those parts of my diet.

Despite being part of a society in constant development, people are often forced to work or study far from their homes and this implies various emissions of carbon dioxide. There are ones who simply can not afford to move temporarly next to the place they have to be, thus these people, including me, have to travel weekly or daily long distances, fact that elevates the levels of carbon dioxide. This is a matter that causes a major impact on nature that we can't get rid of. Moreover, let's admit that a vast majority of people love traveling and I know that riding a bike instead of booking a flight is more nature-friendly, but let's be honest and say out loud that we don't have enough time for such a holiday, as we need to earn money in order to live peacefully and without problems. What do you think? Is it ok to give up that much on transport as long as we depend on it to such an extent?

I think, if people can help it, for travelling short distances, they should always ride their bike instead of driving. Granted, not everybody knows how to, but this only applies to those who can or are willing to. For people who have to travel far distances almost daily, obviously for airplane rides they are excused, but even for people who have to travel at least 25 minutes or more to get somewhere I think they are also excused. Transportation in general is something that is hard for people to cut down on, but one thing that would help is if people bought more electric vehicles so that even if they have to travel daily, they wouldn't have as much carbon emissions.

Something I don't really want to change that contributes to my carbon footprint is air-conditioning and the use of fans. For some reason my room is one of the most humid rooms in our house. If my fan or the air conditioner isn't on, I would pretty much be sweating around 5 minutes. I also really value my privacy so I turn on the fan very often so people wouldn't hear me singing or talking to others.

I would like to conserve energy and I do as much as I can to help, however alternative forms of energy simply cost more for both the consumer and the producer. While it may be a good investment in the long run, the amount of money to buy solar panels isn't easy to come by and energy produced by fossil fuels is much easier for corporations.

I agree with you! It seems very expensive and complicated for just one person to use solar panels. However, solar panels and other ways to conserve energy, like Bio diesel  cars, seem to be the only solution to a better future. This means that the prices should lower for more people to have the opportunity to save more energy or find a way to remove a lot of greenhouse concentration somehow. One seems to be more easier than the other...

Meat production is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the food industry. Cutting meats out of your diet seems like a good idea, but does it really matter? Even though it would be reducing my footprints, I still choose to eat meat. My reasoning is that cutting meat wouldn't really reduce the global issue at all.

I am a pretty picky eater so I don’t believe I can go with eating more vegetables and less meat.

I've heard that there are meat patties made of vegetables now. Might not hurt to try them out!

I've heard that there are meat patties made of vegetables now. Might not hurt to try them out!

A part of my life that has a major impact on my carbon footprint is air conditioning. Since I live in Southwest America and it’s rarely less than 90 degrees from May to September, my family often keeps it on during these months, and I’m not looking to change that. I’m curious as to how we can develop more sustainable air conditioning, and how people from similar climates without air conditioning endure it.

I totally get this!! As of right now I am only running the air conditioning when its 'clean' to but I think your idea of creating a more sustainable way of cooling is smart and should be seriously looked at if not already. I also don't think that climate change is helping the need for air conditioning. As you said about different climates without it, as they're starting to need some air conditioning I wonder how hard it will be to get it to them and the amount of money it would cost.

For me, one thing that I am reluctant change for the benefit of the environment is the food that I eat. I'm a fairly picky eater so I don't eat many vegetables since I dislike most of them I've tried. Changing up what I usually eat for better alternatives for the environment is an easy change, but one that's hard for me to do. I'll try to do better in the future, but yeah, it'll be pretty difficult for me.

I think that there are just some things we need to live a happy and comfortable life, and so one thing, at least for me, that is off the table is my use of electricity, and I feel like a lot of people would agree. I think for this reason is why we have created more sustainable ways to get electricity, for example, I know many people who have solar panels as a more sustainable way to get electricity.

Personally, changes my mode of transportation is off the table.  I don’t really live within walking distance of anywhere I would need to go, and taking buses instead of a car would be a huge shift in my life.

I'm in the same situation and I feel you. Even if I would like to use public transport I would first have to drive there so I don't see the point for me personally. But I do agree that if you can you should think about walking or taking public transport and you don't even have to do it all the time small things can make a difference

There are times that the place you go to is far away we need to take transportation and there is other way.

I feel like many people cant give up driving to reduce their carbon footprint. Maybe they have a long commute or simply live far away from either school or work, such as in my case. School is about a 20 minute drive away from where i live, which is on a farm, and i dont have any other ways i can get around.

The reason why driving is so prevalent is because of how convenient it is, but if public transportation was much more developed in countries, then it would most likely go down.

I think with effective public transportation, most people can accomplish commutes to school and work without a car.  In the more rare instances where people are living in such low density or near small towns that would not justify a public transit system (like robin), then electric cars would be a good alternative.  Those cars will need to be less expensive in order for most people to afford them.

I live in a small town, 30 minutes from my school, and there is public transportation but it goes a small route three times a day, not on the time when I can use it so I use a car. Public transportation needs to be more accessible in small towns, but also, if there are not many people who use public transportation in the small towns then maybe it would pollute more? Because there is a big bus that pollutes more than a small car, driving around with very few people in it. As for the electric cars, I like them but I have been hearing that it is not very nature friendly when it needs to discard the battery, and I feel like no one talks about it.

Hi Tara

You're right about batteries being polluting, and also (another thing not much talked about) is the destructive mining practices --often in poor countries-- that go into making the batteries. 

Another issue often ignored is *where the electricity comes from*. If the electricity that you are using to charge your car is coming from a coal fired power plant, then you might as well be burning coal directly in your engine.

The flip side of this is that electrifying everything then means that once we green the electrical grid, then all of our appliances, cars, lights, home heating etc., will be running off of green power.  It's a more straight forward societal solution thatn trying to come up with greener fuels per se.

Here's an article from CNBC that summarizes these complex issues and has some useful links

For me, going vegan or eating less meat is off the table. Since I was little, a meal without meat wasn't a meal. I will never take a burger over a salad. But I noticed on this carbon footprint calculator test, my carbon footprint for the food section was my highest; so I could try eating more locally raised meat and vegan/vegetarian alternatives like Beyond Meat that look and taste like meat. I think everybody else should also consider eating less meat and possibly go vegan/vegetarian.

I agree with your statement because in my culture meat is a big part of our food. A lot of dishes in my culture contain meat and that is a reason why going vegetarian/vegan is off the table for me. I noticed in the food category for the carbon footprint challenge that eating meat and dairy were the biggest contributors; because of this I will be reducing my meat intake and will try to use plant-based meats once in a while. I know reducing or even eliminating your meat intake might be difficult but when you think about how it helps the environment I think it’s worth giving it a try.

I agree! if you can cut out meat or reduce your meat intake that's great! but for some people, it's not so easy. Meat is very common everywhere, We consume 346.14 million tons of meat every year and are expected to consume 453 million by 2030. organic food and vegetarian options are great but are inaccessible for some people. For example: when I go to the grocery store I notice that organic produce is way more expensive than regular produce. Something I hope we can do moving forward is making it more accessible for any person to eat more local organic food, and making it easier for people to cut out meat slowly.

I agree that anyone who is able to, should reduce their meat consumption, but I know for some people this can be a challenge. A lot of the time, the resources you are provided depend on your wealth, race and colour. Poorer people, people with coloured skin, or who are a certain race, often are given less resources. Poorer neighborhoods often have less availability around them. They are more likely to have lots of fast food chains, and less stores with fresh produce. Even if there are stores with fresh produce, buying a burger from a fast food chain which costs around $2, is a lot cheaper then buying the fruits and vegetables needed to make a meal, or an $8 plant-based burger. Like Kya, I hope that we will be able to make it so that everyone has more availability in their food choices.

Personally, I have to drive a lot, I live far from school and I also don´t go to practice in my hometown. My number is the highest in this category and I don’t think it´s possible for me to stop it. I would want to compromise so I could change it and I know that it´s not impossible.

My off the table things are buying shoes online and traveling. I will not stop traveling since  i need to do it if I want to keep up with my daily routine, and I have to buy shoes online.

Personally, changes my mode of transportation is off the table.  I don’t really live within walking distance of anywhere I would need to go, and taking buses instead of a car would be a huge shift in my life.

There are some traditions (such as eating turkey on and around Thanksgiving or setting off fireworks around the 4th of July in America) that seem unlikely to go away in the long run without a really radical cultural shift, despite not being particularly safe for the environment. Should we focus on uprooting/boycotting these traditions, or focus first on changing our lifestyles in other areas since these only occur during certain seasons?

I think that as much as we would want or like to change these traditions, they won't go away. Humans don't like change, and traditions are definitely a thing that people don't want to change. I think that to change these traditions we would need a radical shift in thinking especiialy in the older generations.

Like the user 1877 i also don't think we will be able to change traditions. people are stubborn and if you try to change a tradition of theirs it will almost always be viewed as disrespectful. I think what we can do is look at our own traditions and see what we can change about them to make them more echo friendly.

I agree, I see a big pushback against any changes to deeply held traditions, especially those people have always grown up with. Do you think we should try viewing them as a Purge of sorts, so that people will indulge less normally, or leave them out of the conversation altogether?

Humans are generally not very keen on the idea of change. As user 1877 said, traditions are one of the things people are reluctant to change- they may even get aggressive about it. Traditions of certain cultures have been held for years. Changing or ceasing them will take a long time or might not happen at all. Most traditions that I know of are not particularly harmful to anyone or the environment. However, some traditions the op mentioned like setting off fireworks on occassions like the 4th of July in America can indeed result in negative impacts on our environment because fireworks are known to cause air pollution. For issues like this, we can always resort to looking for ways to replace fireworks with more eco-friendly solutions. Perhaps scientists can develop fireworks that do not leave harmful particles in the air or we can limit the number of fireworks being set off and sold so that we can reduce the pollution caused in the air. We can also watch fireworks being set off on television or on our devices instead to minimize the fireworks. Albeit it does not provide the same feeling as seeing fireworks right before our very eyes, it is a more sustainable method compared to the one we are familiar with. Thankfully, youth nowadays are more open to change, therefore the future of practicing our traditions in an eco-friendlier manner seems likely.

It will be difficult for us to change traditions and it would take effort from all of us and time to change, but we can do it. However, because traditions take up much less resources and have less of an impact when compared to our everyday practices and habits, we should focus on making small changes in our everyday lives, which will have a larger impact.
Here’s an article I found interesting:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/minori … uence.html

I believe that since people aren't just going to up and change their strongly held traditions, we should make our own individual changes in how we celebrate certain holidays. For example, on Thanksgiving, we could not buy so much food. Maybe, after a while, more people will follow suit, and we could all produce less waste.

for me one thing I have been having a very hard time changing is my way of transportation. when I have the change to car pool or bike, I do try to take it, however there's not always that chance. When it comes to biking, if its not a nice day or I honestly just don't feel like I would have energy to get my bike out, I won't. I do chose to take the bus over driving a lot but I wouldn't be able to reduce how much I take the bus and skytrain to get around.

Yeah I get where you coming from. Like when you have the choice to do something that could help around you local area, but you cant reach it cause like transportation is one thing that we have to use to get from point a to point b. And changing the vehicle or path you'll tend to stay same way just looks different.

Yes, both of you have great points in this, but of course changing your habits does not mean to shift it all but to take little steps into doing something a bit different. So even though you can't or might not be able to bike everyday, having a day or so in a week can be more effective than you think! so keep it up!

I agree! It's so true that it's way easier to choose the more convenient option of car or public transportation. I think anything thing that we can do to help reduce our footprint and impact on the environment is great and we should strive towards that.

This world needs to start helping each other, we are all at risk of ruining this planet forever, we need more people to relize how much we are damaging this world, and there is no planet B.

I also have an issue with this, from not turning off lights when I leave a room or keeping my phone plugged in when it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes I just need a reminder to turn off my light or tv in my room.

We all have behaviors. We possibly can't stop ourselves from turning off the lights sometimes. However, I think the only way to change is for us to actually be more compassionate and dedicated to help support this cause. Although I am in Taiwan currently. We from the other side of the world also helps and tries to support this cause. I hope you guys can too.

Charging your phone when unneeded.

I think transportation is extremely important and that I would consider that off the table.

The prompt says what is something about your daily life that you would be unwilling to change. When you say transportation, it makes me think that you mean via car, not some sustainable method like public transportation or biking. Sorry if I misunderstood what you meant. While I agree it is essential to functioning/living in today's world, that doesn't mean there could be improvements to it. It might be hard to change methods of getting around, especially if you live in an area that doesn't have good public transportation or is sprawling, but carpooling could also help reduce your carbon footprint.

i’m a person who loooves to eat meats and candies, and lately i’ve been tryna stop and eat healthier. i’ve tried going vegan, which was a fail, and vegetarian was also hard. what are
other ways i can help the planet by consuming less food?

Just try to limit yourself. Instead of going 100% vegan or vegetarian, you could eat, for example, one meal a week containing beef or other animal products. Set limits for yourself, and over time you can become more used to this lifestyle, and do it more often.

I agree that it’s hard to stop eating meats because we’ve grown up eating them and it’s hard to stop. It’s kind of like a little addiction, when we stop we just want more and more. So if you want to stop eating meat go slowly into it.

I agree it’s harder to eat better. Bacon is good so is steak shrimp and all sea food. But going vegetarian just doesn’t seem like it would taste good, 400 McDonald’s burgers can come from 1 single cow. It seems hard to give up a tender burger for a veggie patty.

I try to only eat one or less meal with red meat a week. This is great for me because I still get to have that one meal of something I really like. As a substitute I eat a lot of chicken and fish, which are much better for you and the environment. I also try to eat lots of beans because they are a great substitute for meat and personally I love them.

Yes it’s hard to limit your consumption of meat especially because it provides protein, but maybe try and find other meals that would give you the same nutrients? But I agree, you should move slowly into this because it could be a difficult change.

yes I 100% agree. healthy foods that are both better for you and the environment are really expensive making it hard for people who don't have much money.

I think that it is really hard to change everything in your life and become vegan. It is important to eat healthy for your body, but in terms of the environment, I think it is all about limiting the amount of animal products we consume. The main problem is the fact big companies such as McDonald's kills millions of animals a year. This is not healthy whatsoever, not to mention the gross substances they dip their meat in. It is important to buy from local, healthy sources that treat their animals with care and have smaller farms. An overload of cows, for example, can create a lot of greenhouse gases that are toxic to the violent. In my experience, I eat animal products on some occasions, but from local, organic farms that create a smaller carbon footprints. We have to support the companies that are treating their animals right, to make a difference.

You probably should not try that hard. The change of food habits can be really difficult so you should change it slowly and gradually. Or in another way, you can conceive it not as the change of your habits but as a solution for the climat issues (change of behavior). Becoming vegan is not only a way to eat healthier. By reducing our meat consommation, we reduce the emission of CO2 because we need the producer of meat to produce less meat. That is to say, changing your food habits is an opportunity for you to contribute to the changes our world is undergoing. It is probably not the advise that will change your life, but what you have to understand is that change is only a state of mind and therefore you are the only one who can set this change up.

I agree with all the above replies, changes make a difference, but when it comes to changing habits it may be harder. Going vegan is a very big challenge that not everyone can easily overcome but there are substitutes to this option, maybe more accessible, more doable for you. Even if it’s not a change as drastic as veganism, you could try gradually reducing your meat, and at the same time try to eat vegetarian food until you find what really works for you. It makes it also easier to make these changes if you bring your friends along through the process, so that you can all support each other. I also think that what stops us from eating differently is we fear what’s unfamiliar and we mostly focus on the negative aspects of the outcome. However once we look at the bigger picture we realise it only takes hope to make a difference, little by little!

It is a little hard to eat better. One thing that will cut down your carbon footprint is going vegetarian. I have started going vegetarian once a week which is a lot better for the planet. If this is too hard for you, you should at least try cutting down on eating less red meat.

It is definetly hard to completely go vegan or vegetarian, however not only does the change help the planet but also your health. I would suggest to at least cut red meat down and try to eat as much plant/homegrown meals as possible.

Personally for me I dont think that not eating red meat is possible or at least something I would be willing to do. However, there are other ways you can help like deciding not to eat processed foods from big companies for instance McDonald's who produces 22 million metric tons of greenhouse gas a year just on their meet.

It's definitely hard to go vegan/vegetarian. I myself was a meat eater not too long ago. Going vegetarian, in my opinion is quite a bit easier than going vegan. While going vegan would be ideal for the planet, it becomes quite the hassle to sustain a completely vegan diet; especially as young people, who may not have other vegan eaters in the family. I went vegetarian a while ago, and it was hard at first, but it gets a lot better. It really helps reduce your carbon footprint, and in my opinion, it's worth it. The trick to going vegetarian is to do it slowly, if you find it super difficult to stop eating meat, maybe just try to gradually consume less meat over time. Anything you can do do consume less meat will reduce your carbon footprint. Another thing you could look at is your dairy consumption. Milk is something that can be quite a bit easier to cut out of your diet than meat. There are many options to replace milk, such as almond or oat milk. I personally prefer oat milk, but anything you can do to consume less dairy will also help reduce your carbon footprint. Overall, i suggest you try to gradually reduce your meat and dairy consumption instead of cutting it out for good, it can be a lot easier that way.

It really is challenging to change our meat-based diets to those that omit the meat, especially if we have been raised in a household that mainly consumes meat-incorporating meals or have grown accustomed to eating such. It is important to begin small and slowly work our way up. Think of a sub-goal that ultimately leads to cutting off meat from your diet entirely. Think of one that seems achievable for yourself (like beginning with reducing the meat-based meals you eat in a week) because we all know that rapid developments are difficult to keep up with. Luckily, we now have plant-based alternatives for food like chicken nuggets. It also helps motivate yourself if you think about the outcome that can result in changing your diet: it will affect not only the environment positively, but your own health as well. Methane production from cow waste and the depletion of resources like crops and grains from raising livestock contributes to the large carbon and water footprint of meat food products like hamburger patties. Thus the reduction of meat from your diet helps the planet greatly. At the end of the day, it will result in beneficial outcomes. I also think that discipline and determination are values that are necessary to have if we are striving to change- this does not only include the change in diet but applies to all kinds of change in general. Successfully transitioning to a plant-based diet from a meat-based one requires a change in self first like user Terahnui mentioned.

I agree that it is harder to eat better. Despite the challenge, it is worth it, not only for your own health, but for the health of the planet. However, not everyone has the resources to eat 'healthy'. Organic and ethical produce is expensive, and people already struggling to put food on the table cannot afford to be selective about the effect their food has on the environment. It is an issue of equity. It is not the fault of struggling communities that they contribute to climate change, but rather corporate influence over the food market. Companies that distribute cheap produce know that their products are cost competitive, and they are aware that their low prices trap low-income citizens. If their interests aligned more with those of the planet, their consumers would not be forced to choose between eating 'unhealthy' or not at all, and a major factor preventing the mitigation of the climate crisis would be overcome.

you don’t have to be fully vegan u can do meatless monday or have a schedule of when u can or can’t eat meat and that will do u part in helping the earth

Yeah, I agree, I deal with the same thing but there's been a few things that have contributing to getting off eating so much. I don't think I could very give up all meat, but you can start by cutting out red meats and like beef and such. Cows and pigs id say is the biggest one too stay away from. I do like to have one cheat day a week where I can eat whatever I want. So slow you're meat consumption in general and eat other types of meals, and if you feel you need meat it should bee fish or turkey, or something similar.

I can relate with you. It can be hard especially if you have adults who cook food for you. I know that if I tried to go vegetarian or vegan it would be really hard. I think you just have to try your best. Maybe try only eating meat/animal products on certain days or slowly taking them out of your diet. There are also different plant based food items that taste a lot like meat.

For my current carbon footprint, I noticed the calculator calculated that my meat consumption is very high. Just recently, I recorded the meals I consume each day for the entire week and what I saw on my record sheet is that I always had meat at least one meal each day. This has made me think about my eating habits for future and now I have made a goal for the entire year to reduce my meat consumption by 50%. Which means I will be consuming meat half the time and mostly eating vegetable or plant-based food. I hope to complete this goal and later transform it to my normal meal plan. What is your plan to for the Off the Table topic.

Hi Eldrick, I have also noticed that my meat consumption on my carbon footprint calculator is very high as well. This has also made me want to change my eating habits. Although I currently don't have a plan because I don't have much control over what I eat, I will urge my parents to buy less meat. I will also try to avoid eating as much meat when I go out to eat. My goal is to reduce my meat consumption by 25% for this year.

Hey Eldrick c thank you for pointing this out, i agree 100% about cutting down on meats by 50%. As Leo pointed out he will be eating less meat too. Because of you guys i also will trying my best not to eat meat products as much as i do. It will take time and discipline but i think together we will do it!

What's up Eldrick. It's great to see you trying to change up your meat consumption by trying to reduce the amount of meat you eat a week by eating more vegetables and plant-based foods which is amazing especially with the project we are working on and is a great way to help the animal agriculture use and livestock.

That is a great idea Eldrick. I've been tracking what I eat every day since the beginning of the month and I also notice that I usually eat meat at least once a day. I think this is why my food category in the carbon footprint calculator was higher than I expected. Since I usually make my own meals, cutting down the amount of meat I consume will be easier than if my parents cook for me. I don't think I can go fully vegetarian or vegan but I will also be cutting down my meat consumption.

Hello Eldrick C, I agree with what you are saying and I also found that when I tracked the amount of meat I was consuming it was quite a lot. My parents have most of the control over what I eat but, I will look for better options that I can have instead of meat. I don't think I can completely cut meat out of my diet but, I am going to try to cut down on eating meat. This looks like a great way to help reduce carbon emissions coming from the livestock industry.

Nice idea Eldrick, I think that cutting down on meat consumption is something I need to start on as when I used the calculator I too noticed that it was quite high. Since my family consuming quite a lot of meat each week, I'm going to start asking them to buy less meat. I also dont think I could go vegan or vegetarian but I can definitely cut down my meat consumption.

having really short showers

This is a continuation to my other reply because for some reason it cut off. As I was saying, I think it would be quite difficult to dramatically shorten the amount of time I shower for. I will definitely try to be more cautious, however showering is something I do daily. Showers often calm me down wether its for an anxiety attack or other stress related things. I also find that showering clears my mind and helps me focus (on school related work). Showers are a necessity to humans in many ways.

We need to find ways to make organic food cheaper. Many people could benefit from going vegan or vegetarian but they can’t just because it’s too expensive to. Right now I think that going vegan has to be off the table because we can’t offer it to everybody but if we found a way to do it so everybody could afford  it then it would work out.

The demand for organic food has gone up almost 5% since 1997 which makes sense. I agree that many people could benefit from having a more plant-based diet and the planet would also benefit, but there isn't as much cropland for organic foods. Many people like to eat fast foods which supports the meat industry quite heavily, meaning that things like meat are in higher demand than things like organic foods. The meat industry is horrible for our planet in more ways than one so everyone going for a more plant-based diet could change a lot and hopefully help our world.

One thing that I believe is "off the table" for personal change is my modes of transportation. I will continue to use my car for short distance trips and airplanes for long distance trips. I believe that using a bike or traveling less doesn't work in todays world unless under stressed conditions. As time goes on, we are going to have to travel longer and longer distances. Therefore, I believe that transportation is one thing that I can't change for the better of the world.

It's difficult to adjust my diet to reduce the amount of red meat I eat and meat in general. Especially when you come from a big carnivorous family. My family and I can reduce our carbon footprint by being more mindful about the amiunt of meat we consume and where it comes from. Buying locally sourced  meat supports local businesses and their more humane methods of agriculture when compared to big establishments

For me, I have a food problem. I buy too much and eat too much food. Just constantly food, food, food. 7000 about is the amount of kilograms of food that make up my carbon footprint. It’s crazy, I know. I’m obviously trying to change my habits, not only to help the environment, but to help myself as well so I don’t die at a young age.

Electronics are big part of my life even in this time now. I use my phone and computer like at 6 hours per day because of school work and for entertainment. Just think about it how long have you used a device in 1 day? Most carbon emission need some type of electricity to run/work there machine to like places that process food, small or large  delivery to a certain place, and even just turning on your phone just to scroll through Instagram. Even though we already notice this problem it's hard to change it because we are used to doing it daily.

Although a lot of carbon emissions are produced by forms of transportation such as cars, planes, cruise ships, and any vehicle that requires gas, I believe that there are exceptions to the need to be sustainable. Many people have family across the world or maybe even just a couple of hours away, these people should be able to visit their family without the guilt of carbon pollution. The human species should take steps to combat climate change but what is it worth if we put all life on pause? I believe it is the job of local and federal governments to implement more public transport in their cities instead of pressuring average Americans to not see their family.

One thing that would be very hard for people to give up is the impact of transportation on the environment.  Almost everyone I know has taken an airplane at least a few times in their life.  For me personally, transportation was my biggest carbon footprint emission.  Clearly this is a topic that needs to be addressed.  But is transportation (airplanes in particular) really something we can give up?  Yes and no.  While many people go on trips for fun, we need to start considering how much carbon it adds the environment.  Until we can create more energy-efficient ways of travelling long-distance, people just need to be mindful of their impact on the environment.

Food is a big part of my life. Foods like steak and chicken which have high impacts on the environment are parts of my diet. I know that eating meat is really bad for the environment, but for me I don't think I could bring myself to give it up. Also, I know that eating chocolate is a huge waste of water, but come on, chocolate is one of the foods that I don't know if I could live without. Chocolate, to me, is something to celebrate an accomplishment or special occasion, and I don't think that I can give that up. The Guardian says that avoiding meat and dairy is "the single biggest way" to reduce climate change. This is true, as cows produce 3.1 gigatonnes of CO2 by themselves every year. But for me, ice cream, chocolate, and meat are things that I don't think I could give up. I think that the best thing to do is eat these things in moderation. I don't want to completely give them up, but if I can moderate the amount I consume, I think it could greatly help the environment and my personal carbon footprint. I think that the same goes for the world at large. It is about moderation, moderating the amount we consume so that we don't completely destroy our environment.
The Guardian Article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment … t-on-earth

More info on cows
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2019 … -emissions

I agree that food is a big part of the problem. When I calculated my carbon footprint, food made up a big part of my carbon footprint. So much waste is created by meats and candy products. The farms where food and meats are grown also creates a ton of waste. The USDA estimates that one-third of all food made on farms goes to waste. This greatly affects global warming. We need to reduce the amount of products farms are making to help stop global warming. To help reduce my carbon footprint, I will try to eat more vegetarian meals. I know I will not be able to go completely vegetarian, but I can try to eat less meat.

After "Transportation" I totally agree with the fact that food is a big part of the problem.
Before calculating my carbon footprint I didn't know that my food had such an impact on the problem. At home we usually try to eat less meat since we grow our own vegetables but a sometimes a good steack or chicken is always a good idea.
Then I realise why food was the problem.I eat at school everyday and believe me or not we alaways have meat for lunch( steak,chicken,pork,...).
So as for me even if we try to reduce our diary,meat or chocolate consumption (which are a big part of the diet) and eat more vegetables, it will only have a really big impact if we focus on how the products have been made because the real problem is the industry.
Nowadays even the production of vegetables  pollutes a lot and use lots of chemical products. Moreover they are transported by plane and boat from a country to another.
Thus we should moderate the amount of industrial food and encourage people growing their own vegetables.

The types of food that people eat is often a habit to them.  It is difficult for many people to change their eating habits because they have stayed the same for so long.  For example, many environmental advocates are still unwilling to give up meat because they have been eating it for so long and have become accustomed to the taste.  I used to be a vegetarian because of the environmental impact and the animal cruelty involved in meat production.  However, I stopped recently because it was difficult for my family to provide for me especially during large family events such as thanksgiving.  I still find it difficult to restrain from eating meat because it is something that I have become used to eating after eating it for my entire childhood, but it is still important that I do not eat meat as often as I used to.  Many people have said that it would be "impossible" for them to become vegetarian because they like meat so much, but tit is not as difficult as it seems.  Additionally, there are plant-based alternatives for meat that have the same taste and are cruelty-free.  It is also possible to get the protein that meat would provide with foods such as eggs and beans.

here is a link about meat production and animal cruelty
https://www.rollingstone.com/interactiv … activists/

here are some protein alternatives for vegetarians
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pr … egetarians

I disagree with you. In my mind, it is not difficult as you said to change our eating habits. I was a person used to eat red meat and white meat during my childhood, but I still become a person who only eats fish. I also think it is not because all of your family eat meat you can't carry on your vegetarian diet. I was born in a family who used to eat meat everyday, however I still continue my eating habits. Then I think it's just a question of will.
According to what you said about there are plat-based alternatives for meat I really agree !!

as Hilley said it's just a question of will, because if you want, you can and that in every kind of situation. so if you want to save the world you should do many efforts. then as it says: "no pain no gain"

My carbon footprint was lower than I thought it would be. All of my scores were pretty low, except for travel. Last year I travelled a lot. I went on a round trip to Italy from California and also to LA 4 times to see my family. This year I haven't travelled as much, but I still think my footprint will be too high. My solution is reducing my local gas emissions. I have always driven to most places even if they are within walking distance. Now I have realized that by riding my bike and taking the bus everywhere, that I have seen a dramatic drop off in the times that I drive places. Even going to school, I now either carpool or take the bus home. This way I realized that I could reduce emissions by being sustainable in a local area almost as much as large scale stuff like plane rides.

After taking my carbon footprint quiz something that I wasn’t really proud of was my transportation. My transportation last year was 11,300 kgs. Last year I did travel much more than I have over the past years so that did have a big impact on my carbon footprint. I went on a plane 7 times and some of the places were far but some weren’t that far. One of the trips I went on was to Los Angeles. In some ways I think would it even be better to fly or drive because both of those use of transportation burns a lot of fossil fuels. The U.S. is very dependent on gases and oils for the running of our country. We burn so many fossil fuels by factories and from cars, trucks, planes and more ways of transportation. In the U.S. alone from motor vehicles we burn 75% of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. In cities like Los Angeles pollution is a big problem when looking over the horizon of the city you can see all the smog from cars and other automobiles. Another big factor of pollution and fossil fuel burning is from planes. For every one air mile, a plane produces around 53 pounds. So an average flight from San Francisco to New York is 2,572 mi and if you were to multiple that by the number produced per mile you get 136,316 of carbon polluted for that one flight. That is only one flight their not even back, and then you have to add another 136,316 for coming back and that’s 272,632 pounds of carbon polluted. This year I really want to watch my air travel for planes because pollution of planes is going to have a long term effect on me and everyone on this Earth. As humans, we really need to watch how much fossil fuels we are burning. I’m not saying that I want you to track the number of fossil fuels you burning every day but to be more aware of it. This is our earth and we only have one of it we need to take care of it!
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/air-poll … m-cars.htm
https://blueskymodel.org/air-mile

I enjoy that you acknowledged the fact the we don't need to track every thing but we need to be extremely aware of what we are doing to our environment. The statistics that you shared brought into perspective on the causes and effects of burning fossil fuels. You put all of these expansive and confusing statistics into a document that is really easy to understand. You put into perspective how much someone emits into the earth, the effects it has, and how we can stop it. Really well written, good job.

Transportation contributes massively to someone's carbon footprint. Although, I do not travel very far for school, vacations, sports, and even just traveling for any event contribute to how much I us transportation. I rarely use public transportation and plays crucial role in my carbon footprint. According to AutoGravity the average miles traveled by an American is about 13,476, whereas I travel about 15,000 miles a year. Transportation plays a key role in off the table emissions. Another prominent factor in my carbon footprint is home appliances. My house is not energy efficient, we often leave lights and other sources of energy on with use. The average number of light bulbs in an American House is around 45 and my house has about 60. We leave these lights on many hours a day and take a big chunk out of my carbon footprint (CBS News).Those are two major factors in the 'Off the Table' topic and release many emissions into the air that could easily be avoided.

https://www.autogravity.com/autogravita … ease-guide
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/green-ligh … ing-guide/

One factor that is Off the table is my transportation emissions. I travel a distance of 13.2 miles to school and back for a total of 16.4 miles a day, not including sports. According to CityLab, they explain, "The most common commute was even shorter, averaging 5 and 10 minutes." My drive to school averages 20-30 mins and therefore, over the average travel time for most kids. My transportation emissions will therefore we higher than most. Another big factor is appliances. Although we have solar panels, we still keep our lights on throughout most of the day and we are working on only using lights when it's absolutely necessary. To add on, shopping is another factor that contributes to my carbon emissions. Since I mainly shop online, the travel time and fuel used to get to my house is a big chunk of carbon that will effect the world. The problem is that it's very convenient and easy to do right from your house.

https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/05/hi … ns/588850/

Also, we recently purchased a Hydrogen fueled car, and it has helped reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the fuel has been running low and we haven't been able to use it as much as we would like and have to continue using gas fueled cars.

Transportation because I have to travel to school everyday which is a pretty long drive.

Transportation is a massive factor for CO2 emission because people travel places everyday to go to work, the park, school, or family outings. People like to have their own private things if they can afford it. They like to have their own houses, their own toothbrushes, their own jobs, and their own shoes.  People love having their own things so they will buy their own private cars, jets, motorcycles, and mopeds. This abundance of private transportations produces mass amounts of CO2. My family has unconsciously been doing an experiment to see the outcome of gas cars to electric cars. A few years ago, my dad purchased a Tesla and solar panels to power our house. Our Tesla would be working without fumes bursting out of both sides of the car. Our other car is an SUV Lexus which uses a lot of gas due to its enormity. After a few months, we could tell the effect of our car on the planet. The planet was heating up more and more just like how our Lexus spat fumes and heated up everything around it. Some changes that could work to save the environment are: using public transport and carpooling more often. Public transport can also be improved in America to be more like the trains and busses in Canada. Both the trains and busses are powered by electricity and it emits much less CO2 into the atmosphere. These are some ideas that could and should be made to America.

I really would not want to give up travelling. Unfortunately, this does seem like my biggest personal contributor. According to a study by Timetric, the United States travels the second most but all the countries that surround it have liberal climate policies and are doing things to reduce their carbon emissions. I do know that new methods of more fuel-efficient travel are being researched but I think that this issue is one that calls for sacrifice. There are economic advantages for more fuel efficient planes, and hopefully this is intensive for the large airplane builders who could make this happen, but that doesn't seem like enough and I'm not sure if there is any real solution besides avoiding traveling on emissions. Additionally, it doesn't seem like battery power is advanced enough but maybe bio fuels could help. Despite this, I'm not sure if biofuel is profitable with, especially with the oil wars between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Even if the oil war would end, the prices would still be very low and low oil prices means green tech becomes unprofitable.
https://www.traveller.com.au/the-worlds … ips-11979j
https://www.globaldata.com/industries-w … d-tourism/
https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuels-basics

I agree in that traveling takes up a huge amount of my carbon footprint. I believe that it is difficult to cut out what seems to so many people as a "necessary" event. According to Yahoo, in recent times, many airlines have taken a large hit. We can infer with relative confidence that this is because of the recent outbreak of coronavirus and peoples fears about contracting it. All over the world, people are canceling their flights. However, despite this, is the carbon outtake of airlines shrinking? One would infer yes, however the people on the plane aren't the source of carbon dioxide. The planes still fly if some people cancel. And the carbon released into the atmosphere remains constant, despite the fewer amount of flyers. So while on the surface, limiting your travel seems like a good way to limit your carbon footprint, it may not be the best solution. A more logical solution might be to make fuel more efficient, or limit the amount of flights an airline can take.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-ma … 35000.html

I agree in that traveling takes up a huge amount of my carbon footprint. I believe that it is difficult to cut out what seems to so many people as a "necessary" event. According to Yahoo, in recent times, many airlines have taken a large hit. We can infer with relative confidence that this is because of the recent outbreak of coronavirus and peoples fears about contracting it. All over the world, people are canceling their flights. However, despite this, is the carbon outtake of airlines shrinking? One would infer yes, however the people on the plane aren't the source of carbon dioxide. The planes still fly if some people cancel. And the carbon released into the atmosphere remains constant, despite the fewer amount of flyers. So while on the surface, limiting your travel seems like a good way to limit your carbon footprint, it may not be the best solution. A more logical solution might be to make fuel more efficient, or limit the amount of flights an airline can take.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-ma … 35000.html

I agree with both you, travel was also a big part of my carbon footprint. Last year from carbon footprint 11,300 kgs of carbon was burned from me alone. Planes produce so much pollution before they even fly. First, they have to built in the factories and as we know factories burn fossil fuels a year. Planes have greatly effected humans economically for many years and it still is. We rely on travel for many things but I feel like we really need to cut down on travel on plane if we can. Per one air mile planes pollute 53 pounds of different carbons that are harmful to the environment into the air. Now just imagine if you are taking a flight from Oakland to London, so much carbon would be polluted into the air. Because of the Coronavirus, fewer planes are being flown right now but fossil fuels are still being polluted by cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Cars are the biggest contributors to fossil fuels burned in America. The lifestyle that we live in America does rely on planes and cars for transportation but I do think that we could be less selfish and give up some trips to help save the environment.

https://blueskymodel.org/air-mile

A big thing that adds to my carbon footprint is my traveling throughout the year. Every week I go to soccer practices and games and music lessons that add up to several hundred miles each week of driving. Sometimes my parents drive me in our electric cars but often times we drive in our non-electric car because it is bigger. My family also goes on several flights each year to Europe and Hawaii. I think I can reduce my carbon footprint by asking my parents to drive me places in our electric cars. According to edfenergy.com, one electric car saves about 1.5 million grams of CO2 each year. In addition, the European Energy Agency did research and found that the carbon emissions from an electric car are on average about 17-30% lower than a petrol or diesel car. In conclusion, I can reduce my carbon footprint my traveling in my electric cars most of the time.

https://www.edfenergy.com/electric-cars/environment

I think scientist should look into climate change. And how we can find ways to reduce all of these carbon emissions and others as well.

I´m agree, is all our fault and that's because of human activities such as burning coal, and deforestation.

For me, I feel like I need to change the amount and how I travel. I traveled a lot last year for various causes, from cars to buses to planes. I carpool to sports practices and during tournaments and take busses to and from school, but this isn't enough. What I am starting to realize is that taking any gas-powered vehicle causes a lot of pollution, more pollution than people want to realize. While driving a long distance in a car isn't great it definitely is better for the environment than taking a plane. A huge part of me wants to completely give up air travel. This would be great, I would become part of the new global movement of people that are giving up air travel and I wouldn't have to deal with disgusting planes and long stuffy flights. On the downside, I would then have to find a different way to explore the world. Would I take a car? A boat? Would I have to give up traveling all together? This is what makes giving up air travel difficult because there aren't many options to see the world that you are far away from. Greta Thunberg has given up flights to fight climate change. She is a global leader who fights for ending climate change every day. One way that humans can still travel by not taking any flights is to travel by boat. Greta traveled to Portugal from the US by sailing, she was attending a UN climate meeting in Madrid. The reaction that Greta has gotten from her fighting for justice for our Earth is quite good. Some airports in Sweden are even declining travelers from taking their flights. Some Greta and climate supporters are calling this the "Greta Affect." Greta Thunberg is leading by a great example and I am excited to engage in this movement for climate justice. 2.5 percent of the total global carbon emission is made from planes. If you think about it this isn't a lot compared to other things. But since this is a reflection of an individual's personal emission, this is a pretty large number. Because of this number and that it is a reflection of an individual's emission if many people stopped taking flights then this number would go down drastically, therefore making carbon emission go down. I am going to try and stop taking flights because of the hope that this number will go down.

Source: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/ … ng-airline

https://qz.com/1671617/how-much-does-yo … he-planet/

I did the carbon footprint calculator and was surprised to find out that I had a lot more points than the average person for the food category. I looked into it again and I realized that my meat consumption made a huge difference. I want to make a change to my diet, but it is hard for me to completely stop eating meat, so I'm reducing my meat consumption step-by-step. Even though I'm doing so, I still feel a little bit of guilt when I'm about to take a bite of beef when I'm eating.

for me one thing I have been having a very hard time changing is my way of transportation. when I have the change to car pool or bike, I do try to take it, however there's not always that chance. When it comes to biking, if its not a nice day or I honestly just don't feel like I would have energy to get my bike out, I won't. I do chose to take the bus over driving a lot but I wouldn't be able to reduce how much I take the bus and skytrain to get around.

Will the corona virus have a continued impact on decreasing C02 emissions due to the number of deaths by the virus.

I don't think the coronavirus will have a continued impact on decreasing CO2 emissions. While at the moment it may seem like CO2 levels might be decreasing in many places due to the number of deaths and cancelled events/flights, many institutions are currently in the process of testing multiple vaccines for COVID-19, such as hVIVO in the UK. The coronavirus could have a longer impact on our CO2 emissions for a while longer, but I don't think its effect will be continuous for an extended period of time.

For me, I would be unwilling to change my modes of transportation. Although I carpool and take public transportation as much as I can, there are certain things that would require moving in a car. It allows me to be on time for school, sports-related activities, and other things. It is possible I could use city buses and trains more, but cars are just convenient for my busy life.

I understand that cars are more convenient than other modes of transportation but if we want to reduce our carbon footprint we need to do little things like carpooling, busing, walking, or biking. These small things add up and can really make a difference.

I agree that cars are so much more convenient. And it is difficult to car pool or use public transport when you live far away from school and the shops. Sometimes we just need to use vehicles that are more energy efficient. Or just do the best we can.

just walk to school that'll change your ways

nella scot

How long will it take people to realize that climate change is a real issue before something major is done about it and at what point will climate change's effects be irreversible?

I have seen a few estimations but I don’t know for sure. I often think about what could happen if the effects of climate change get worse and what it would be like to live in a world where we can’t go back to the way it was before.

I think I remember seeing somewhere that we have like 25 years. Thus might seem like awhile, but it can go by quickly. I might be mistaken, and if I am please feel free to correct me. It does worry me though that not too many people are doing alot even with such little time.

I feel like somewhere it said there was like 13 years left before climate change was unfixable. That’s really scary to think about and makes me want to do something to stop it.

It all depends on the way us humans continue our way of life - there have been different estimations, however it all could change based on whether we choose to make our way of life healthier for the environment, or vice versa.

I heard that we only have 15 years left before it is too late to save Earth from carbon emissions. Furthermore, it is an extremely difficult and scary subjunctive to talk about, but needs to be dealt with ASAP. I think that even though there are people who don’t “believe” in climate change and aren’t willing to take action, it shouldn’t stop us from changing what we do.

We should make trains under the ocean

This will help because with that it will save airplane fuel and if we make electric trains in a under ground train tunnel this will save fuel which helps the ecosystem and with this we will be able to travel to paces with speed and saving fuel now yes we will be taking a little bit of the fishes habitats but think of it as a water slide tunnel

This is an interesting idea. It is important, however, that these new innovations would be sustainably made and run on renewable energy. Maybe if it were under the water it could collect energy from the crahsing of waves.

I like the idea of underwater transportation and I also think that it is important that they are also sustainable. China has already started technology like this (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/chin … index.html), and I wonder if this type of system could be installed in America and in highly populated areas like the Bay Area.

There are many reasons why it would not be efficient and impossible. First it would not be possible because we can not go to bottom of the ocean as we would die due to the pressure of miles water over you. It would also be a bad idea if we could because it would cost billions of dollars to make. It would also be very slow taking weeks to get across and if you were willing to wait that long we already have boats which would take there the same amount of time as your idea.

i think that a bad idea because we can kill the animals in the ocean

It sounds like a good idea but when you think more about it you can find too many reasons why it can’t happen

that sounds like a bad idea because we could kill the fishes and other ocean animals.

Sounds great to me... but I do not no much about this topic.

There are many reasons why it would not be efficient and impossible. First, it would not be possible because we can not go to the bottom of the ocean and do serious construction because that technology has not been invented.  It would also be a bad idea if we could because it would cost billions of dollars to make. It would also be very slow taking weeks to get across and if you were willing to wait that long we already have boats which would take there the same amount of time as underwater trains.

Trains under the ocean seem effective but probably are very harmful to the ocean when it's being built. It would be a lot better for the environment if people just canoed across the water.

Electric cars aren’t really good for the environment like people think. Where do U think all that energy comes from to power your cars. The power plants. The power plants most of the time power our things like our phones TVs and all electronics including your cars.

I consider my commute to practice everyday off the table.  I do my best to carpool and reduce the number of drivers from my team, but I would not be able to make it to practice on time if I chose to bike instead.  This adds a considerable amount to my carbon footprint, but it would be very difficult for me to find another form of transportation.

I agree with this. I have swim practice very early in the morning and it is difficult and unsafe for me to take the bus at 5 AM. However once the swim season ends I will take the bus to and from school.

Yes, playing video games and watching TV. I only play on weekends so I do not thing I contribute that much. I play for about 3-4 hours every weekend. I watch TV for about 1-2 hours a day.

For me, I can't seem to reduce the amount of meat I eat for a long period of time. I understand how they require food, land, among many other things in order to be produced but meat is my favorite food. I have actually tried to eat less meat but I began to crave it so that plan didn't work out so well. I am trying to eat more vegetables along with a little bit of meat that way I still have a little bit of meat but mostly meals consisting of vegetables.

I hope this strategy is working well. According to an article called "Happy Cow", there are many other diets you can go on, such as being a pescatarian and eating only fish. Here is the link, in case you want to look into it. https://www.happycow.net/vegtopics/diet/vegetarian

I had the same problem a few years ago when I wanted to go vegan/vegetarian. No matter how much some people may deny it, we need meat for our development.  The good thing is that today, we have the means to chose alternatives similar to meat with far less bad side effects on the environment. What I did (and I'm still doing) is focusing more on beans and high-protein vegetables and eating meat occasionally (before it was once a week, now it passes a few months where I don't feel the urge). You get used to not eating meat and you start to not miss it. But you must be careful to eat well and take supplements (B12 or other). Good luck

I completely understand your confliction! I decided to become a pescatarian roughly two years ago and though I've so far been successful, it was extremely hard for me in the beginning and I had many "cheat days" haha. Although it is more of a mental challenge, we must realize that our consumption; especially regarding food intake-  plays a huge role in our carbon footprint. Livestock farming produces from 20% to 50% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Not sure if you have ever or would ever consider going vegan in the near future but a vegan diet has the lowest carbon footprint at just 1.5 tons Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. Another substitution/tip; you can reduce your footprint by a quarter just by cutting down on red meats such as beef and lamb. Anyways, I say keep going with your current plan but do take into consideration how much of a difference you would make in your carbon footprint if you cut back on meat gradually and eventually forever. Best of wishes !!

sources (used and recommended) ;
https://www.terrapass.com/eat-your-way- … -footprint

Some advice I can give is to eat more things like eggs, cheese, and almonds . These are not only better for you but will decrease you carbon footprint. Also when you do eat meat try to  stay away from red meat  and try to eat more white meat like chicken and turkey.

The main contributor to my carbon footprint this year was travel by airplane. This is something that will probably fluctuate between years because this year I took a big trip but that doesn't happen every year. However, I don't think I could completely stop traveling because it is something that I really love to do and would want to do more in the future. I think that traveling is a really important thing to experience for many reasons such as finding new perspectives, connecting with your culture and roots in addition to those of others and making connections with other people.

I feel the same but we need to think more about the earth. It is the place where all those things that you have said are and if I have to stop traveling just to not contribuite to its destruction, I will do it because we must not forget that traveling by plane brings a lot of carbon to the atmosphere.

In my mind, technology is absolutely off the table. Yes, our phones and computers and other technologies can fry people's brains and cause ovarian cancer but think about all of the positive things that technology has done for us. With technology, we can examine cells and atoms not visible to the human eye. We can communicate with other countries that we would not be able to reach out to if it weren't for social media and discussion boards like these! Technology educates people by sharing experiences, opinions, and stories. It makes differents sensations and ideas open to all kinds of people. How do you think so many people know about global warming? It is because scientists study and give out their research on the worldwide web for all of us to see. As a cancer survivor, the use of technology and curing disease is very important to me. I truly believe that I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for modern technology. For example, according to the National Institute of Health under the National Cancer Institute, "Researchers have trained a computer program to read slides  of tissue samples to diagnose two of the most common types of lung cancer with 97% accuracy". Trust me, analyzing microscopic cancer tissue and detecting genetic mutations with high accuracy is not something done by hand. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/canc … sification If you learned anything from this post, then you just proved my point that technology is essential to spread information and awareness in everyday life even if it has a carbon footprint on our ecosystem. The benefits outweigh the costs.

Many other people may relate to my family's specific issue because for some reason we can not seem to change our current consumption situation. We have recently been attempting to regulate how much meat our family consumes weekly, however we just seem to always fall off the schedule. I understand there are many various food product alternatives similar to meat, but I guess we just can never adjust to this stricter system.

Natalei, 14
North Carolina

My family goes through this same thing. We start the first few days completely off of meat, but after that it kind of shuts down and we go back to our old routine. Maybe if you learned more about eating not eating meat means, you'd be more motivated to do it!  According to PETA, vegetarians are 40% less likely to develop cancer. Also, neighborhoods that provide slaughterhouses as jobs, have higher rates of rape, child abuse, and domestic violence.  Maybe keep this in mind when you and your family try again!
https://www.peta.org.uk/issues/animals- … at-health/

How do you think this could be applied on a larger scale? is there any way we could try to implement this on a more national scale?

Hello! My name is Brooke, I am 15 years old, and I am from North Carolina.  I am willing to make more of an effort to recycle and perhaps even make slight changes to my diet, to reduce my carbon footprint. Yet, I am not willing to use alternate modes of transportation. Everyday I rely on a car to take me too school and back home, as well as transport me too and from any other after school activities. This is the least time consuming and the most efficient for me. Although, this is most convenient for me it comes at an expense to the environment. The release of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels leads to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming. Nevertheless,  the idea of having to wait at a bus stop or bike to the store is not appealing. I think public transportation is a great resource for people who do not own cars and need transportation to and from work. It also leads to less carbon dioxide being released i nto the atmosphere because multiple people are using one vehicle. However, I cherish my nice clean car that I have all to myself!

Hi Brooke! I understand your confliction. Have you thought of trying to start a carpool. Car emission releases 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas. That is nearly one-fifth of all US emissions. So, as you stated yourself, driving everywhere is not quite ideal for helping the environment. However, carpooling reduces the number of cars being used at a time which lessens your personal Carbon Footprint. Additionally, carpooling can allow you to get to your destinations faster due to the existence of carpool lanes and fewer cars being on the road at that time. If there is any way possible, I believe you should try carpooling in your normal day.

I'm so sorry! The sources fro my last post did not submit! Here we go:
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/c … al-warming

I believe that altering our transportation methods will help reduce our carbon footprints. According to an article published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/green … er-vehicle), “A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year” and “Every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of CO2.” Cars have an extremely negative environmental impact. The majority of a car’s environmental impact is due to the emission of air pollution and various greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. I understand that cars are seen as a necessity for everyday life, but I hope that more people will turn to other methods of transportation. Biking is great for traveling shorter distances and has multiple benefits besides being eco-friendly. For example, the cost and maintenance of a bike are very affordable compared to a car. Also, biking is an excellent workout. For longer distances, people should turn to multiple occupant vehicles. Carpooling a nd public transportation (buses, trains, etc) help reduce the number of vehicles on the road, therefore reducing the about of greenhouse gases released into our atmosphere

I understand and agree with everything that you are saying. I feel like a lot of people are unaware of how much CO2 an average vehicle emits per year and possibly something as simple as informing them about it then they would be willing to make changes and consider carpooling and biking when possible.

When trying to make a difference in sustainability, it is important to not lose sight of what's important in your life. As great as it would be if we all just ceased to eat meat, it is unrealistic to think everyone should do so. Sure, it may be one of the best things you can do as an individual for the earth, but if meat is an important part of your life then completely eliminating it is probably not the right choice.  Sustaining the earth should not make life on it unenjoyable which is why the changes you make should work for you not just the planet. Instead of not eating meat at all, cut back on your beef consumption or just don't eat meat with every meal. For me, traveling is what I couldn't eliminate from my life. Exploring different parts of the world is part of why I have such an appreciation for the planet, and although I know planes are terrible for the atmosphere it's just something I couldn't put on the table for elimination. To make up for it I try to be as sustainable as possible when it comes to my travel within Vancouver. I take the bus, skytrain and walk w hen possible. In my opinion I don't think you should take important things out of your life but rather think of ways you can make them a bit better for the environment.

I agree with what you say, we should still push to be cleaner for the environment but life should still be good for us too. Ive been adding more vegetables and fruits to my diet but I still eat meats and dairy because our enjoyment matters too. I feel that the reason we are still so toxic to the environment is that most people correlate a clean Earth to unhappiness in life. Most things need to be balanced in life and our relationship with the Earth's life should be too.

I also agree with Keyan because I believe that even though eating less meat can help improve our sustainability, not every has to give it up. As he stated before, if eating meat is your favorite thing to do in the world, then you shouldn't have to give eating meat up. We all have something that we are passionate about, so being asked to give it up can be really hard to do. On the other hand, I do think that it is important to be aware of that, and to try to limit the amount of meat consumption you take in per week. But if you really don't want to give up meat, there are many other ways to to help make a difference in sustainability. If there you are trying to help make a difference in sustainability, but you don't want to give something up, I suggest that you explore other ways to help sustain the environment. Every big or small way that we help greatly improves our sustainability, so it is important to take that action, whatever it is.

Something that is off the table for me is giving up meat. No matter how unappealing you make meat to me, I will always eat some kind. It’s hard to give up your customs and habits for something that seems so small. For things like this, you might not be alive once the effects set in and the change feels small.
Another thing that would be difficult to give up, would be technology. I do school work on my laptop and communicate with friends and family who don’t live near me via iPhone. In this world if you give up your phone, it’s like giving up speech. It can be difficult and make you feel distant. Those are the main things I would have a hard time giving up for a lower carbon footprint.

My transportation is the biggest part of my carbon footprint. I think that my transportation could be reduced I believe that it may not be that much. I personally do a lot of after school activities along with shopping and family trips. Don't get me wrong my transportation can be reduced but it may be harder than my other parts of my carbon footprint.

I relate to this a lot. It's really hard for me to get around without a car or bus, and as much as my family tries to use our electric car, it constantly needs charging and is not so reliable to drive far places with. Maybe if we can find a way to make electric fuel more powerful and lasting, so more people could favor it, it could be one way to help reduce the carbon emissions coming from gas-fueled cars.

I agree with both of you, the majority of my carbon footprint comes from transportation. I have to drive to school and drive to practice every day, so it will be difficult to change that. However, I do travel a lot and too far places, however, I think it's a little sad that we have to give up traveling when more could be done to combat global warming in other ways.

Although I live very close to my school I drive at least half the time. I mainly do this because the weather is usually pretty bad and I don't particularly enjoy walking whereas I always enjoy driving. I also go out to drive pretty much every night just for fun. This of course means my carbon footprint is a lot higher than it would be otherwise. The main reason as to why I would stop driving is because of fuel costs, not my carbon footprint. I do not believe that I singularly have much effect on the world just because I drive to school. If however I actually knew the harm my driving was causing then I might reconsider. I believe schools need to educate their students more on what their actions mean for the world and how and why they should try and change for the better.

I agree with you and I do think that driving and fuel costs do affect our carbon footprint. I am similar in the way that i drive a lot but my problem is that I have to. I live 30 minutes away from my school without traffic so with traffic it takes me around 40-50 minutes every morning and every afternoon, going to school and going back home. If I did live close to school like you do, I think I would probably walk or take a bicycle or maybe even carpool with a few friends that live close but in my case, I can't really do that. I also think it depends on where you live and how safe it is for someone to walk around at different times during the day. Something I need to reduce or "take off the table" is the amount of technology and electricity used. A lot of people these days have this problem but I think mine is really bad. I am sometimes and usually actually just lazy and can't be bothered to turn off my laptop, the lights, the water heater and so many other things. Maybe if I keep them on for a few hours it won't be so bad but imagine them on and going for days and days.  I mean they don't stay on for that much time because my mother turns them off after me usually but I need to get rid of that bad habit and start being more responsible and aware of the little things I do around me.

I agree to what you are saying about how schools need to educate their students more on what their actions mean for the world and how and why they should try and change for the better, also I understand you believe driving is very fun but the only reason you would consider driving less is because of fuel cost. If you are driving to school because of bad weather and you simply just enjoy driving and dislike walking, a solution is carpooling. Although you may think taking one or two cars off the road because of carpooling doesn't make much of a difference, it does especially when a lot more people start doing it.

I agree. Driving cars individually impacts a huge part of someone's carbon footprint. I bike to school everyday (even in the rain) when I'm at my dad's house, but when I go to my mom's I live too far away to walk or bike, so I drive to school and back. Walking or biking to your destination is always the better choice because of the lessening your carbon footprint and save you gas money. Many of these options not only will help you but also help save our planet.

I agree that kids should be educated about their past, present, and future actions. Especially since the world is based on the next generations, kids should be told how they impact the world as a whole. Driving is a basic action people do every day that has become so ordinary that many people do not realize how it affects the environment. Like you stated, if people are shown their effect, it would cause most people to think twice about each unnecessary drive.

My off the table would definitely be transportation. My family spends a lot of time in our car. We live approximately 31 miles away from my school. We are constantly driving to school back from school to other extra curricular activities. Although I know that driving this much is not good for the environment I can not see my family being able to spend less time in the car.

In large cities it is essential to use drive places.

Even in large cities you can find ways to use public transportation and bikes. if you have to drive, try to make sure that it it absolutely necessary, and that you can't use an alternative form of transportation.

Every day we drive about 15 miles to school then my mom drives either back to our house or 45 miles away for work then back a couple hours later to pick me up. This can take anywhere from an hour to 3 hours just to begin our morning routine. From this, I think one way I can help lessen my carbon footprint is to take the bus to school or carpool, which will not only decrease my footprint but also give my mom more time to get her work done.

sounds like a win-win!

Sounds like a good plan to start car pooling or taking the bus. It will for sure lessen your footprint.

I also have a large carbon footprint because me and my family like to travel a lot. We usually travel around using a big car like a van since it could carry so many people.

I found out as well that my footprint was really high and mostly came from transportation. I don't usually go on airplanes but i do drive in the car quite a bit. I found the average transportation number in my region compared to mine was almost 2500 kg over the average of transportation. To change this my family and I could walk to some places instead of driving and also possibly carpool or use the bus like Anthony also said.

I agree. The bus would make everything a lot easier for both you and your mom if the bus stop is in a convenient location.

I agree with you Anthony as drop offs can take up a lot of the carbon we use. Since there are so many parents dropping off kids at our school there will be much more carbon being let out, so if we can limit the amount of drop offs and do more car pools we can save a lot and not use so much carbon

Anthony, it sounds like a good idea to me.

I totally agree with your idea of taking a bus or carpool to school instead of your parents driving you to school and back home again. This strategy would cut your carbon foot print lower, but the carbon footprint would still be high since your parents are still driving to and from for many hours to their destinations. But, I still agree with your strategy since it would cut the carbon footprint down.

I completely agree with the idea of carpooling being more sustainable to our environment. The less we use cars, the lower our carbon footprint goes, which is healthier for the environment. When we use cars, it emits fossil fuels such as carbon monoxide.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/ve … QaBC1Pyvow

I agree that it would be better for the environment if we as students are able to take the bus or carpool with a group of friends. Though I think another option is to use fuel efficient cars. Either cars that are all electric or a hybrid would help the environment limit the amount of CO2 emissions in the air.

[IMG_0269](//muut.com/u/footprint/s2/:footprint:l2yk:img_0269.png.jpg)

I agree but have an idea in mind. Maybe we could use more electric cars or cars that are based off of solar energy. This way people could save energy while getting to their destination safely. Personal electric cars are good. But why won't we make our public transportation electric as well. Now many people are saving lots of energy all at once.

This is a good idea because taking the bus can hold more people and use less cars which will create more greenhouse gasses that will affect our atmosphere and ruin our world.

I agree as well, I think this is a very good idea. Taking the bus would help because less people will be driving so the amount of CO2 would decrease because of the less cars. Also, carpooling with others that go to your school would help decrease the amount of CO2 in the air.

I agree that taking the bus or carpooling is a good idea and I know it would reduce your carbon footprint, but how much CO2 does a bus release every mile? Carpooling would also help in a car that has very good miles per gallon ratios because then the CO2 would be even less than a bus depending on situations

I agree with Anthony as well because in the morning my mother picks me up from my fathers house to take me to school which increases not just my carbon footprint but my mothers as well. She works in Antioch which is a long ways out so I feel that i can take my part and reduce my footprint. Bishop O'Dowd has a school bus that takes us students to school at 7:45 and 8:00, and I feel that I should start taking it so i can reduce my carbon footprint. This is a great way of carpooling.

I agree with this as well, and I have similar situations. The altimate goal is obviously reduce our carbon footprint, so doing simple things like carpooling or taking a bus to work or school would be the best option. If possible biking or walking would be even better options, but unfortunately these things are not always possible to depending on location. I make efforts to try and reduce my carbon footprint by riding with my sister to school and or riding the bus.

Taking the bus or carpooling are great ways of decreasing the amount of CO2 you are emitting just in those 15 miles. Both of these options reduce the number of cars on the road that are all releasing carbon dioxide. Taking the bus is probably the best option because it allows a number of students to get to one place in one vehicle. This lowers the number of cars that are on the road by even more than just carpooling with one or two other people. Overall I think you have the right idea of how to lower you carbon footprint, but you could definitely take it a step further by talking to your mother about possibly taking public transportation, which would lower your families footprint even more.

I agree, taking the bus and carpooling are great ways of decreasing the amount of CO2 you are emitting in the air. Both of these options reduce the number of cars on the road that are all releasing carbon dioxide. Taking the bus allows a great number of students to all get to the same place, just by using one vehicle. This is better than carpooling because it lowers the number of cars on the road emitting CO2.

I am in agreement with your plan to take the bus or carpool. The bus would be the best option, because it decreases the number of cars emitting CO2, but both would greatly reduce your carbon footprint. Anyway you can reduce how much carbon you and your family emit is good, and it really would make a difference.

I completely agree with the statement that taking the bus is much better for the environment. At the moment transportation is responsible for for 27% of our carbon footprint, the largest contributor. It is no secret that public transportation is much better for the environment, as opposed to private transportation in which many people can take different cars to one place or join collectively to travel to a specific place. Recently many more public buses have become fuel efficient as well natural gas as opposed to gasoline. This allows for a smaller production of CO2 levels. If possible public transportation is viable and efficient.
(https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source … -emissions)

A part of my life that I don’t think I could change is driving. Driving where I live is somewhat a cultural milestone. All teenagers look forward to the moment when they can finally drive themselves and have the freedom of not depending on their parents to take them everywhere. Also my house isn’t an easy or efficient walk to any stores or even my friends homes. To do much of anything I have to drive to get anything done. Although I do drive an electric car I still sometimes feel bad about my habits. When I drive to school I am not able to carpool with others and when I get together with others, being in the Bay Area, many of my friends are spread out. Unlike Amsterdam for example, the city I live in is not as bike friendly and for most people it is just not convenient. Most of my effort to lower my carbon footprint in the transportation area is to avoid driving when it is just not needed or limit the distance I travel.

I agree with you.  Driving is something that is necessary in our every day life, and using public transit isn't as convenient as using your own car.  However, one way you can decrease your carbon footprint while still driving is by carpooling.  According to "How to green your commute: Carpooling and public transit", an article by MNN, "a once-a-week shift to carpool can reduce a commuter's carbon footprint by 20 percent."  Carpooling can also cut travel time by using HOV lanes, and it can save you money on gas and even on insurance.  Since my school is about 25 miles away from my house, my friend and I have been carpooling to school.  We have both saved a lot of money, and we became closer friends.

I agree with both of you.  Driving is something that I do a significant amount of every day.  I live in a different city than I go to school in, and I have to drive seven miles back and forth each day.  Although recently I have been trying to carpool to school and practices, it is extremely difficult for me to cut down on my driving.  Another way I have tried to cut back on my carbon footprint is by riding my bike more when I have the opportunity to.  There are ways however, that we can cut down on our driving emissions without giving up driving.  According to the EPA, going easy on the gas and brakes, as well as maintaining your car by getting tune-ups and oil changes, can help reduce car emissions.  I think that these methods can help us reduce our emissions, while still giving us the freedom to drive.

All - I completely agree that driving is really a necessity in our society.  It is a shame that such an action is so crucial to our lives because it truly takes up a large portion of our carbon footprints.  I think specifically for us, living in the San Francisco Bay Area and the United States as a whole, the land and civilization is very spread out.  There are very few rational alternatives, however as Clayton mentioned, carpooling is one of the best ways to ensure fewer carbon emissions.  Though I drive very often, I am rarely alone and usually have my car at full capacity with people.  Carpooling is something that, in my opinion, our society should look to as the first step in the right direction.  There are a few examples of our encouragement for it.  Many freeways in the Bay Area include a carpool lane that is only available for those with multiple passengers in the vehicle, providing an extra benefit to carpooling.  At my high school, parking spots on campus are cheaper for those with additional passengers than for those who drive alone, promoting carpooling once a gain on the daily commute.  I can confirm Clayton's analysis of better driving and frequent maintenance reducing carbon emissions as this idea was reinforced by carbonfund.org in their article on ways to reduce our impact.

I agree with what all of you guys are saying. Driving is essential in our everyday lives and in mine too. I have to drive my sisters to Berkeley on most days of the week for their extra curricular activities. My commute is 13 miles from my house to their destination and 13 miles back. It is quite a trek! I also drive myself to school everyday and back and I mostly just drive alone to school. And I know plenty more people drive a lot as well. This is awful for our carbon footprint and it releases so many greenhouse gases. In fact according to the EPA, the average person releases about 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide just by driving.  A great way to greatly reduce the carbon emissions is by carpooling and by car maintenance as mentioned by you guys above. I also believed that electric cars could help with the carbon footprint reduction however they are only as clean as the source of their power. According to this website https://www.theguardian.com/environment … ate-change it shows how the electricity used by the electric cars is most ly produced by burning fossil fuels. In California, 60 percent of electricity is made by doing so. So I believe that electric cars are still not the answer for now. So definitely carpooling would be a better solution to reducing carbon emissions.

Fun fact I learned when researching this topic, according to this website https://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/ if you drive you will use up less gas if you unnecessarily accelerate or speed up. Accelerating can reduce your mileage by 33%  If you avoid this you will save a lot of money and reduce you carbon footprint as well.

Correcting my last paragraph- You will use up MORE gas if you unnecessarily accelerate

I totally agree. Driving is so much more convenient than taking public transportation especially in a teenagers busy life. I defiantly could not take public transportation to all of the places I have to go. I think that most of my carbon footprint comes from driving because my car does not have good fuel efficiency. I also commute a good distance everyday from my house to my high school, about 26 miles there and back. A lot of the other places I go aren't super close to my house also, for example i often have volleyball practices 40 miles away from my house which takes up a lot of gas. I often carpool to volleyball practices but not as much to school. I defiantly can make a a better effort to reduce the my carbon emissions from driving.

Agreeing with what you guys said above. Driving is also a huge part of my life. My Highschool is 20 miles away from my house, and it always takes me 40 minutes to go to school every day in the morning. From my carbon footprint data, driving is also one of my biggest problems. I was tried to carpool with one of my schoolmates who also live in the same city with me, and I feel like carpooling is a great way for me to reduce my carbon footprint. I also noticed that the school bus picks up students in a BART station that is five stops away from our house's. I am going to get up early in the morning trying to catch the school bus which I believe will help with my overall usage in carbon footprint.

Add on to what I said above; I did some calculation on the cost of my driving(carbon) takes to school every day on the site The TerraPass. Assume that the annual distance my car travel is 10000 miles, and I put in my car's type and year to calculate the carbon footprint it can take. My result is 12,131 Lbs Of CO2e which is less than the average American usage 28,770 Lbs Of CO2e which is different from what I imagined before. I feel like it is probably because of the carpooling help with reduction of co2 pollution which makes sense if looking at the overall data for my carbon footprint.

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/green … er-vehicle

Everyone needs a car to get places, it's impossible to ignore. But the way you drive and how often you drive can affect your carbon footprint greatly. Getting stuck in traffic can have you pumping gas into the atmosphere without you even moving. Trying to avoid traffic can help you save money and the environment.  Instead of driving to a close destination, try walking or riding a bike. It may take longer but it's better for the atmosphere because walking doesn't cost gas. Carpooling is also a great idea if you and a few friends are going somewhere, it saves everyone money and you help the environment.

One of the things I do that causes a huge about of carbon emissions would be my once a year flight to China. My grandparents are living there and it’s a long and tiring flight. We’re trapped in a small seat for up to 15 hours as we wait to land. However, even if the airplane flight is terrible, it would be hard for me to stop flying. They’re 90 and honestly their life is so repetitive. It’s mandatory for me to visit at least once a year just to spend time with them.

Another difficult thing to let go of would be technology. Technology is what got us here, it has changed so much and to be told to let it go is hard. So many people have gotten attached to their devices since it does everything for them. Without a device you wouldn’t be able to communicate to others, research or even be able to read this at the moment!

According to "Food choices on the Planet (http://www.earthsave.org/environ ment.htm), It takes 2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, 35 pounds of topsoil and the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline to produce one pound of feedlot beef. One burger weighs about one pound, so if we eat one burger we waste all of these resources. If we leave beef out of our lives we would immensely impact the world. It is hard to give up meat, and a little unrealistic. I think we should all try to eat beef ONLY once a week and leave the rest of the days for something like chicken, that produces less waste.

This is definitely relatable to the majority of the world's population, as according to http://www.expo2015.org/magazine/en/lif … wide.html, only 375 million people are vegetarians in our 7 billion. I also agree that giving up meat would be very hard, and not everyone (including myself) would want to do it if it meant helping the earth. However, I do agree that the earth as a whole could rationalize the amount of meat that they eat and they could help the earth more than they know it.

I think that I spend too much time in the showers, typically they are 10-15 minutes long, which may sound average, but I usually stand there being sprayed by water for too long. I also think that my consumption of snacks that came from plastic bags, or styrofoam containers is affecting my carbon footprint. I also think that sometimes I buy way too much clothing, for example, I think that i have at least 4 white t-shirts and I only wear 1 or 2 of them.

I completely agree with this! Showers aren't really meant to be long, so when I hear about people who take hour long showers, it's really infuriating. There is absolutely no reason to be in there for that long. It's an extreme waste of perfectly fine water. Shorter showers are an easy fix to incorporate into our daily routines.

No matter how hard I try I have found that changing my lifestyle is hard. I have tried vegetarian and other less meat less waste lifestyles and have usually somehow cheated. I have goind that I can limit it but I can’t completely get ride of it. I feel that this is a problem many people have. Though I do feel that I am some what helping the environment I also feel that because I can not completely commit I am still a problem.

I have had similar experiences where I troubled with fully committing to certain restrictions in my eating habits and lifestyle in general. However, I also think that it's important to remember that you're always going to have a carbon footprint. No matter what you try and do to "do your part" like everyone always says, you will still always release carbon (you need to in order to survive!). I think the most important thing when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint is that you are trying. Even trying is a success within itself, and failure is only an opportunity for more doors to open. Trying new things to reduce your carbon output is always a good idea, whether they're big or small. Sometimes it's much easier to start with smaller things such as using reusable straws or grocery bags. After you have mastered this, then you can start leaning towards bigger things like changing your diet.

I know that I have several things that contibute to my carbon footprint like charging my car getting a ride to school yet i can not comprimise with thes because I have to have those things.

I'm glad you're acknowledging your own carbon footprint. We all have something we do and cannot compromise that contributes to our carbon footprint. Personally, I cannot give up the meat portion of my diet and switch entirely to vegetarian/vegan. But again, we think of ways that can cut down these emissions. For example, I sometimes choose to switch to complete vegetarian meals around 2 times a week and buying local vegetables. Not being able to compromise with one specific thing doesn't mean you don't care in the big picture. We all have ways where we contribute to our carbon footprint that cannot be given up, yet we also have ways where we take action to cut down emissions.

When we use computers we shall contribute to the emissions of carbon, but it is very comfortable for the students, who take notes with it. Through it, we can share documents, research, homework,... with our teachers and classmates. If it don't exist, we will have to print many papers. To produce paper, firtly you must cut the trees down to use treir wood and,then, with a industrial process you produce sheets. This method, I think , produce more pollution than that is procuded with the use of the computer.

I think also it would just be very difficult for people to give up their computers. For notes, for internet access., for email, for work and so much more. I’m the modern day I think it is almost impossible, though it depends on the job you have, to give up computers.

I agree with you @tatianapc because every day we are already cutting down trees for many things, paper being one of them. If we use computers instead we are reducing one less use of deforestation, and we have way more possibilities. For example on my personal computer, I game and do school work, while communicating with others like I am doing now. So to sum up I think computers are better than paper.

I often take the bus or train from Sacramento to the Bay Area. I know that taking doing so contributes negatively to my carbon footprint, however there is no other inexpensive  way for me to travel alone and see friends. There is no way to get to the Bay Area without using these modes of transportation. Trains release less carbon gas, but also are far more expensive and take much longer, so I often take the bus for logistical reasons. Sacramento is not a very big city, and I love big cities, so I really enjoy getting to go into San Francisco on these trips.  These trips add a lot to my life and help a lot when I need a change of scenery or to escape for a bit. I don’t go that often, but they are far too valuable to me to give up.

I totally agree with you. You can not get away from travel or using transportation, it’s basic human nature to explore. Thats probably why there is so many carbon emissions.

Well, although trains and buses do produce emissions, you are likely contributing significantly less CO2 into the atmosphere by using public transport and trains.

I'm sorry, but also not sorry that I take about 30 to 40 minute showers on almost a daily basis. The average showerhead uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute, and the average showering time is 13 minutes. This makes my water usage a bit of an outlier.

Not only does this waste water, but it also creates CO2 emissions. According to Stephanie Kumar  from the Eco Guide, "Running a hot water faucet for 5 minutes uses about the same amount of energy as burning a 60-watt bulb for 14 hours. Therefore taking short showers can really save energy and reduce your carbon footprint."

Sorry, Stephanie, but I love taking long showers way too much to give it up.

Source: https://theecoguide.org/have-you-tried- … -challenge

I definitely relate to this. I enjoy taking long showers. I also really like traveling so my transportation emissions aren't great.

I agree, taking a long, hot shower is definitely something that uses a lot of energy. This doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy taking said shower. A possible thing to cut down on the amount of water you use is take a fast shower and then proceed with a bath. During a bath you are not really wasting too much water since it is not continuously running.

I definitely agree with the short showers. My shower time is about 5-10 minutes and I save a lot of water from doing that. If everyone would take shorter showers that would be a lot of water and carbon emissions saved for sure.

Also you don’t necessarily need to take less time but just turn off the shower when you are not using it. While you are shampooing your hair you are not using the water. This can also cut down on the amount of water and carbon you are emitting.

I understand enjoying long showers; even I take them from time to time. But it's important to see what other things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

There are a few things that I can’t change from my carbon footprint, like the amount of miles it takes to get to and from school.

Eating meat is very common in my diet, honestly it's great. I understand the massive effect the farming industry has on the planet, but I believe animal meat has an important place in the human diet, as it has been eaten for thousands of years.
    Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are becoming increasingly popular, which is great for the planet. But, it is extremely unlikely that a large amount of the meat-eating population will shift to a meatless diet in time to prevent severe damage to Earth's ecosystem.
    A more recent option that could become more popular within the next decade is lab-grown meat. Even then, creating realistic pieces of meat is unlikely, but a sort of "ground beef" consistency could be achieved.

What are some other solutions to the diet dilemma? [Lead_720_405](//muut.com/u/footprint/s1/:footprint:DAON:lead_720_405.jpg.jpg)

There are a few things that I just can't live without. One of them is my use of electricity. I do try and use the lights in my house as little as possible and they house LED bulbs, but I can't sit in the dark. Another is my how often I travel using a car. Most of the miles are from volleyball, and there is no other way to get the places that I need to be. However, I do use public transportation when I can and carpool with other people.

I agree, there's just some things we can't give up in life to put less carbon in the atmosphere, but there are definitely ways to lower those things if we can't delete them completely.

You can minimum you electricity use and try to use public transportation.

Larissa what city do you live in, and what type of transportation do you have?

There will always be some sort of compromise we will have to make, unfortunately.

i cannot give up my ability to bus to and from school and if needed to around the city. I need to be able to travel in my day to day life. If my parents plan a vacation I cannot control if we fly there or not.

I definitely agree. I must take the bus. It's, at most times, efficient and reliable and I'm helping reduce our community's carbon footprint by a very, very small percentage by taking the bus. I don't believe flying should be looked down upon because most of us don't want to wait forever to drive across the country or even a couple states away and if people were to drive across the country, with traffic and stop lights, it creates more idling which is terrible for our carbon footprint. Both driving and flying aren't helping our atmosphere but how can we give up that?

Although I would like to reduce my carbon footprint as much as possible, I there are a few things that I don't feel comfortable letting go of. For starter, I can't give up food. In my household, my mother does the shopping. This means that I do not have control over whether I eat locally grown food or not. Although, I can always encourage my mother to buy locally grown food. A second thing that I cannot give up is transportation. I already carpool to school, but other than that, I have no way of cutting down on my carbon footprint. All of the other drives that I do are too far to walk or bike in a timely fashion. The third thing that I cannot live without is electricity. My house already had LED bulbs and we try to keep the lights off as much as we can. But, when it comes to staying up late doing on homework, the lights have to be turned on. According to an article on TerraPass, home electricity use from the grid is the largest source of CO2 for an average American. Other than light bulbs, I have to keep my phone and laptop charged.

Grow plants to eat

i totally understand how that could be an issue. what i would suggest is telling her you want to start a garden and growing your own vegetables, or asking her what shes buying now that you could be buying locally grown. suggest she goes to a farmers market one day instead of the huge supermarket.

By using the carbon footprint calculator, I have realized that I can do certain things to reduce my carbon footprint. However, one thing that I cannot give up is traveling by plane. My parents control our travel plans, and personally, I like going to different places and seeing new things. I also cannot give up hot showers, however I realize that hot showers contribute a lot to our carbon emissions. On average, every minute spent taking a hot shower creates about .18 lbs of CO2. I do not mind shortening my shower time to 5 minutes, however I shower first thing in the morning and I would not want to take a cold shower at 6am. By shortening shower time to five minutes, it can save a lot of energy. For instance, if a ten minute shower is shortened to five minutes, it saves almost 40 pounds of energy a year.

I see that you do not want to take your flights off the table but i think that you should think about how much more your flights are impacting your carbon footprint then you cutting back on your showers.

I also have flown recently and that is why transportation is my highest source of Co2 emissions.

I agree that we can not give up showers, but it is a good idea to take colder showers

Flying is a thrill but cutting down on it will save money and energy, but no we cant give up showers completely.

I agree that certain thing cannot be given up. But altering them can help such as cooler showers. Traveling by plane could actually be a good way of transportation in the long run because it transports a lot of people at once.

One thing that I would never give up is eating the amount of chicken that I do a week.  Chicken is one of the main meats that I eat and I eat it almost every day.  I am not that big of other meats and chicken is a "necessity" for me in my diet.

Alexa S, 15, NC, US

The Carbon Calculator has made me realize how much carbon dioxide my family and I's activities release.  Although some was alarmingly above average, my home energy's release of carbon dioxide was a little low. I see this as a good thing and my household does a fairly good job of being cautious of how long we use electrical appliances. As we do really well with keeping sorted trash, recycling, and compost, my home energy is off the table.

I agree and can relate to this post. I think that my family and I sometimes lose track of how much energy we are using and forget that it is having a negative impact. I think that it is easy to get carried away and leave a light on or leave water on while brushing teeth because you can't see a direct result. It is important to understand how your actions can impact the environment.

Everyone in the world puts carbon dioxide into the environment, it's just a fact. But there are a lot of things people realize what they are doing is wrong but can't give it up or don't have any other options. Me, for example, I could never give up my phone, it's become an important part of my life. And I also couldn't stop driving in cars because I need cars to get from place to place when they are too far. But there are some things I could do to decrease these things, like being on my phone less or staying at home more often. What are some things you could never give up no matter?

I know that there are a lot of choices that I make in my life that affect the earth by admitting carbon into the air. However a lot of these tasks and behaviors are things that are requirements to my daily life. There are also things that may be my biggest use of carbon but I have no power to change those behaviors. Of course I may be able to decrease the amount of carbon use for some activities, but a majority of them cannot be fully removed from my routine in life.

That is very true most thing are uncontrollable because if you cut it out of ur daily routine then you don't have it.  It may be very needed for life and can't be changed.  Food and water give people greater carbon footprints but it is very needed for everyday life

I tend to you an average amount of carbon in my daily life.  It is still a lot for one person.  I try to slim down how much I use but there is a lot of carbon that is given off from the the thing that are necessary for daily life.  Just trying to slim down though can be a big change

There are no aspects (that I can think of) that are necessarily “off the table” for me; however, there is one specific thing that I can think of that I never do that could ultimately help to save energy. I never unplug things from my outlets. This is considered vampire energy since it is using up energy even if it is not technically being used. This is definitely something that I could work on doing since it is a major cause of my carbon footprint being bigger than I’d like it to be.

Unfortunately, there are things that we use everyday that increase our carbon footprint, and it is very hard to not use them. For example, electricity is one thing that increases your carbon footprint. Electricity is used everyday and is very difficult and almost impossible to not use throughout a normal day. Another thing are cars, fast transportation is very necessary and is used by many people at least once a day. I can try to limit the amount I drive in a car.  However, I can not stop using a car.

I think that this is a really good point to make. A lot of people see that a large portion of their carbon footprint is let's say electronics. So they believe the solution is stop using electronics. This is impossible because we need electronics for school, and emergency situations. A lot of people think doing away with these things completely will make everything instantly better, but we need these things to survive.

I agree one hundred percent with you on electricity. Because America's society nowadays is so accustomed to having electricity, it has become a form of a tradition and routine to use it. It would be silly to take away electricity from our households because we would not be able to do the daily tasks we do like cooking dinner and sitting by the warm fire. However, I do not agree completely with cars. There are plenty of people who do not own a car and who either ride with friends or take public transportation. Living in a city would be easier to not have a car at all and to take public transportation wherever you go versus living in the country. I believe it is possible to go without the use of cars. Cars have not always existed in our lives but at the same time, neither has electricity. I do not want to go without my car because it is so much easier to drive myself rather than pay for public transportation or count on a friend to pick me up, however, I believe it is doable to live without a car no matter how hard it might be or how much I would not want to do it.

There are many things that are considered "necessities" in our lives that aren't really necessities like TV's and Radios. However there are a few things that I just cannot live without. I need electricity everyday in my life to complete schoolwork and to communicate with family. We need electricity to power our homes and our communities. Without electricity we wouldn't be able to use our AC or our Heating units. We wouldn't be able to refrigerate our foods or turn on the lights. We also need cars to be able to get from place to place. If we couldn't drive many people would be out of a job. We also need sewer systems to keep our communities sanitary. It would be very difficult to live in todays world if we didn't have these things.

Unfortunately there are given things in everyone’s life that they would not be willing to change just to help the environment. There are some things that are hard to get rid of. There are few things about my life that I would not be willing to change just to help the environment. One of those things is electricity. It would be very hard to get rid of electricity from my daily life even though it is a major factor in my carbon footprint. I would like to see myself early in the mornings when I am getting ready for school and without electricity, I will not be able to see. I would also like to turn on my fireplace when I am very cold so I can warm myself up and snuggle by the fire. I would like to charge my phone every night so I can always have a way to contact my parents and make sure my phone does not die during the day. Another thing that would be hard to get rid of is hot showers. I do not take long showers. However, I love a hot shower when I get one. My showers are short and fast, but very hot. I like to make sure I burn all of the bacteria off of me as I possibly ca n which is something that would be hard to give up. However, there are some things I would be willing to live without to help my carbon footprint. One of those is travel. This past year, I went on six different plane flights. I took 4 flights to Hawaii and home and 2 flights to Las Vegas and home. If I knew how much that would have impacted my carbon footprint, I would not have done flown to those places. Another thing I would be willing to chop off the table to help my carbon footprint is driving to school. There is a bus I could take to school that would pick me up and drop me off back at home. I do not want to ride the bus to school because it is gross and why take the bus if I can drive myself? However, with that being said, I would be willing to deal with either taking the bus to school or carpooling with others just to decrease the amount of gases emitted into the air. Overall, the decrease in the carbon dioxide emitted into the air can benefit air pollution and the Ozone layer in the atmosphere. The less air pollution, the better the air quality is and the better of life both humans and plants will have.

I believe that one of the main issue with global warming is the agriculture industry, which according to a Goodland and Anhang study says that agriculture puts out 51% of global green house gases! This huge, and I believe that this is because people are too lazy and stubborn to go without meat. For many people beef, among other heavy red meats (which contribute the most to climate change), is something that is off the table for them, but this needs to change.  If everyone stopped, or heavily reduced eating beef would significantly help many ecosystems and the environment. Beef produces five to six times as much green house gases as other meats and uses up much more land, being one of the main causes of deforestation of the Amazon rain forest. Also other meats tend to be much healthier for the human body, so what is not to like? What do you guys think, is it time for the world to change what is off the table?

There are many things in my life that I can admit that I can live without, but it's a question of if I am able to live without them. I do think that it would be possible for me to live without electricity, although the challenge would be extremely difficult. From my own personal experience when I went on a month long hiking trip in Alaska, where my whole hiking group and I were not allowed to use electricity. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be because there were other people with me, but living without electricity by myself is something that I cannot see me doing ever.

I think that the challenge would be very difficult if you are alone because you use electricity for watching TV and charging you phone which are used as entertainment. But when you have other people to talk with and you will always have something to do it would not be as difficult as doing it all by yourself.
I would like to try this challenge because I can get the feeling how it was to people from early 20th century who had no gadgets as we do.

Of course I can ask my family to change some aspects of our daily lives but I can't ask them to change everything. My family created over triple the carbon emmision average. This, of course made me really think about what I need to do to lower this number. I can educate my family about this and they'll be willing to compromise. But the one thing we can't get rid of is the lighting in our house. Without lights, I couldn't do my homework and my family wouldn't be able to make dinner. We can try and change our lights to be more CO2 friendly, but that involves lots of time and money. We'd be replacing  about 70 lights in our house and not all of them are the same type. Overall, for my family changing the lights is off the table.

While I understand that changing lightbulbs can be time consuming and expensive, LED lightbulbs are a good switch. The have a long lifetime, which can be up to 3x longer than that of an incandescent bulb. Replacing them less frequently will ultimately save you money. They also use less electricity, thus making them more environment friendly. While it may be a hassle, switching your lightbulbs from incandescent to LED will help the environment and your savings.

One thing that I would not be able to give up is my use of energy specifically fossil fuels. The United States gets 81% of its energy from coal, oil or natural gas according to needtoknow.nasa.edu and I rely on that energy. We use these fossil fuels to heat homes, power cars, power industry and manufacture. Without these fossil fuels, the world would take a step back in innovation. Until another reliable source is found, I need these energy sources.

Nuclear energy, hydro, and geothermal are all year round sourse of reliable energy that could replace co2 emissions from fossil fules. In 2016 around 20% of energy in the USA produced was nuclear. It produced  805TWh more than enough to power any house.

Even though we might desire these fuels to power our everyday things, it is not a need, and we could use better things for the environment such as solar, hydro, and other fuels that could replace these carbon emitting fuels.

I agree that the world is not in a position to abruptly stop using fossil fuels, but you can still reduce your emissions by being conscious of it. For example, ride the bus or carpool when possible, wear a jacket or grab an extra blanket rather than crank up the heat, use a little electricity as possible, and recycle/compost waste. You also spoke of how fossil fuels are essential for the economy, and right now they are, but the problems that will likely occur due to higher emissions could be very bad for the economy as well. For example, warmer and more acidic oceans could destroy many maritime industries. Increased CO2 can also increase the number and severity of droughts, which of course can reduce the amount of food we can produce, therefore making it less accessible and more expensive.

This is true fossil fuels is a very big part of our lives and without it our world would probably not even function right. It is hard to say we can completely rely on solar or geothermal or hydro energy because I honestly think not many people can afford this energy and all of this energy combined will not be able to power everything that we have that needs energy including our cars. I would like to be optimistic and say we have another option other than fossil fuels, but I honestly do not have enough information to confidently say we can completely transition. I also do not know if we can completely transition anytime soon because if we could we would have.  At the same time we might be have been able to transition, but the people who our making millions from gas stations and other things that make a lot of money from fossil fuels probably do not want to transition.

I totally agree with you Owen, but we need to start using a new reliable source because we don't know when we will run out of fossil fuel.  More people need to start using power that doesn't emit carbon fuel.  I think as a country we should try and prove to the rest of the world there are other reliable energy sources such as hydro power, wind power, solar power, etc.

I also agree with Owen but what other effective and reliable source of energy that is truly up with Fossil fuels in creating energy. It is said that 66.9% of the U.S. Electric Energy Consumption is made up of Fossil Fuels while 33.1% are other sources. That is more than double the percent of Other sources to Fossil Fuels. I believe that once we find a source that is does not emit carbon fuel and is just as effective as Fossil fuels at making electric I believe that things might start to turn to the better but we need to do it quick. Here is the link of the pie chart.  [Fossil-Fuels-U](//muut.com/u/footprint/s2/:footprint:Nlk0:fossilfuelsu.s.electricitygenerationmar2016update.png.jpg)

While I do try my best to reduce my carbon footprint, there are definitely some things that I do not think that I would be able to give up. One of these things that is "Off the Table" is traveling. My family travels all the time and I do not think that I would ever be able to give that up in order to improve my carbon footprint. However, I do try to make up for the constant travel by improving other parts of my carbon footprint. For example, my family compost out greens every week and has a garden in our backyard that we replant every year. Also, during my day-to-day travel, I take public transportation that is a great way to improve my carbon footprint. These different things that help to improve the air around, hopefully, can make up for the many miles that my family and I travel each year.

I agree with you, Olivia. I love traveling as well but airplanes also emit lots of CO2. According to blue sky model, an airplane emits approximately 53 pounds of CO2 per mile. For example, traveling from here to Europe one plane would emit 295,528 pounds of carbon dioxide. I understand you can't live without traveling but is there any way you can lower this number? Maybe travel less often like once or twice a year or even take a different way of transportation. Most times a plane is the only option or most convenient but once you get to your destination, are there other ways of getting around aside from a car.

People can reduce the carbon footprints easily if we are always willing to give something up in our life. However, there is something we can't be without and require. I focus on the transportation in people's life.
First of all, we can't confront that we take the public transportation to everywhere we go. Public transportation could be not clean and unsafe. More people prefer to use private cars than public transportation and we can't really change it.
Secondly, for me, I am an international student for myself. And I need to take long airplane trips for many times per year because I need to come back and see my parents and friend there. And long airplane trips could lead to a huge contribution to the carbon footprints. Nevertheless, for me, it is unavoidable to do that.

I totally agree with you about transportation. It’s sometimes just impossible to not use cars or planes to travel. I know that many people travel long distances via plane to visit friends and family, and I know that they can see these friends and family members only once or twice every year. It’s the same with driving long distances; you have to do it so you can see the family members that you don’t get to visit with too often. The two things about transportation that everyone should control is how often they drive or fly long distances and if they can walk/bike to school/work. They should try to drive or fly long distances 2-3 times every year, which gives them a lot of time to visit with their friends and family, but also reduces their carbon footprint. If someone’s school/work is within reasonable walking/biking distance, then they should try to do so as much as possible not only to get some exercise, but also to reduce their carbon footprint. In short, it’s important to visit family far away, but people should be aware of how often they’re traveling long distances.

The reality of the issue of climate change is hard to accept. However, once people realize that our CO2 emissions will harm us all in the long run, it is more of an incentive to monitor our footprint. We all like to believe that we don't produce too much CO2, or that we would be able to give up anything that is bad for the environment easily. But in reality, there are things that people won't give up, even for the world. Personally, taking planes is one of the things that I can't give up. This is for three main reasons; my parents control my traveling more than I do, I love traveling and seeing new places, and planes are the only fast way I can see my family. This doesn't mean I won't cut down on my usage, specifically when I am an adult planning my own vacations, but I will continue to use planes. While planes are still an issue, only 1/3 of 74 million surveyed Americans took a plane(at least once) in a year(Adolph). This number doesn't sound awful, especially because the average plane will hold 300-500 people, give or take. But, the average plane produces about 53 poun ds of CO2 per mile(Blue Sky). When I took this into account it suddenly became clear why my traveling had such a huge impact on my carbon footprint. Still, it isn't something I can give up. But maybe our inability to change our traveling habits will help us find more efficient methods of air travel that don't contribute as much to climate change.
https://www.quora.com/How-many-times-do … -in-a-year
http://blueskymodel.org/air-mile

What will you do for this

I especially agree with your point on how the issue of climate change is hard to accept. Many people do not want to acknowledge that our Earth is in danger. However we are responsible for the well-being of our planet, not only for ourselves but for future generations as well. It saddens me to see leaders in our country ignore the issue of climate change. Maybe if we had leaders around the world willing to work towards a brighter future, humanity would be closer to solving the problem of climate change.

Responding to the comment about what I will do to help slow climate change, almost everything else in my power. As a teen, there are some things I can't control when it comes to the habits of my family. For example, I can't force my parents to get an electric car but when they're thinking about getting a new car I can suggest it. I think that doing small things makes a difference. For example, I carpool to school. The 9-mile car ride may not sound like a lot, but without the carpool, 3 more families would be driving daily, which quickly adds up. A 10-minute shower creates 75 ounces of CO2. "If you shorten your shower by 2 min. a day, you can save 342 pounds of carbon dioxide a year"(Clackamas County). This is a simple thing that I have made an effort do, and it helps a lot. In the last few years as I have learned more about climate change I have made small changes to my daily life that have reduced my CO2 emissions.
http://www.clackamas.us/sustainability/tips.html

There are many ways we can reduce our carbon footprints, and if everyone agreed that all harmful things to the environment should disappear, we wouldn't have as many issues. But we'll never be able to get everyone to compromise. I personally have so many things I'd never willingly stop using or doing. Usage of electronics gives off greenhouse gases especially when plugged in at night for hours. But, computers and phones are parts of everyday life now. Without my computer, school would be really difficult and I would have a hard time getting a lot of things done. Also, I've seen many posts about avoiding eating meat, and I've gotten so used to eating meat that I might eat something without it and I'll complain about its absence. I could always try to go a couple days without eating meat, especially meat with high greenhouse gas emissions like beef. Anyone like me would struggle with giving these things up, and might give up after a while. Many people's life styles would be dramatically altered if they had to live without using electronics, especially nowadays when almost  everything we could ever want is on a screen. Many people go vegetarian for a short period of time, and I've never considered it and I still don't think I would. When I have spent my whole life or a large portion of my life being accustomed to something, I'd definitely have a hard time living without it.

There are many activities I do in my daily life that can effect my carbon footprint. Things like using electricity, water, and driving (transportation)  are all many factors that contribute negatively to my carbon footprint, and are hard to change. Some things like the amount of water I use are hard to control, and I am most likely not willing to change the amount of water I use daily. It is harder to do this because I use water for many things like showering and drinking water too. On the other hand, recycling can be an easier way of controlling my carbon footprint and I would be more willing to change the way I sort and generate waste and trash. Things like composting food and recycling can positively reduce my carbon footprint. If more people think about the ways they can reduce their carbon footprints, our environment can improve one step at a time.

I totally agree, the amount of carbon we use and how we use it really affects our carbon footprint and since somethings we can't really change, like taking showers and drinking water, we could alway just cut down on our supply, like taking shorter showers. Plus, the things we can change and improve, like recycling and composting, should be our main focus so we can make sure our carbon footprint stays as low as we can make it.

Only walking everyday or riding a bike could reduce rising CO2 levels. Also turning off electronic, lights and water while not using them would have affected it

When it comes to carbon emissions, I could not give up a number of things. For the most part, driving is a big contributor to my carbon footprint. Deducting my footprint by, carpooling, getting an energy efficient car, driving less, are all things that are too difficult to do, considering my kind of lifestyle. Using less energy such as the heater or AC, is something I am unwilling to compromise to reduce my carbon footprint. Even cutting down on water usage would be hard to compromise. I enjoy taking long showers, I drink plenty of water each day, I wash my clothes in a washing machine, and  do many more things that involve water which I could not compromise to reduce my carbon footprint. Technology is one of the biggest that is off the table. My phone and laptop are essentials to my everyday life, and they needed for my work. I could not get through school and do many things without it. My technology is also what keeps me entertained when I am not with others, so  it is much needed in my life. These three things, transportation, water, and technology are three essential things that I am not willing to compromise to reduce my carbon footprint.

If you look at the t shirt you're wearing you will probably see that it has color on it. But did you know that in order to get the color onto your t shirt, jeans, socks, etc, your have to the environment. In order to dye clothing, water is polluted with toxic chemicals, and did you know it takes 16-20 liters of water to dye a single t shirt.  As a kid you probably wore colored underwear with images of cartoon character like transformers or something else. You may still have some colored underwear in your drawer but now you know that dyeing clothing hurts the environment. Some people may care about the colors and images on your shirt but no one is going to care about the color of your underwear so why not buy white underwear and help the environment. So the next time you go to but underwear make sure you buy plain white underwear. You can find more information about how dyes affect the environment at https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/201 … t-of-dyes/

Its great that you shared this, most people look at big things like planes, and the amount of trash they throw away. People dont realize that simple things like dyed cloths use a ton of resources as well.

That awesome. And shoes

I like to think that everything is a necessity for me. Ultimately I can hold back on many things to stop my cause of global warming. I can definitely buy things that are more Earth friendly and try to carpool more. I wanted to ask what other people do to stop their global warming and what else I can do.

I'd say it depends on what your biggest problem is to your carbon footprint. A few things that might not affect your necessities  would be to use CFL lightbulbs around your house, carpooling , eating organic foods, and to use solar panels if possible.

Some of the things I do definitely affect my carbon footprint, especially some of the clothes I use, including how the clothes are made and what they are made from. Being more conscious of the little things like this can drastically impact my carbon footprint.

Some things are certainly necessities but like you said there are some things that can be cut back on. For instance, if you have an electronic device you could use them less. You could also only leave them plugged in until they are fully charged and then unplug them to save that extra power that would be used.

There are many things that contribute to my Carbon Footprint daily, like my use of travel every week, especially during sports season. Another aspect that contributes to my Carbon Footprint, is my family's food purchases, I would not be willing to change that because all my family needs to eat and sometimes we bring them down to my grandma's house.

I understand that you don't want to change your Carbon Footprint, it's hard for me too. However, I think we should all try and find sustainable alternatives and ways to lower it, without altering our daily lives. Maybe you could shorten your showers or recycle more. Whatever works for you, works for the environment. I hope this helped.

I totally understand that it is difficult to reduce our carbon footprints but at the same time the smallest amount of carbon in our atmosphere has great effects on our planet. To reduce the transportation aspect of your carbon footprint have you thought about carpooling or taking public transportation to sports practices (if you do not already)?

Every year, my family takes trips to places around the country or the world. We also drive to other states with other families, about twice a year. I know this contributes to my carbon footprint, but it's hard to get rid of. Traveling allows my family to see new places and have fun. Even though my carbon footprint increased because of the amount of trips I take, it's hard to stop doing so.

I totally agree! When I calculated my carbon footprint I was under average until I hit transportation where I went up around 5 thousand. I took multiple plane rides, I took a trip to Europe and back which is an eleven-hour flight. I also took a plane from France to Italy and back/ I didn't have a choice to go on this trip it was a family trip and it is not possible to cut it out because my parents won't let it happen. I could not have gone to Belize but that was with friends and a school science trip. I am trying to dial down my carbon footprint by starting to visit my grandparents once every two years because they live in Europe. I also drive to Tahoe every day on the weekends, it is nearly a 3-hour drive back and forth that is 6 hours of driving every day on the weekends. I don't know how I could not go to these places because then I would have basically no fun. Traveling is fun and if you were to just stay home it would be extremely boring.

My family does this too and it adds a ton to my carbon footprint, by car alone my family traveled nearly 2000 miles. To watch your output through car you can use an electric car, hybrid car or a car that gets great gas mileage. It's harder to watch your carbon output with planes because If you have to go somewhere that you have to fly there is no other option, also you need to realize that planes carry a lot of people and so your individual carbon footprint is lowered. FInding more carbon friendly ways of travel is hard but if you can then your carbon footprint will be drastically lowered.

Max-Emilien, I totally agree with you. My entire family is in Spain, which means we have to take 14 hour flights (that's just one way!) Since I'm going this year too, my carbon footprint is sure to rise. I love to travel as well, but I know that it effects our Earth poorly. Sam, thank you for your suggestions. My family has an electric car, which does reduce our emission. Planes are tricky, but thank you for helping me realize that one plane does take lots of people. I really wish there were more efficient ways to travel and have fun, they would really help our environment. Thanks again!

For me, the largest portion of my carbon footprint came from travelling. I go on trips by plane about two or three times per year. I know that flying is not very good for the environment, and driving usually produces less carbon, but I can not compromise on my travelling habits for two reasons. The first is that my parents choose when we go on trips and the second is that I could not imagine not travelling. When I travel, I usually go to see my family and I just can not skimp out on those experiences.

https://www.thoughtco.com/flying-drivin … nt-1203936

There are definitely things in my life that I do that I know contribute to my carbon footprint, but I won’t change. Transportation and shopping is the biggest part of that. I drive my car almost everywhere I go and most of the time it’s just me alone. The main reason is that I can’t take public transportation most places I go in my hometown simply because it is not an option but those places I could go using public transportation I just don’t. It’s easier and simpler just using my car. So, giving up my car is definitely off the table for me. I also don’t want to give up online shopping. I buy most my clothes from websites online which come from the UK so they have to get me by either ship or plane and when they are finally in my home country they are driven to me. I keep telling myself to shop less or find stores closer to me to shop but it is hard to give up.

Yeah, a lot of the long-term aspects that we don't realize very much in our normal lives are very easily ignored, such as this factor. We have to take into account the planet we live on, because if we don't, we would be dead. People concerned about the planet helped save us from catastrophe by finding out ways to produce less CO2 in the atmosphere and reduce our carbon footprint overall. The world would have been much different if there was nobody concerned with it. This mindset also applies to us today. If nobody cares about the world, then it will lead to catastrophe. If people care about the world, they would most likely do something to help it, for example doing something as little as picking up trash, then the world would become a better place. It is the small steps that lead to big ones.

I agree, I cannot give up driving in cars. Everyday I take a car to school and sometimes home as well. Cars basically bring me everywhere. Even if I were to take public transportation, I would still have to take a car to get to a bus stop or bart station. I was reading an article and one of the main points was about the effects cars have on the environment. It said, "cars and trucks emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which contribute one-fifth of the United States' total global warming pollution." However, alarming this is, giving up using a car is off the table for me. Without cars I would not be able to get anywhere far away from my house. I don't online shop that much, but it is definitely easier than going to the store. Another thing that is off the table for me is not using my phone. I am aware of how much I use my phone and I need to cut down that number. However, my phone provides me with quick communication to my parents, friends, etc. Mobile phones do contribute to your carbon footprint, especially if you use it a lot. The amount of energy required  to put through calls is pretty enormous if you do this hours on end. Texting requires less energy and therefore is the lower-carbon option.
https://sciencing.com/effects-car-pollu … 23581.html

I agree completely with everything said about the necessity of Cars, and I too would not sacrifice my car to have seemingly no positive impact on the environment. However, cars do not necessarily have to have an extreme negative impact on the environment. With the relatively new invention of the electric car you can get the best of both worlds and be able to use a car while having a mild impact on the environment. Although the cost of the electric car began high, it is steadily decreasing as it becomes more popular. According to Energy Sage electric vehicles is the "sustainable form of transportation" and is more effective than cars that burn fossil fuels. You may not have to stop using cars to have a better impact on the environment.

https://www.energysage.com/electric-veh … al-impact/

My phone is completely off the table. It is too important to my everyday life. I use it for communication constantly, keeping in touch my friends, checking in with my parents, and contacting people who live far away. Cell phones allow us to have the world at our fingertips. I use my phone daily for translations, to get information, check facts, read the news and keep up with current events. Our phones also help save lives, both with notifications like amber alerts as well as hurricane warnings. My phone allows me to get help immediately if I am ever in any kind of trouble. It also gives me directions, the time and allows me to check the weather. However, we can find better ways to make our phones and their parts.  As well as using renewable energy to charge them. However, I believe phones are one thing we need in everyday life.

I strongly agree about how phones are an integral part of our everyday life. They help notify us about current events and protect us from danger like amber alerts. They help us stay connected with our communities and create relationships that will stay with us in the future. I also think that we should use renewable energy to charge our phones, like solar power.  This will lower the carbon level dramatically because every night many people plug their phones in for multiple hours which emit's lots of carbon. Renewable energy can help reduce the carbon levels and it wouldn't limit us from using our phones.

Like a lot of these other comments here traveling is off the table for me. Traveling, seeing the world, and getting a bit of sun and summer tan is something I would rather not give up. Where living in Iceland a farmers tan from working outside all summer I the best you get. But perhaps I would be willing to make my trips a bit eco-friendlier by using public transportation rather than renting a car and go in fewer trips and stay a little longer in each.

I love traveling and I think it´s pretty awesome to be able to travel around the world and get to know other cultures. I traveled a lot when I was a kid and I think it´s great to get to know each and every country by traveling with my family. I travel a lot then and now because I have family in many countries and everywhere in Iceland as well, so traveling would be off the table for me. I think that traveling makes you see how the world really is not just by seeing pictures. I remember a lot of childhood memories when I am traveling.

Every year I travel outside the U.S. to Europe or Asia. The Carbon footprint I leave behind is huge. Traveling is off the table for me.

I agree! I fly a lot for the sport I play and it is hard to get around it. There is also more than one person in the decision because I play on a team. Unfortunately when it comes to choosing flights, we think about the cost rather than what will reduce our carbon footprint. Is there a way we can make planes more efficient?

I agree as well it is pretty hard to change the Carbon footprint you leave behind due to traveling. Many people have to visit family out of town which causes them to fly planes which leave a huge Carbon footprint. As an alternative, we should find ways that we can make planes produce less carbon. Any way to reduce the amount of Carbon from planes would affect our world extremely because one of the major causes of our Carbon footprint would be planes and traveling places.

I know scientists are exploring ways for planes to produce less carbon. I read about solar powered planes they are testing out. The plane made a round trip around the world! Right now the planes cannot carry a lot of weight, it is slow, and cannot fly for a long time but it is a step towards a healthier earth!

It is not that I like making my carbon footprint larger but their are some necessities for me and my family. I need transportation to school in the morning and the easiest way to get to school for me is by my mom driving me. According to the Union of concerned scientists, the US emits 24 pounds of greenhouse gases such as CO2 through cars which is one fifth of all US emissions. From my personal experience with gas stations the cost of gas is going up so much because we are using so much of it. My family has made some steps to conserve gasoline by my dad buying a hybrid car which gets more miles per gallon than his old truck. The problem with my mom doing the same thing is cost. According to Auto Trader the cheapest hybrid car is just under $20,000 which is money my family doesn't have. This makes changing my mode of transportation "off the table."
Sources(URLS):
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/c … tzuPojwY2w
https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/8- … ids-223684

I see where you're coming from but I do believe that you should still continue to do everything in your power to help our planet for all future generations. Currently, humans are emitting around 29 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. Around 43% remains in the atmosphere. (https://skepticalscience.com/co2-levels … easing.htm). Money is a large problem with everything these days, like solar panels and other things do cost a lot and most people can't afford them. However, going green is easier than you think. There are little things you can do every day to help reduce greenhouse gases and make a less harmful impact on the environment. You don't always have to do something on a large scale, you can do small things like bike or walk when your going somewhere near by, or even carpool to school. Even things like taking shorter showers. Another huge thing is; Recycle. You can help reduce pollution just by putting that soda can in a different bin. If you're trying to choose between two products, pick the one with the least packaging.  If an office building of 7,000 workers recycled all of its office paper waste for a year, it would be the equivalent of taking almost 400 cars off the road (https://science.howstuffworks.com/envir … op-ten.htm) . So, although many things are off the table for you, you should still do everything in your power to help our planet, everything counts.

I can see how a budget can affect your ability to buy eco-friendly objects but take into account that there are more of a range of cars that you can buy. Did you see that there are used cars that you can buy? Hey! you can buy some for really cheap and do the job better than a hybrid. Here is a list of cars that are fully electric that are 20K and less.
https://www.carmax.com/cars/electric-vehicles
Using fully electric cars can very much help the environment. It can allow for free use without the worry of carbon emissions, but you should care where your electricity is coming from. If anything try solar panels or a plant that does not burn fossil fuels.

Traveling is so bad carbon wise, but it is to good to give up! In addition, what if you are visiting family? Are you really going to give up seeing your family face to face? I can not image a life with out traveling! I have met so many awesome people and gone to so many cool places! I can not image not have being able to travel!

can you think of a way to travel and use less carbon?  how do you travel once you get to your destination?  sometimes if I need to fly to Europe for work, I will get a non-stop flight (less carbon that having a stop) and then once I land I travel by long distance train.

We always get non-stop, but thank you for your suggestion about taking a train afterword.

I think travelings is a very important part of society as it brings us together and as our technology advances, it will only continue to connect us more. I completely agree with you that traveling is off the table to give up as it is such a revolutionary aspect of our culture. However, I think it's important that we try and find other ways to make up for the carbon footprint we cause when traveling. I agree with what Jason aid about taking a train. Whenever I travel with my family we try to take buses or the public transportation systems of wherever we are if we can figure it out, rather than renting a car. This helps because we are also not using a car at home! I know a few days of car travel doesn't nearly compete with the Carbon footprint of an international plane flight but everything helps!

One thing that I know is terrible for the environment, but I will not give it up is travelling.  Planes pollute the air, but I enjoy travelling a lot and it is the only way I get to see my family.  Yes, I could drive, but that also pollutes the air.  Another thing that is bad for the environment is eating farmed meat, but I do it anyways.  My whole family enjoys eating meat, and although we could reduce our meat consumption, going without meat is out of the picture.  It would be a hard adjustment for us all.  If it becomes really neccessary, I will stop, but for now, these are the things off my table.

I agree with your comment, but how is your comment going to help our environment? You're saying that you're going to travel anyways even though it is bad for our environment. The part I agree with is the eating less meat.

I agree with you, there is a long way to go until this world is close to being clean.  There are many things just like traveling that people can not give up after given the luxury of having.  For me traveling is a big part in keeping traditions.  That is why I am exited for the day when we, not as a country, but as the world, as one unit help save the world by changing the way of travel.  When there is a day when most families including mine can and choose to buy electric cars.  When an engineer designs electric air planes, when people stop focusing on segways and start focusing on better innovations that will change the world for the better.

I understand that there are things that we need to do in our lives that hurt the enviroment like transportation and traveling as well as hygene and other things that people may not be able to control. But what I am curious if for the things that we Have to do could we improve them? Like traveling, theres got to be a better fuel source for plains and ships because the energy sources we're using currently won't last forever so I guess my thinking is that we shoud be asking question like what are the main issues surrounding the things off the table for us and then we should be looking for a way to improve and fix our current designs to help the environment, we need to be the generation to use creativity, Human creativity has gotten us this far I doubt this is as far as we can go so we just need to start experimenting and improving so I don't think there really is anything off the table I think we just haven't figured out a way ... yet.

You make a very interesting point. So far, the most mainstream form of green energy is solar power. However, I read an article that although solar panels are great as a source of energy, they require a lot of harmful chemicals for production and destruction (article can be found here: https://grist.org/article/2010-01-06-so … le-secret/ ). I believe if we were to make wind turbines, solar panels, and water turbines out of a strong, environmentally friendly material, we could eventually bring Earth into a healthier state. The question is, what material is strong enough and won't hurt the environment?

I see your point and completely agree that we need to make changes and find solutions before its too late. However, it takes 100 years for Carbon Dioxide to decompose in the atmosphere and about 50% of all CO2 taken in by photosynthesis goes back to the atmosphere soon after through plant respiration. Of what remains, more than 90% also returns back to the atmosphere through microbial decomposition in the soils and disturbances such as fire over the following months to years (http://theconversation.com/plants-absor … -but-32945). It is very hard to change our carbon emissions, and the fact is that big business still controls this country. Nothing is going to change because politicians only care about money and what is best for themselves and not the environment, they need start thinking about the future for us to even be able to make these changes.

There is something that is off the table, but I can not control it. I play volleyball and I live in Oakland, but practice is in Redwood City. I practice three days a week and there and back my parent drives me 290 miles a week. We drive a car and that is the thing I believe tripled my carbon footprint. I just cannot give up, and occasionally I carpool but Im not sure how I can get this footprint down. Does anyone have an suggestions?

Transportation is a huge part of my life and contributes most to my carbon footprint. Almost everywhere I go is by car because driving is convenient and honestly saves more time in general.

Walking and riding my bike instead of driving would definitely reduce my carbon footprint, but sometimes its just not possible, due to horrible weather conditions, long distance I need to travel and safety reasons. Also its quite hard to leave the "simple/easy" lifestyle. Although driving comes with its benefit, I do realize that walking/biking is better, so if I do get the chance and time to do that, I will.

Once or twice a year my family will travel outside Canada to either Europe or the US. My family ends up leaving behind a huge carbon footprint because we always rent a car to get around instead of walking or using public transit. I am also not sure if the food we eat on vacation is locally grown in that area or if its organic. All of that combined with all of the CO2 airplanes emit leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. Traveling is off the table for me.

I am very willing to change a lot of things in my life in order to help the planet. For example, I will make an effort to walk more places, turn off lights when I am not using them, and taking shorter showers. I always new that climate change was happening, I just didn’t know it was happening in such extreme ways and affecting our planet so drastically already. I will definitely be making some major changes in my life to lower my carbon footprint.
    I think I will focus most on my home-related habits such as, not using heating/cooling unless necessary. Also, I will start doing the simple things. I will start recycling as much as I can, turning off lights when not in use, taking shorter showers, and be aware of how and where to dispose of batteries and other toxic materials safely.
    Next, I will start buying more locally grown food. I have talked with my family, and I have convinced them to go to the farmers market to buy the majority of our food now. I am also considering growing a small garden, but because I live in an apartment, it would be tricky to maintain.
    I am d efinitely going to try to start making an effort to be more mindful of our environment. I think with a bit more research, I can make my family much more green.

Yeah totally! The cool thing is, so many of these things are easy and doable! People just don’t know that it makes a difference. So the more we tell people and make education about these topics, it will make a difference!

I think in my daily life, transportation is the one that contributes to my carbon footprint the most. Why? Because personally if I have a chance to not walk I would take it! Especially in the colder days, I would call my parents to pick me up from school, but now knowing what happens or could happen I want to change!

I totally agree! Whenever I wake up late or it's raining outside, I ask for a ride to school, or maybe after school when I have too much stuff to take home, I call my mom asking for a ride.  I'm now trying my best to walk wherever I can, whenever. It would be both beneficial for me and the environment. Exercise for me and less CO2 for the environment. Win-win situation!

Many aspects of my life contribute to my carbon footprint, but one of the big ones for me would probably be transport. I much prefer taking a form of transportation as opposed to walking or biking, especially in the colder seasons. It would be very difficult for me to walk or bike in the freezing weather for well over half an hour to school every day. Because of this, I choose to take public transportation every day to school, and to various other places instead of using other methods that could lower my carbon footprint

There are definitely aspects of my daily life that contribute to my carbon footprint, but even if I want to put a stop to it, I end up continuing and repeating it.

One of the things that I do that I know is bad for the environment is taking 10 -15 min showers. Most of the time I take about 5 min showers but I think it would be better if all the showers I took were that short because every drop of water counts. Another thing I should stop is going in a car to places but that is the main way to get places plus the fuel efficient cars are so expensive. Now that my brother is in college we drive to visit him which uses fuel but isn’t driving 6 hours better then flying because when you fly it uses more fuel and more money.

If there's something I can not let go, it's my phone, I have to have him with me wherever I go. I usually can not be without him for more than 20 minutes. I use my phone too much and I have to change it. There are pros and cons accompanying the phone, but the pros are that you can use the phone in lessons and contact friends and relatives, the cons are that the phone can often interfere with lessons.

I live about 20 miles from my school and I do not carpool.  Although I do feel bad about this, its not something I can change, because I need to go to school to get my education, no matter how far away it is.

Instead of driving to school, I use the city bus to travel between my house and school everyday. I believe that all schools should offer bus passes or shuttles to students in order to reduce our carbon footprint.

I agree with Eden, that if our schools are teaching us to reduce our carbon footprints and save the environment, they should provide public transportation, which most do. Public transportation is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint because by using public transportation you are reducing the amount of cars on the street. Another way to do this is by walking or biking.

Yes, I believe that if there's public transportation to schools, it should be electric, such as a lot of the city buses in Seattle. If it's possible, I think you should see if you can pick up a couple friends on the way to school or vice versa.

For me personally, travelling is one thing I cannot give up. My family and I love to travel, and I can't imagine my life without it. Travelling teaches you a lot about other cultures and lets you have a deeper appreciation for the world around you. It lets you see different environments than the ones you're used to and also allows you to experience a different climate depending on where you go. I can honestly say I would give up anything else before I give up travel.

I agree also. Travelling is a great way to explore different types of cultures and it also brings families closer together especially when you go on road trips. Each place around the world shows you a new experience of the different environmental settings. Also, you can meet different people who have come from different places around the world. So, I also would not give up travelling.

I agree with you. I know it is very bad for the environment and that cutting out traveling will help the Earth. I am like you though and would not want to give up traveling. I think it is a very good thing for everyone to do so they can see the world and how different people live. Also, all the history that is around the world is amazing.

I agree it is very hard for me to give up travel I travel about 4 times a year about 2 of those times its to see my family in California for reunions and Christmas, then my family has a big family trip in the summer so mostly all my trips are for family purposes. However, the things i do to reduce my traveling footprint is to book a 0 stop flight straight to my destination.

I also agree with you guys. I can't give up traveling; it's something I do twice a year and it's always a great experience. The sad part is it hurts our planet, so if we create a more efficient way to travel that pollutes less, then it will help reduce carbon dioxide in our atmosphere a lot. A thing I notice with straight flights is that they are more expensive, but the ones with more stops are less expensive. It's kind of interesting because you can pay more to pollute less, or you can pay less and pollute more. In general though the more you pay for certain things the better they are. A few examples are: buying LED lights instead of incandescent or fluorescent, buying a vegetarian or vegan meal versus a cheaper non vegetarian one, and buying an electric or even hybrid car versus a normal one.

Traveling in a plane great but your ruining the environment going those long distances releasing all those harmful gasses in our air doesn't feel right.

I also agree, I love to travel too. This year I took a trip out of the country for the 2nd time in my life. While I did love the trip, I was flying over the Pacific Ocean, so I was going a long way. I knew that traveling affects your carbon footprint a lot, but I was still very surprised on how much it did. If there is one thing that will be hard to cut down on, it will be traveling.

I agreed with you guys. I know it's bad for an environment but I still love traveling. Maybe try something eles like hiking or camping in places near your house. Using transportation that cause less carbon dioxide in air like ride a bike.

My carbon footprint was pretty high, in fact it is probably higher than the calculator says it is due to all of the electronics I have in my home. Besides lights and electricity the biggest reason why I had such a large footprint was transportation. This is because of two factors. The first being that I drive 45 minutes to get to ballet four times a week, which all adds up to be quite a bit of traveling. The second being that my family went on an 8,250 mile long road trip this year. The problem with these factors is that I have no control over them. I couldn't control the fact that I had to go on the trip or the fact that I had to get to ballet somehow. We can't do much about traveling if its a family decision to go. Its not like I can easily walk or bike to ballet.  In the past I have tried to fix this issue by carpooling, but the habit never sticks.  Even if it does it can still be to difficult to organize. And some of the more high tech options to lower my carbon footprint in the Transportation category are just completely unrealistic for me. Transportation is off the  table so the only other option to lower my footprint is to lower the other aspects of it. If I can't lower transportation maybe I can lower my use of electricity instead. That just goes to show that if for some reason you can't find a reasonable way to decrease your foot print in one category there is most likely another category that you can decrease your footprint in.

I definitely think that if you need to go somewhere and you are in a reasonable walking distance, then you should avoid driving there. My carbon footprint was very high in transportation also, so I think I need to cut back on traveling to places by car or others way of transportation if I can.

alot of people think that taking planes are really bad for your carbon footprint, but they are alot more efficient then cars the (adverage mpg of a car is 25 compared to 100 miles per gallon per person) so if you flew those 8250 miles in a plane instead you would have burned less fuel.

https://www.limebike.com/

If you really want to lower your carbon footprint, I would suggest that you carpool with some of your friends that are in your ballet class.

In my AP Environmental science, we calculated our carbon footprint based on our life style. And I found that taking airplane contributed the most to my carbon footprint. I spend about 70 hours each year on the airplane, mostly because I travel between China and US about twice a year. Also, I usually go to southern California and east coast during breaks. Then I changed my hour from 70 to 15, and found that my carbon footprint reduced by half. Therefore, I think taking airplane would be the "off the table" part in my life. I know that traveling by air emits a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, I'm just unwilling to change it. I really like to travel around the world and learn about different local customs in different places, so it is really hard for me to give up my hobby. But I will try to reduce my flight hour by driving or taking trains if I have these options while traveling to other places.

I have the same guilty pleasures that hurt the environment. I also really like to travel. Traveling has been very formative and positively influenced me by being interested and being exposed to different environments. For example I went on a trip to Costa Rica last year, but after realizing how much CO2 I emitted I was astonished. After thinking about bad that trip was for the Earth, I couldn't help but not feel that much regret. I would do anything to go over there again because the experience was beyond words. The big question is however do we have to sacrifice the things we love to do for the sake of the Earth. I feel we do because if we continue to practice and exercise transportation in the way we do for a long time, unfortunately humans will have to be forced to not do anything for fun due to the Earth. Might as well try to resist now so that the future generations do not have to suffer and be taken away from pleasures in life.

I also found that my flights made up a lot of my carbon footprint. It is hard to find alternatives to flying especially to a far away place. I found a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/sunda … ravel.html)  about how much flying adds to one's carbon footprint and it surprised me that only 5% of global warming is due to flying but it is predicted that the number will rise a lot since the amount of flights are going up so much. I think that airplane companies should look into a different kind of fuel that that does not emit so much CO2. I agree that it is astonishing to see how much our travel can impact the environment especially from something that so many people do. Like driving, flying is very important for a lot of people's lives, though it may not be daily a lot of people need to fly places for work or to visit loved ones. This is why it would be hard to reduce the amount of people flying.

I have the same issue for something I can’t help, visiting my family. There is no other way for me specifically to travel 3,000+ miles just to see my family,  I was really suprised when I got my transportation results and I feel guily but it’s something I can’t help. I think the best thing to do is to make it known to people who have a choice to take other forms of transportation.

Hi all - I have some advice for you on how you can keep your traveling footprint as low as possible if air travel is "off the table" for you:

1) When you fly, see if it is possible to take non-stop flights. Take-offs and landings use the most fuel in a flight, so the more stops, the higher the footprint. Plus, flight paths with stops are often very out of the way (e.g., flying from San Francisco to New York via Atlanta), adding many excess hours of flying and thus a higher footprint. Sometimes non-stop flights are only a few dollars more expensive than a one-stop itinerary, but with a much lower footprint.

2) On a similar note, what I usually do when I travel overseas is to find the cheapest non-stop flight to get me anywhere close to my destination and then from then on travel by public transport. For example, when flying to Europe, I often fly direct to Frankfurt and then take the excellent European trains to my final destination.

3) Look into long distance trains as an alternative to flying at all. I am lucky that I can afford the time to travel by train, but I get  a lot o f work done while traveling by train. I therefore take the train to the East Coast of USA from Washington state 1-2 times per year (3 days in the train) and several times each year take the train from Seattle to San Francisco (1 day on the train).

The views from the train are beautiful, and it's a great way to travel if you have the time.

These strategies keep my transport carbon footprint relatively low even though I travel a lot!

Finally, you can look to “offsetting” your travel footprint with other actions, like hanging your clothes to dry, eating less meat or riding your bicycle to school.
Good luck!

Great advices! Unfortunatelly, my students won't always be able to follow them. We have a lot of projects in our school and student are travelling to foreign countries with teachers. We have to go by plane and the procedure is that we need to choose the cheapest flight. But, when travelling for private purpuses those are great advices. Thank you!

I have the same problem with flights. I take A LOT of them. But so does my dad. He's an international worker that travels 300k+ miles A YEAR. It would affect his own footprint more than mine. And my footprint makes my guilty enough. The advise Jason Hodin gave us would really help most people.

I totally agree, when I took the carbon foot print challenge it was way below average for everything, but transportation, only because I usually do one national and international flight every year. As humans if we figured out a cleaner way to fly, which will be amazing, we will produce way less green house gasses and Carbon dioxide. Also traveling isn't a bad thing, but we need to still figure out some sort of solution.

I think that when the quiz calculates your transportation footprint, it doesn't take into account how many people are actually being transported on each plane. It shows you the total carbon emissions, instead of dividing the emissions evenly among all the passengers

this is the thing with global transportation from with a 24 hour period its very helpful and us first world people depend on t socially and economically. plane carbon emissions are horrible but a more solid and substitute fix would be to create more fuel efficient planes...

I agree, I fly to California about four times a year to visit, and that resulted in my carbon footprint in transportation being about a lot above the average.

There is one thing that I can't live without and that's my phone. My phone is practically my life. I bring it everywhere I go and it my source to keep in contact with my parents. The reason why I can't live without it is because it's just a part of me. I use it to keep track of the time, and it helps me with homework (at times), but my main purpose is to keep in touch with my friends and family. I also use my phone for entertainment, when I'm bored and have some spare time I will go on my phone and play a game. I don't think I could ever live without a cell phone. My phone is "off the table".

I agree. Sadly, my phone and computer are "off the table" for me because of the way I live my life. I am not proud of it, but my lifestyle has made me very dependent of technology and luxuries that many others are not fortunate to have. I wish the society I lived in was not so technology based.

I also agree that phones and other technologies are not essential for living but are not something that realistically people could get rid of or stop using. Instead of people focusing on reducing the use of technology people should focus on recycling and buying food locally. Even though society is based around technology there are other ways to help the environment.

I also agree with all of you.  However, I think that there are ways to use less energy.  For example, you could try dimming the light on your phone, force close apps when you are not using them, and turn off the WiFi when you are not using it.  Another way you could conserve energy is by charging it whenever you really need it, rather than leaving it charge all night long.  Although that doesn't save much energy, it's better to conserve some energy than none at all.

You make very good points about phones not being essential for living, but they hard to give up. I am constantly on my phone between classes, and the first thing I do in the morning is check my phone. I like your suggestions for different ways to conserve energy use in phones. Another easy way to conserve phone battery is to turn off the vibrate. This uses more battery power, and causes you to have to charge your phone more often.

I also agree with all of you. Doing away with all technology is almost impossible, but there are a couple of ways we can cu back on usage like by turning brightness on very low when using phones or computers, and keeping usage of technology outside of work to a minimal. I get that it is easier to take a picture of your schedule and just go on your phone to look at it instead of looking at a piece of paper, but printing off your schedule is more eco friendly, and one can just memorize their schedule. You can also turn your phone on low power mode, turn the brightness all the way down. Also, you can just charge your phone when it is all they way out of power.

As I was reading everyone’s comments on this post, I saw that someone made a comment saying that phones aren’t essential to our everyday living, and they’re are right. Phones are a piece of technology that people have gotten attached to making it seem that they can’t live without it and I’m guilty of that. My phone is my life, everything is on there, my photos, contacts, and of course the internet. Cell phones were created to interact with other people when they aren’t around, explore the internet, and much more. Although phones are used for good in our society, it affects us and are carbon footprints in a negative way. I agree with everyone saying our phones are “off the table” but there are ways we can reduce the amount of usage we use with our phones such as battery saving, mode, lowering screen brightness, and not charging our phones every time.

My phone would be “off the table” because of its many features that I use in my every day life.  Although I am not necessarily proud of how our generation has become attached to our cellular devices, I do carry my phone with me everywhere.  It is my main form of communication with my family and friends, and I cannot imagine my life without it.  If I am somewhere without a parent, I must have my phone to update my family.  Along with the communication aspect, my phone is a place for my social media, which has become a huge part of society.  I am constantly updating my feed on Instagram and checking any notifications from other apps.  By limiting this usage, I could really decrease my carbon footprint. I also keep my phone charging whenever I can.  However, this often is unnecessary and can be changed.  I saw a comment that mentioned limiting how long you charge your phone can have a beneficial impact on the environment.  In conclusion, my phone would be “off the table,” but I can find ways to limit my cellular usage.

I've read many of the comments on this post and I  agree that society has become very attached to cell phones and it has almost become a crutch to us. One thing I do not agree with is the idea that cell phones aren't essential. For most people, cell phones are a main form of communication, including me. Cell phones can often save people in dangerous situations. So, my cell phone would not be "off the table." But a great compromise would be instead of giving up cell phones altogether, we could limit the usage on our cell phones. A highly important impact would be reducing the amount of times we spend charging our phones. A report by an analyst at  Juniper Research found that charging our smartphone is a massive generator of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases. Charging our cell phones for long amounts of time is a  contributor to increasing our carbon footprints. To conclude, my cell phone would not be "off the table" for safety purposes. But limiting usage  and charging time we could all help contribute to reduce global warming. 
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/smartphone-ch … use-gases/

I agree with your position on the necessity of phones to our daily lives, Megan. You touched upon the importance of keeping in contact with family and friends through your cellphone. However, I believe that phones should not be solely used for entertainment because the use of your phone can become an addiction and a waste of time. Phones also pose as a distraction especially when you are driving. Furthermore, people are using their phones to perform multiple tasks such as taking photos, online gaming, social media, ordering transportation services (e.g. Uber), navigation, online banking, and others. Therefore, there is an increase in the demand for newer, better, and faster models of phones resulting in frequent upgrades. This will lead to high amounts of electronic waste causing an increase in solid waste in the landfills and the release of toxic pollutants into the environment such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium. In my opinion, cellphones are not “off the table”.

Resource:
https://www.thebalance.com/e-waste-and- … ng-2877783

Also for clarification, I misinterpreted the meaning of "off the table" in my previous post. What I meant to say was my cell phone WOULD be "off the table." Sorry for the confusion!

I’ve read many comments regarding this issue and I agree with all of you. I think we all are definitely too attached to our phones, but I also think they are essential to our daily lives. This is because of mostly safety reasons, but also for a source of connection and information. I do think, however, that we should try and limit the use of our phones to conserve energy. For example, if we are using our phones for unneeded activities all day long then we are just constantly draining the battery for no reason so we are constantly recharging them. This eventually turns into a cycle of wasted energy.

I agree with the points made above. We human are addicted to our phones, which take up most of our lives. One way to cut down the use of technology is to only use it when it is necessary. For example, Snap-chatting and liking your friend's post on Instagram waste energy and aren't essential to our everyday lives. Doing unnecessary things on our phones contribute to the "cycle of wasted energy".

I agree. Though phones may be essential for communication, it is not necessary to use them as often as most people in the twenty first century do. Is keeping your streaks or bettering our environment more important. Is liking and commenting on your friends post or saving our earth more important. There are so many areas of technology that if we all cut down on them, it could make a huge difference. One of the things you could do is limit the amount of time you spend on your phone per day (excluding emergencies).  People in the olden days survived without phones, so I think we can survive cutting down the amount of time we spend on them.

phones can be very helpful but also very damaging. Frequently  during the day I  check my phone to see if someone snapchated me, or what the time is, etc. It’s now a essential part of human life but at times i wish i wasnt so addicted. One thing I do to limit my phone usage is turn it off and put it in another room. I don’t do that very often though. Another idea you can use to limit the time on your phone is to let it die and hide the charger. I have only done this a few times but it helped a lot. Especially when you really need to get some school work done. Lastly, you can just delete apps that distract you a lot. A bunch if celebrities have talked about this (EX: Kendall Jenner). They call it a social media purge. I often see a lot of snapchats where my friends or mutual friends have done this. Hope that helps.

From a young child, I was raised having meat for nearly every other meal. As a result, at this point in my life, I still consider chicken as a staple for many of the meals I eat. After watching numerous documentaries advocating to become vegan/vegetarian, I still remain undiscouraged. I am aware of the massive amount of Methane and C02 produced during the care and processing of livestock. Being highly concerned about preserving the environment, I have looked into the many ways to counteract or at least delay this damaging process. According to the American animal rights organization, PETA,  "Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together cause the vast majority of global warming". Considering that global warming does, in fact, have devastating effects, stopping the consumption of meat would significantly lower the threat of the world increasing in temperature. With this in mind, I have made attempts with my family to go vegetarian but I have not been able to stay committed. I believe this is a result of primarily the taste that I am less accustomed to as well as the  higher difficulty to purchase intricate meal ingredients and easily finding meals outside of my home. Since I am unable to entirely drop meat at the time, one compromise I would be willing to consider would be dropping red meat and still eating chicken until later consideration. Additionally, I am currently competing in sports which makes it difficult to find adequate amounts of protein and enough food to fill me up at a reasonable price. Luckily, my family continues to have a vegetarian diet and encourages me to do the same.

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-use … vironment/

One thing that is necessary and unchangeable in my life is traveling. I travel from China to America twice a year visiting my families and spending the time to relax.  After completing the survey in my carbon footprint. Comparing with the results from my classmates, I found it interesting how my carbon footprint had a significant difference from theirs. The usage of traveling in my carbon footprint can be two or three times more than my classmates' usage, making my overall data a lot more than the average data. I was surprised but feel like traveling as a part of my carbon footprint is not changeable. I went back to China during the holidays and for special events. I noticed the cost for travel from China to America and was trying to limit the time going back to visit my families. But even though I did my best limiting the time went back, I still wanted and needed to go back to China. So as for me, traveling, as a big part of my carbon footprint is not changeable.

I have the same issue with my carbon footprint too. I also travel to another country almost every year and this increases my carbon footprint because I too need to use a plane to get to this country. Basically all of my family lives in Argentina and my family and I go to visit them every year. Although over the years it has reduced to one visit to Argentina every other year, I still have greatly damaged the earth by taking so many plane rides there and back over my life. One round trip flight to Argentina and back releases 4.37 tons of CO2 according to the carbon balanced calculator. And also according to a guardian article, this makes up for almost a quarter of my total average carbon footprint. It is awful to see the heavy price I have to pay upon the earth to see my family. I have been trying to see if anyone in the world is on the verge of making flying sustainable however, it seems as if we are a long ways off from doing that. According to a Los Angeles Times article about electric planes, we are very far off from creating planes that are electric that can travel fo r very long distances. So because flying carbon free is not a viable solution at the moment, what can I do to lower my carbon emissions when I fly? I know an option could be to just to fly at all, however flying is the only way I can really travel to Argentina.

What's off the table for me? Traveling from one place to another is off the table for me. Although, I know driving a car is definitely affecting the environment and releases many carbon emissions, I cannot change the way I commute to places. It takes me about half an hour to get to school and if I were to ride a bike or walk, who knows how long that would take me? I believe that if I were to go to some place near my house I could definitely cut down on using a car or automobile, but my daily commutes would have to still be by car.
Besides that, I could not give up travelling the world. Yes, planes have a large carbon emission, but flying to different countries, states, or cities is something I also cannot let go of. Travelling to different places can widen your perspective. It teaches you about different cultural backgrounds and gives you an insight on how others live their life. It opens you up to new opportunities and chances to try new things.

I believe that the biggest impact I make is also an aspect of my lifestyle which I cannot alter. In my personal instance, travelling instigates the largest effect on my carbon footprint. From a singular round flight, I amassed a carbon footprint larger than my home, food, and purchases combined. Although it is something that is seemingly easy to adjust in favor of lowering my carbon footprint, but it is a luxury I cannot afford to lose. I was born in a country 5,000 miles away from my current place of residence, so I have to take long trips to visit all my family members. Personally, flying is not something I can just give up and is “off the table” for discussion
      In addition, I am sure a lot of people agree with me. I am sure that there are many immigrants from different countries that require the ability to visit their family far away from their current location. Unfortunately, flight has been associated with extreme impact upon carbon footprints, as  the New York Times cites the average carbon emissions per person on a flight as 0.9 metric tons! All in all, peopl ,e can reduce cell phone usage, the purchasing of material objects and overall consumption but travel and transportation is a key facet to many society’s well being.
Sources: http://web.stanford.edu/group/inquiry2i … age=fpcalc
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/clim … ml?mcubz=0

I don't know if travel is off the table for me or not. I want to see the world because there is so much to do and so much to see, and also I want to visit relatives, and my family has enough money to do so. On the other hand I care a lot about the environment and flying emits so much carbon dioxide. This is such a dilemma for me, which is really quite a privileged dilemma too because many people don't get to ride in an airplane at all! I could so easily not ride in an airplane because so many people don't anyway, but then again, could I do that easily? If my family wants to go to the East Coast, do I just say no or we're driving? Do I force my older sister to drive 12 hours every time she wants to see us, or does she just take the one hour flight? How can I refuse the convenience and amazing possibilities of flight if I'm presented with the opportunity? How can I refuse to go on an amazing science trip if I can? Who wouldn't refuse that? But how can such a wonderful thing be so bad for the environment which I care so much about? How could I ever make up for the carbon em issions that flight causes? Then again, what will me not going on a trip really do? People will still fly in airplanes and drive their cars and use their heaters and eat meat and destroy the environment. What real significant good will it do for me to avoid traveling?

I guess traveling is off the table for me, and my excuse is being with my family and seeing the world, and hopefully I'll do something with that someday. I don't want to burn that much fuel, but the experiences that come out of it seem like they're worth it. Maybe I'll get something out of flying that will help me do something great for the environment later, but then again that doesn't necessarily seem to be a reliable cause and effect. I can't just assume that it's okay for me to go on an airplane because later I'm going to reduce carbon emissions. No one can assume that, I mean, imagine if everyone who rode on an airplane became an environmental activist. It just doesn't happen and it's not a reliable excuse. I want to do something great for the environment, but I just don't know if I will. For now traveling is off the table for me because I'm a selfish hypocrite, as I love the earth, but I guess I don't enough to not fly in an airplane. How sad is that!

I agree that the luxury of traveling is "off the table". I am so lucky to say that I get to travel the world with my family. Traveling the world opens my eyes to different perspectives of the world. I learn to appreciate and understand other cultures and ideas. There are some things we can do to reduce our footprint while traveling. The article, https://www.travelandtransport.com/blog … footprint/ , reminded me to turn off any appliances that will not be in use while traveling. Even though these acts are really small compared to one air plane flight, being aware of our carbon emissions and making an effort to reduce our carbon footprint is already a step in a positive direction. Buying eco-friendly products or staying at eco-friendly hotels can reduce your traveling carbon emissions greatly. Most eco-friendly hotels are under the Green Hotels Association. If you would like to see additional sources regarding trav eling and reducing your carbon footprint, refer to: http://www.greenhotels.com/ and http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can … stainably/

As I worked on my carbon footprint calculations, I, too, realized I could look to my traveling for taking up much of my carbon footprint! I must say that I agree with you. Although one round trip can take up so much energy, I don't think I can give up the experience to see most of my family 8,000 miles away or experience other cultures and see the world. For me, this is off the table. However, I do care about the environment, and while I travel, my family and I rarely burn fuel on the ground. We walk everywhere, or use the common metro or train, instead of using one individual car which can also increase your carboon footprint rapidly. I try to make my carbon footprint as low as possible everywhere, especially when I'm in a foreign place by doing as little as using eco friendly products or turning off the lights and water. Instead of drastically adding to my carbon footprint, I do all I can to minimize energy use and improve the environment in anyway I can.

I, too, understand the value of travel, but there are ways to reduce our footprint, as Katherine L mentions above. Dr. Jason Hodin, research scientist and the person who designed the ISCFC Carbon Footprint Calculator, sets wonderful examples for us. He take the train whenever he can in place of planes, and he points out that it is always best to take a plane trip with no stops, if traveling by plane. He also show that it is always better to walk, bike, or take public transportation when we can.

I completely agree with you.  My transportation accounted for well over half of my carbon footprint results.  This is mostly because I have taken eight flights in the past year.  My family and I love to travel, and it is an experience that has shaped me in many ways.  We also travel so much because we have relatives that live all across the globe.  I was born in London, and my siblings were born in Canada.  We have been exposed to travel ever since we were babies.  I have lived halfway across the world, and I would not forfeit that experience for anything.  I do not want to have such a large carbon footprint, but traveling is such a big part of who I am.  I do try to reduce my waste in everyday life.  I recycle, turn off the lights when I'm not using them, and encourage others to do the same.  I do all this because I do believe that humans are the reason the global average temperature is rising.  All in all, I could never give up traveling and the experiences that come with it, but I do my best to reduce my carbon footprint in other areas.

I can relate! Travel is a huge part of my life. I mainly travel around America to participate in club softball tournaments with my team. Not flying is not an option for me. Especially through my four years in college (since I will continue my softball career at the college level); I will be traveling more than ever to play different college softball teams.  It is frustrating because I want to contribute to lessening pollution, especially since transportation is a huge pollutant, but there is no way I can stop flying. I see that many others feel this way as well. What if a new type of fuel was created? Or a new type of plane? Something less harmful to the environment or maybe even helpful? Is it possible to create a plane that could run off the carbon dioxide that is being emitted into the air by humans or maybe off of other toxic pollutants in the atmosphere? I remember hearing in my Honors Chemistry class last year that a car that runs completely off of hydrogen  is in the works. Would it be possible to create a plan that runs entirely off of hydrogen as well? If any of you have answers or thoughts please post them below. I'd love to hear!

Just recently, I took a trip to Spain, and being on a plane a total of 4 times, actually made the travel portion of my carbon footprint longer than the entire national average. As a person who rarely flies, I had never really considered the damage planes have on our environment. According to the NY Times, air travel is to blame for 5% of global warming, and that number is expected to rise. While I understand the damaging impact air travel has, it disappoints me. I just discovered my love for travel, and travelling (by air) was something that I wanted to do much more in my life. Now, knowing what it does to my carbon footprint, I'm not sure what to do. I don't need to travel by plane--all my family is here--but I looked forward to the future experiences.

The majority of my greenhouse gas emissions are derived from transportation, too! Like you, I currently reside in a country almost 10,000 miles away from the rest of my family members, so my parents and I make it a point to visit them during long holidays. That being said, we are aware of our carbon footprint and have taken that into consideration when planning our flights. We also limit the amount of transportation on ground in order to cut down on our carbon footprint.

While completing my own carbon footprint investigation, I noticed a specific category that really bumped my footprint passed the national average. This happened to be flying and traveling via airplane. I personally flew five times in the past year and that put my footprint more than five times the average. Looking at the Federal Aviation Administration, they recorded an average of 43,864 flights per day, with 5,000 planes constantly in the sky at any given time. The average plane produces around 53 pounds of CO2 per mile, which will add up to massive amounts when flying to far places with this many planes. This is a very unspoken issue, as there is almost no way to get around the need to fly. The only other options to travel far distances are by train, car, or boat; these options can be very slow and inconvenient for many people that require flying for their careers or other personal purposes. Flying is a big problem with carbon emissions, but there are no simple  solutions to fixing it.
What are some ways in which we could possibly fix this problem?https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/

I have grown up playing lacrosse and it has evolved into a passion and something I want to continue throughout high school and college.  The downside of playing lacrosse is the travel.  In the last two years, I have flown in planes to San Diego, Maryland, New York, Denver, and Utah all for tournaments.  This caused my carbon footprint in transportation to be higher than many of my classmates.  I was astounded by how much of an impact airplanes had on one's carbon footprint.  One article by The New York Times, titled "Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel", listed many surprising and disturbing facts about airplane travel.  For example, a just one round trip flight from New York to San Francisco is the warming equivalent to 2 to 3 tons of carbon dioxide per person.  Also, if you take five long flights a year, it will account for three-quarters of your emissions for that year.  Although these facts surprised me and make me question my travelling habits, lacrosse is not something I am willing to give up yet.

For me, using my laptop has become a part of my life that would be very difficult. From school to communicating to research and gaining information, my computer has become a very important in my day to day life. I go on my laptop for school multiple times a day and many assignments are required to by typed and submitted, in addition to having research projects where the internet provides resources and information that is unavailable anywhere else. I think it would also be very difficult for many people beyond myself to eliminate or significantly use of computers, as much of our technology based society revolves around their use and functionality in being able to connect with people across the world and spread/increase knowledge. Even with this program now, which does a great job raising awareness regarding our contributions to the carbon emissions on earth, we have to use our laptops. Computers have been integrated into society in such a way that removing them would be impossible, as nearly every organization directly or indirectly relies on them every day.

hello! I agree with you, but up to a point. Yes, we do need laptops/computers in our everyday life, especially when they make our work easier. But that doesn't mean we can't make the process of using them emit less CO2. By simply dimming the light of the screen, turning it off instead of putting it on sleep mode and unplugging it from the charger as soon as the battery is full, you use less energy! I know these things may seem meaningless, but they actually work. You just have to remember to do them whenever you use your laptop/computer.

I agree that computers are off the table do to the course society has taken. Computers connect the world in so many different ways and have become such an intrinsic part of daily life that I do not think humans would be able to give them up. I do not, however think that all technology is off the table, but computers drive so many technological advances, research, and global communication that it would be nearly impossible to stop using them. The article "6 Surprising Ways Computer Science Benefits Society" published by Rasmussen College sums up that computers drive education and communication, protect people and organizations, and help expose and solve problems. I think the benefits of computers, not eye-catching technology or gaming devices, outweigh the cons if people are responsible about how much energy they use.

Personally, I know I couldn't live without my cellphone. It's my only way to contact some family members, so that's off the table for me.
For others, I know that cellphones aren't as big of a deal (like my dad, he hardly uses his) and if there was a huge change he wouldn't even notice

Hi there! I think it is an universal opinion that everyone uses their phone everyday and they couldn't live without one. I don't make an exception. I use it way more than I should (as I currently don't have a laptop or a personal computer) and I know it's no good towards the environment. But simple things such as dimming the screen light and taking it out of the socket as sson as it's fully charged can help for a smaller amount of energy consumed. And less energy means less emissions.

I have many things in my life that I would consider off the table, but my vehicle and my phone are the two biggest things. My phone is used to communicate with other people and stay up to date with everything happening around the world. My vehicle is how I get to all the places I need to go.

I agree we need reliable transportation and communication in today's modern world. However we need to these resources to be efficient and low cost for the consumer. Thankfully that is the direction the world is heading in today.

I can relate to where you are coming from; most of my life is dependent on cars and electronics. I usually am in the car for 2-3 hours a day due to living far from my school, and am aware how much pollution that produces, as well as gas consumption. When reading a study published by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), I learned that "the average passenger vehicle emits about 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year". This is very alarming considering that just one metric ton is equivalent to 1,000 kilograms. Hopefully, "smart" cars will become more popular and mainstream in order to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are created from the usage of conventional automobiles.

Transportation by way of planes clearly contributes a significant amount to peoples carbon footprint. As a solution or a suggested way of lowering the amount of fossil fuels you emit into the atmosphere, some may propose you decrease your amount of travel. However, I feel this is unreasonable for countless reasons. First, many people have jobs that require them to travel. In many instances, it’s impossible to compensate for not being present, such as photo shoots and business meetings. Some common jobs where travel and presence is crucial include modeling and personal design. Another reason why travel is important and cannot be substituted is seeing family and/or friends. Many people travel to see their families annually, and are not willing to give this up to bring down their carbon footprints. Lastly, it’s unreasonable to ask people to give up their vacations and/or personal travels.
Instead of suggesting that people deprive themselves of vacations/personal travels, seeing their friends/family, and going to necessary business  meetings/events, it would be a great inve stment regarding the health of our planet to design an eco friendly way of travel. There are too many reasons why we cannot discontinue our travels, so instead we should solve the problem by creating cleaner ways of transportation.

As well as air planes, vehicles such as cars contribute greatly to many peoples carbon footprints. Unfortunately, there are no simple fixes in bringing down your carbon footprint from transportation, other than instead of driving you could walk, bike, or run, which in many cases is absurd. For example, it would be a ridiculous suggestion to ask anyone with a long commute to work to simply walk, bike, or run there instead of a much more efficient way such as driving. Even more, suggesting they take a public form of transportation to lower their carbon footprint may even be too much to ask, as it doesn’t fit with everyone’s schedule. The list of examples continues, and it will continue unless we fix the root of the problem- our vehicles need to be more eco friendly.

Companies such as Tesla are producing electric cars which are helping lower carbon footprints, however, for many people these types of cars are unaffordable. The solution to this problem (create more eco friendly cars) is easier said than done. All information leads to one conclusion: we need affordable, clean cars to help us lower our carbon footprints.
For additional information, visit https://organic4greenlivings.com/use-ec … footprint/

I wish I could live without travel, it has such a huge effect on the climate. Airplanes are particularly bad for the environment. In my life Airplanes are used a lot, my family likes to travel particularly by plane. I don’t we ever realized how bad for the environment they were, but we have now become so reliant on air travel to get around that I don’t think we could live without it.

Maybe a solution to this could be drive when possible even when not the most ideal way of transportation. I really feel travel is an important thing to happen, if people travel relations with other people/nations may improve, but we may have to find alternatives to this issues because if everybody takes multiple flights per year our emissions will skyrocket, and we can’t just wait for planes to become more efficient.

Does anybody else feel this way? Anybody else have similar reliances on the air travel?

I have a passion for traveling, whether it be by plane or by car, I absolutely love to travel. I've gone to many places not only this year but in the past years of my life. I know that going to places like Italy, Hawaii, England, and Russia have severely increased my carbon footprint, not only because of the plane flights necessary to get there, but also because of the driving involved in getting from place to place when we are finally in the countries. I know that I won't stop traveling, so in order to combat this I do a few things while traveling to try to reduce my already hefty footprint. When possible, especially in larger cities like London or Florence my family and I try to either ride public transportation, such as the metro, or to walk to wherever we want to visit. This helps us to get good exercise, contributes to the local economy, and helps reduce our footprint.

I completely agree with this. As I am in a family that loves traveling I also have a big carbon footprint. We travel many places both in car and on planes and although it is bad for our environment its hard to just stop traveling and there are things like you mentioned that can reduce my footprint but at the same time allow me to keep traveling,

I think that as long as you are making an effort to limit your carbon footprint, and if you are conscious about the effect it has on the environment, you should be able to travel without limitations. The important thing is that you are aware of your effect on the environment, which means that you can take other steps at home to combat your love for travel.

It is also great that you use public transportation while you are traveling, as it does come with all the benefits you listed above. I hope that we can improve our public transportation here at home so that more people use it on a daily basis. That way we can help our environment on a daily basis, rather than just on vacation.

I strongly agree with you because I am exactly like you. I love to travel and even though I know it has a negative affect on our earth, I still don't think I am able to resist it. I believe that there are many other ways to make up for taking planes, and every little thing counts. Turning off the heater or air conditioner when not needed or turning off the lights when there is natural sunlight are different steps we can take to make a change. There are many simple steps that might not seem like it benefits the earth at all, but simple things count. The more simple steps we take, the more our atmosphere will change, therefore as long as we keep an open mind and look out for things that might affect our earth, we will be fine.
Although the use of planes has a negative affect on the atmosphere, it is something we have to use in order to travel and there really is no other option or alternative. We can't just stay where we are forever. We need to experience what this earth has for us and if that means taking planes to the other side of the world, that is what we will do. We  just have to make sure that we are actually making an effort to make a change and pay attention to things concerning our atmosphere.

SOURCE- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesi … rev2.shtml

I agree with you. My family also likes to travel a lot and recently we made a big trip to Italy for the summer. Being on a trip for about 17 always for the round trip was pretty bad for the environment. But when we got there it was so warm and pretty, we walked for almost half the trip. By walking we did not ride in cars a lot only when changing our location form city to city. We tried to walk everywhere we went especially since we were in cities that already had a lot of CO2 being released.
For me my transportation was the biggest number for my carbon footprint. This year in particular my family traveled a lot but usually we don't do long distance traveling. My relatives live in Delaware so we drive 20 hours trips in the car about three times year. The car we drive in doesn't have a big miles per gallon number so there's a lot of gas needed. I think if people in general looked for cars with a bigger number for miles per gallon it could make a big difference.

Travel is something done by almost everyone in the world. Travel by car can depending on you circumstances be very damaging to our atmosphere. If you are traveling on a road trip in a car you depending on you mileage are still contributing quite a few CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. However if you are traveling this same distance over land but on an airplane and not in a car it can be very damaging do to the amount of fuel used in a plane and the high speed this plane goes at. Travel also could be clean with green energy being used in cars that are going on road trips contributing 0 emissions. Soon as well developments in travel could be showing in the near future planes that are powered by solar panels. This would almost entirely eliminate plane emissions which would make travel much cleaner. Travel is soon to be very clean and is getting to where it needs to be on a clean scale, travel in the next few years will be very efficient.

Great conversation.  I have all but stopped flying around the USA.  I now take the train across the country and back at least twice a year,  It's beautiful, not too expensive, I meet interesting people and get a lot of work done.

I also *love* overseas travel, but after realizing how big a carbon impact I was having, I now do it a lot less than I used to. When I do travel overseas, I try to travel in one big trip (with one major roundtrip flight, non-stop if possible)  where I stay for longer in my destination, and like Ava I try to use public transit once I arrive at my destination.

Also, when traveling to Europe, this is what I do: I find the cheapest non-stop flight (let's say to Frankfurt) and then take the excellent European train system to whatever city is my actual destination.

I also love to travel, but as you pointed out, emissions from transportation are often a big impact on our carbon footprints. I think it's great you've managed to find alternatives for driving like public transportation, and I will also try to conserve energy and water while traveling abroad.

I agree with this statement as well, as my family is also big on traveling. Much of our family lives outside the state and country, in places like Oregon, Ireland, and Australia. I also love to travel and experience new parts of the world. Since my family lives so far away, we do not see them that often. It does bring up my carbon footprint, due to all the flights and long drives. I think that walking and using public transportation while traveling helps a lot. I will try to limit the amount of drives I take and walk whenever I can while traveling.

Transportation is definitely a leading contributor to my carbon footprint. Traveling is something that a lot of people don't want to give up, and for good reason. However, as you said, it is extremely important to do the small things when traveling to reduce your footprint, like walking to places, carpooling, etc. I would also suggest taking a train when traveling on the same continent. Not only is it beautiful (some of the views are incredible), but it is substantially better for the environment. After research conducted by Eurostar, it was concluded that taking a train instead of flying can reduce CO2 emissions per passenger by approximately 90%!

I agree that transportation can be a large factor to carbon footprint, especially through flying. I usually travel 3 or 4 places a year, and some of those are only accessible by plane. However, with closer cities, my family tries to take the bus or train whenever possible to have a lower carbon emission. When I have gone to a city or new place, my family and I try to take the metro, walk, or ride bikes as much as possible, which is also a great way to explore a new place. I think it is very important to try and use as little carbon as possible once you have arrived at your destination to help combat the carbon emissions from traveling.

I also love to travel. The last year I have taken a few flights, one of which took me to Japan. The trip was amazing and I definitely don't regret going, but I did feel guilty about the significant impact I was leaving by emitting so much carbon of such a long time (14 hours). When calculating my carbon footprint I was pleasantly surprised. My travel and transportation section combined with home, food, and purchases, created a carbon footprint still under the average for my area! I'm a vegetarian and live with other vegetarians and vegans. As a family we cut carbon emissions, just by eating differently. Along with this we recycle everything we are able, and compost food scrapes as well. I even live within walking distance to the school so I don't need to burn fossil fuels by driving. The realization that my normal lifestyle makes up for my common travels was great. If you love traveling and do it a lot, it's especially important to focus on making decisions which help cut down on carbon emissions.

Transportation is definitely a leading contributor to my carbon footprint. I travel a lot, whether for extracurricular activities, or just for vacations. My life would not be the same without traveling. I agree, that it is important to try to reduce your footprint as much as possible when you are traveling, by walking to places, carpooling, etc. Also, trains are proven to be substantially better for the environment, reducing CO2 emissions by train rather that flying by 90% per passenger.

I agree that transportation is something that is very difficult to live without but because of its huge impact on the environment, I believe we need to find a more eco-friendly form of long-term travel. Biking and carpool is nice for excursions like going to school but are not good ways to travel harder. People travel using planes every day and on average each plane emits a little over 53 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile.

I agree that we need to reduce our carbon footprint in regards to transportation but it would be a difficult process to change everyones methods of transportation.

There are 37+ million people living just in california, most of our population travels by car or airplane. People in the world either travel for leisure, business, or other reasons. 2.6 million jobs require them to travel and 307.2 billion dollars are put into them traveling around the world. Business travels can be cut down by using our technology. Many business arrangements are one on one, therefore businesses could cut down the amount of flights by using skype, facetime, and any other long distance communication resources. Airplanes are causing most of the CO2 producing in our world, if are global aviation's were a country it would be ranked 17% largest carbon dioxide emitter. Airplanes are producing too much CO2 to our environment. If we decreased airfare it would play a major role in helping reduce the CO2 levels.
I am a big travel person myself and I am interested in seeing the world and learning new cultures, so I understand the importance of leisure travels. There are ways you could cut down on CO2 while traveling to other places by using the local transposition,  riding bikes, or even walking. Our society has gotten lazy sorry to say, but most of the people nowadays would rather use the least amount of energy. Many people dread the local train, bart or any other local transportation, but many people rely on these types of transport. People would rather take cars then walks or use local transportation. This could be a very simple solution if people would come over  not wanting to do thing the eco friendly way. I know we can not stop people from traveling and going to place to place and using their car as transportation, but there are ways you can reduce your carbon footprint and still do your daily schedule.
Sources: (2017). U.S. travels answer sheet. Retrieved from  https://www.ustravel.org/answersheet
How significant a source of emissions is air travel. https://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/ … -emissions

I would say that both my phone and my computer are "off the table." I use my phone daily to contact my parents and to keep in touch with my family and friends through social media. I sometimes use it for entertainment, when I'm bored. My computer is another device that I use daily. At my school, we are required to have computers, and thus, I use it in a lot of my classes. Many assignments at school are required to be typed and submitted, and a lot of classes require going online to research various topics. I don't think there is anyway for me to be a successful student without using my laptop.

Even though I personally do not feel extremely attached to my computer, I do think that it is off the table. I use my computer for school assignments, learning about global issues, and I will probably need to use my computer for when I have a job. It would not be difficult for me to put my computer away and never look back, but I would not be successful in today's society if I did not have a computer. Computers are essential to advancing technology, communicating efficiently with different countries, and spreading news so that different geographic areas are educated on current events happening elsewhere. I also think that my life would not be complete without travel, so transportation-it doesn't have to be a plane-to other places is off the table. I think that this "cherished behavior" is essential to different countries becoming diverse and expanding their mindsets. Learning and experiencing the lives of people in different countries is really important to unders tanding what it means to be a human on earth, so I think that modes of transportation like boats are off the table for me.

In my opinion the usage of computers is something that we cannot take off the table for many reasons. First off, computers are a huge part of my school because almost every single one of my classes require that I have a lap top of some sorts. Computers also cant be taken off of the table because it has become the fastest way to keep updated on whats happening in the world. It is allowing people to communicate about the up most important thing just like we are doing right now. Finally I think that computers are absolutely off the table because it allows people to access information they wouldn't have otherwise. For example in some parts of the world there are extremely limited resources to learn about basic knowledge, and if these places were able to access something like a computer they could be opened up to a whole new world of possibilities and learning experiences.

I never even thought about the impact on computers in today's society. They are essential all around the world and are used for many different purposes. As a student a lot of my work is directly connected to my laptop; it's just something I cannot give up. It is hard to think that computers contribute to a good portion of carbon emissions, however, it is something that is defiantly off the table!

In this day and age, most teens lives revolve around their cell phones. I myself am guilty of this because I rely on my phone so much. I always feel the need to have the latest and greatest phone. Mixing wants and needs can be dangerous; this is why I remind myself my phone is perfectly fine. The high demand of cell phones and other technology plays a role in huge carbon emission problem  today. Factories are always on the clock manufacturing these goods while exposing our Earth to toxic emissions.

In my opinion, transportation is really something you cannot control. If you live far away and you cannot carpool, or there is no local transportation near you, there is nothing you can actually do about it. I know a lot of people love to travel around the world, and we cannot blame those people for wanting to do that. Transportation is a harder topic to talk about because its different for each person. Some people carpool everyday or take public transportation everyday, while some people just aren't comfortable with that. Although transportation is a huge contributing factor to the Carbon Dioxide present in our atmosphere, it is something that is very hard to avoid doing.

I agree with your statement. Transportation is a factor in almost all of our lives. When we need to get somewhere, especially in a hurry, we turn to our cars, buses, or trains, and we can't help that. Especially for the people that commute to work or school every day. I, myself am a commuter and I go across the Bay every morning to get to school. Without transportaion, I wouldn't be able to go many places.

I agree with this post. There are many things that can prevent people from using things like the bus or bart. In many rural towns, there is little public transportation. This can cause people to drive everywhere individually, causing more carbon dioxide. In some cases, people are afraid or uncomfortable with the thought of carpooling or bussing. Either way, instituting some kind of accessible public transportation would be extremely helpful towards our carbon footprint. Through my own experiences, there are always people utilizing the local bus or train and I feel that if we spread our system for transportation elsewhere, it could help reduce everyone’s emissions.

I agree with all of these statements! Coming from a personal experience transportation is a very big deal for my family. I have lived in Vallejo for all of my life and going to school in Oakland and having practice in Redwood City has definitely changed myself and my parents lifestyle. Transportation is a very big deal because not many buses nor trains run through Vallejo. My Carbon Footprint was exceptionally high because of my transportation and ever since then I have tried my hardest to reduce it. Riding a bike to school is not very ideal and I don't have many options but hopefully I can reduce my Footprint another way. Any suggestions?

I understand how its quite challenging as well, and I've gone through what your going through. The best suggestion I can give you, is to try and carpool. I carpool once in a while with my friends and it's actually quite efficient!

I also agree with this post. Transportation seems to be the highest emission of CO2 in the atmosphere. I have been traveing very often, but I learned that on average a plane emits 1,000 kg/km of CO2. I want to reduce my CO2 levels in different areas to try and compensate for the traveling. Any suggestions that could greatly reduce my CO2 emission?

This post has brought a new perspective into my view on carbon footprints. I personally do not take a lot of transport and it did not have a huge imprint on my carbon footprint, when I saw other people having higher than average transportations footprints I was very surprised. This post shows me, however, that transportation is a necessary part of life. Overall I think this was a very informative post that definitely helped me see a new perspective in everyones carbon footprints.

I like this view on transportation. I believe it is a very tricky subject, especially because of how you said that everyone is different. Personally, my family goes on big trips all the time, thus making me a big contributor to the CO2 in the world. I thought that this post was really good because of how you said that some ways of transportation are necessary, and some are out of comfort, but that it is hard to improve upon.

I would agree with all of these statements. Transportation is the hardest thing to limit because it is done so often and it is heavily relied upon in the modern world. However, vacations are optional and are not a part of everyday life for most people. If you had to travel, go by plane because they are more fuel efficient than cars.
  [140715_JUI_AirplanePollutionChart](//muut.com/u/footprint/s1/:footprint:AlXh:140715_jui_airplanepollutionchart.png.crop.originaloriginal.png.jpg)

The one thing that is "off the table" for me is my laptop. I spend countless hours using it all day and recharging it for the next. It's just something that I do more of as a routine. I mainly just play video games and do homework on it most of the time since I don't have my own computer. In fear or running out of battery while I'm using it, I usually just charge it while I'm on it. It's a bad habit, but since the battery on my laptop runs out really fast, it needs to be charged constantly.

I think using your electronics in moderation is a way to cut down on screen time and help the environment. You shouldn't completely cut off all screen time but only a few hours per day. Not including school work but only for leisure time. You should be using your electronics for about 5 hours per day.

There is no way I could give up my computer. I need it every day for school to do school work and at home to do homework. Without it, I would not be able to get any work done, like the work I'm doing right now. I also can not give up my phone because I constantly need to stay in touch with society and my parents.

But the thing is, you don't have to give it up completely, you can use both much less frequently, it would have a similar affect, but you would still be able to hold on to your wants. Another thing is that you can wait a year of two before getting a new phone or, so you get the latest technology, but you don't spend a lot of money and waste a lot of resources to keep yourself up eternally to date.

With most work, you can usually do well with some paper. Personally, I find it a bit more appealing to use paper before I decide to finish work rather than working on it when I'm on computer. It's a lot more distracting with all the things O usually have going on, and it's a bit more pleasant.  It cuts down usage, and in some cases can save you time (unless your work is solely internet based, like an e-book specific assignment or such).

You Don't fully Give up your electronics just take a break sometime. Instead of just having it in you hand all the time put it down and do something productive to keep your mind off your phone and or other electronics. Everything should be in moderation

I would do a lot for the environment, but I won't stop using my laptop.  First of all, I need my laptop for a lot of my homework.  Also, I watch Netflix, communicate with my friends and use all sorts of other entertainment on my laptop and I'm not really willing to give that up.  One way I can cut back on it though is setting a limit to how much Netflix I watch per week.

Well it's not necessarily about completely giving it up, but more about cutting back on the usage. It's ok to use it, just not for extensive periods of time. I agree with you, it is hard to just turn it off, but charging it over and over takes up a good amount of electricity. I would suggest not leaving it charging so you create the least amount of carbon emissions you can.

Something that I think should be off the table when it comes to reducing my carbon footprint is the amount of plane rides I take a year.  I take an avergage of 7-8 plane rides a year and most of them are to visit my family on the east coast and since I live on the west coast it is an about 4,000 mile plane ride round trip. I do not really see a way I can lessen this amount because most of these are just a necessary trip. My other family members I ahve talked to have to do the same thing.  I know that the amount of plane rides does ass to the amount CO2 in the atmophere but I do not think this is osmething you can really get rid of.  However, I think you can lessen you carbon footprint by the type of transportation ou use For example, if I to take a shorter trips such as weekend get a ways to LA which is about 720 miles from my home in the bay area, my family always looks into carpooling with something else who is going aswell or public transportation such as a train.

I think that many cars that have low gas milages should be off the table. There are many new cars now that are either electric, diesel, or use much less gas. I think it is crucial that these cars become cheaper and easier to obtain. Also, I realize that many people want the newest electronics, but they are bad for our environment. The factories that create these devices spew a lot of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. If people could limit their purchases and try to be more conscious, I think that our environment would benefit a lot.

As I saw the results of my carbon footprint, I was shocked by how much air traveling effected my footprint. Translation is essential is many peoples daily lives. So that means lots of fuels are being burned and put into the air. These fuels wont be around for ever so we need to find a better solution. Some examples can be Electric cars, Biking, Walking, Train. And car pooling. This can help with our footprint a lot and help save our selves and environment.

I agree with you. I think that people need to cut down on burning fossil fuels by walking, biking, using an electric car, and walking. We need to cut down on our use of fossil fuels before it is too late.

Off the table, people should drive cars less and instead use public transportation and bikes. Also, people should pay attention to how much electricity they use each month.

Something that is "off the table" is technology. School requires me to use tech throughout the day everyday. I almost 100% sure this will be true for the rest of high school and in college.  Also I use my phone for social purposes multiple times a day, and I watch TV. For these reason technology in general is "off the table."

I was quite shocked after seeing my results from the carbon footprint challenge, however the thing that surprised me the most was transportation. My transportation took over 7/8 of the amount of waste I used, and this was all because of air transit. Each year I visit my grandparents in China by air, but little did i know: each flight takes up massive amounts of fossil fuel. It's devastating to think how 2 simple flights were 7 times the other amount of waste i produce each year. So I talked to my mother and father about this and we came to an agreement that I would only go back to China once a year from now on.

I agree, transportation definitely takes up a big majority of our carbon footprint. I had the same thing happen to me, I had no idea my transportation took up such a large amount of my carbon emissions, especially my air traveling, and I was quite shocked at my results. I too love to take vacations with my family, as we took 3 round trips to Mexico in the past year, which I now realize it produces massive amounts of waste. When I was calculating my carbon footprint, it was over 6 times the amount of my regions average footprint! In my region, the average carbon emissions for transportation was 2,557 kgs, while mine was as high as 13,871 kgs. This was primarily because of my air traveling. It is important to realize that many people in this world are not even given opportunities like these, and we should be extremely grateful for these that are given to us. Several individuals often take these opportunities for granted, however. They do not realize that while they  may be having a fun time on their vacation across the country, they are hurting the earth in the process. I know for me, I will definitely make sure to limit my air transit this upcoming year, and I hope you do too!

My carbon footprint was extremely low in transportation, it was mostly because I live very close to where I need to go, and I believe that a huge part of it was that I didn't travel anywhere by plane

After seeing my carbon footprint and what I contribute to the world I was kinda disappointed in myself but then realized that our generation needs and can do more to help our atmosphere. I know that we can't tell our parents to stop driving to work or to buy an electric car. But maybe we can walk that extra block instead of having our parents drive or take a uber. I think that transportation is the number one contributor to global warming.

I agree, I was shocked when I saw my carbon footprint break down. A large portion of my carbon was contributed to travel, mainly air transportation. I visit my grand-mother three times a year and she lives in Portland, Oregon. This is not a very long travel distance but traveling one mile on an airplane it reduces 53 pounds of CO2. So, a simple one way flight to Portland, Oregon from San Francisco, California travels 551 miles releasing 29,203 pounds into the daily air we breathe. There is nothing I can do about reducing this air transport because I must see my grand-mother at least twice a year and I also do not live in Oregon or in close enough proximity for a quick travel either by car or air. Currently, there is nothing being done on the point of reducing CO2 emissions from aircrafts because they are very useful and necessary. They are the easiest way to transport mail such as packages and letters. They are also the easiest way to see friends and family for most Americans. It is not necessary for everyone to stop traveling altogether but to become more conscious of o ur flight/traveling choices. There are quite a few alternatives besides flight, enjoy some long road-trips if it is in state/country, cruises if traveling out of country, or enjoy the scenic route on the train.

http://blueskymodel.org/air-mile
https://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/ … -emissions
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/clima … te-change/
http://www.wisebread.com/alternatives-t … e-to-there

Dear Dylan

The trip from SF (actually Oakland) to Portland can be done by train; I do it a lot.  If you don't mind sleeping in your seat (they recline a lot and are *much* bigger than airplane seats), the daily train to Portland leaves Oakland at night (around 9:30pm) and arrives the next day in the early afternoon.  It's also a really pretty trip!  Going the other way, the train leaves at about noon and arrives in Oakland the next morning (9 am I think).

Maybe the next time you go to visit your Grandma you can fly one way and take the train the other way to see how you like it?  If you get your ticket in advance it's usually under $100 each way.

Air traveling was also the largest contributor to my carbon footprint. This past year, I went on three flights from the east coast to the Midwest (US), and this had a huge impact on my carbon footprint. In all, the amount of air-travel time added over 3000kgs to my footprint. After I added this information into the website, I was shocked. I definitely want to try to drive more on these annual trips, or try to take public transportation. I do drive the full way on this trip every once in a while (14 hour drive), which is rough, but I know now that it is better than flying. The amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere from flying in a plane is insane—it really made me realize how much this affected my carbon footprint. Before I did this activity, I had absolutely no idea how much an air plane ride can affect the amount of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere. I also realized how much carbon dioxide I put into the atmosphere from traveling by car. I live a good 30 minutes from my school, which is a hassle to get to and from, especially for sports and after-school activi ties. I usually take the bus in the morning and some afternoons, which helps. Overall, I want to try to limit the negative impacts that are caused by my transportation.

Electronics are "off the table" when it comes to carbon emissions. Travel is also "off the table" too but I consider travel least important than electronics. I am attached to my electronics like most people. Because of this, my carbon footprint increases because the use of electronics requires some type of fuel to recharge. In addition, each electronic requires many materials made from many natural resources which adds to the carbon footprint as well. Travel also contributes to my carbon footprint because it intakes lots of fuel to move and is made up of many natural resources as well. With transportation vehicles and electronics in hand, both together reduces natural resources in the world as it is made up of many natural resources.

One aspect of my daily life is is my computer. At school, we are required to bring our computers to school to use it for our classes, and homework. I use my computer everyday but something I could do to reduce my the electronic part of my footprint is try to use it less everyday.

Having the latest technology is a definite want. Companies make their advertisements so appealing, which give us a temptation of wanting their new inventions. In my point of view, the thing I cannot live without is my mobile device. My phone is used for all kinds of things. It can be so useful and beneficial to my use in many ways, which I just cannot resist. I love to keep in touch with my friends and family, even though I may have seen them not too long ago. Also when in school, it can be used for my education. With just a click of a few buttons I quickly find some information about what I was learning about. But mainly it is for my own entertainment. I can never go a day without using my mobile device to watch an episode of my favourite T.V. show at the moment.

I agree with this statement, technology is most definitely more of a want rather than a need. When humans were first on this earth they didn’t have iphones or macbook airs and they still survived and thrived in their environment. I do think it’s nice to have some technology to make life a little easier, but we should all try to cut back because it seems to be taking over our lives in so many aspects. I also think I can do without my mobile device but that poses the issue of safety. If I’m in a bad situation I think it’s good to have a way to reach help if I need it. However, games and social media apps are something I can and probably should live without. I don’t think technology should be abandoned altogether but I think our time and money spent on all this technology can be limited and lessened to help our environment.

I completely agree with you, I just like you and many others, am attached to my mobile device. I have it on me constantly and I am always checking my notifications or my social media apps. I have even noticed that I sometimes hear a notification on my phone but when I check there is nothing. I have become so attached to my phone it is like an extension of me but it wasn't always this way. When we were younger and we didn't have phones or iPads we did just fine. Our generation and those that follow us have to work extra hard to not become attached to mobile devices. Adults nowadays have some self-control since up until recently they were not able to depend on a cell phone in situation. We need to set boundaries for ourselves for the amount of time we spend on our phones. I have recently started turning my phone totally off at 9 and not turning it back on until the morning. This restraint has helped me a bit but I am still constantly on it during the day. We don't need our phones 24/7, let's start proving that to ourselves.

I definitely think that transportation is something that is very difficult to live without. Transportation is definitely a major cause of our carbon footprint especially with the amount of energy necessary to power modern day vehicles. People travel everywhere whether it be for work, family, school, or other matters. Traveling is a part of peoples daily lives, and with new technology we can travel farther and much faster. However, this also means that we are creating a larger carbon footprint, with the amount of fuel needed to power these machines. With that in mind, I think that it is important to try and reduce our carbon foot print by taking public transportation, walking, biking, or carpooling whenever possible. Although for many people including myself, it is very difficult to find better ways to get where I need to go. Public transportation is very limited in my neighborhood and it is difficult for me to walk to different places because of distance and time. Transportation is something that I cannot live without.

I agree that transportation as in vehicles are a need for most people to get to school and work. I only take a car 3 days a week, and I usually walk to paces such a small school and to the store, being able to walk everywhere and not use vehicles is very impactful and can shrink your footprint

I agree on your point of saving carbon by taking public transportation,  but I think a more effective way of saving carbon with transportation is simply not taking a car or bus and instead riding a bike- which is a method of transportation which is fast, easy, provides excersize, and produces very little carbon. I think that one of the main reasons why people DON'T always bike to and from locations is simply because the bike is not thought of as the typical method of transportation- the car is. Therefor streets, towns, and cities are built around providing automobiles an easy route around. If bikes were thought of as mainstream transportation and there were bike-friendly roads and parking spaces, car and bus users would save money, get excersize, and reduce their carbon footprint all at the same time.

Cars are great, we can get to places quick and efffortlessly. In the future we will have cars like the Tesla where it's just electric and we wont have to burn gas.

I agree with you that transportation is an essential part of everyday life. However, I think that there are a few alternatives to help reduce your carbon footprint. One example is riding your bike. Riding your bike can be a great way to get to the places you need to go in a decent amount of time and you are also getting some exercise. Another option could be carpooling with friends. If you and your friends are all going to the same place, you guys could take the same car. As a result, instead of three to four cars emitting fossil fuels into the atmosphere, there are only one or two cars on the road.

I agree that transportation is something that is very difficult to live without. Taking public transportation and carpooling are two of the best ways to try to reduce your transportation portion of your footprint. Depending on the person, some of those ways may not be available. I feel that if you can't find a way to improve your transportation, maybe you can improve another part of your carbon footprint.

The only aspect I would not want to give up is transportation since I need it to get to and from school. I use the bus half of the time and carpool the other times. I also use Bart, Muni, and other bus lines to get to and from my friend’s homes. I do not travel very much so the only transportation I need is getting around locally and I usually find a ride with a friend or use public transportation. I am willing to change how I eat and how much water I use whether it is from showering or just the kind of garden that my family has.

I agree with you, Jessie, Transportation is different for everyone, depending on where they live and also the forms of transportation available to them. Transportation is off the table for me as well, but I use various forms of transportation. Depending on where I am going, I use the car but only when my destination is close by. I used to really rely on my car but I do find public transportation to be a great alternative for destinations further away. Especially with a clipper card. It's easier to be more independent and to go to many places without having to find a ride from someone else. Out of all of the things, I could change in order to lessen my carbon footprint, transportation is not something I can easily change.

I love to use the car. In fact, I use it everyday so I can get to places. It's fast and way more comfortable than public transport. Using the car made up most of my carbon emissions in transportation which wasn't that surprising to me. Using a car is more accessible for me since I can just ask my parents.

Because taking a car is easier, and public transport is not comfortable for you, consider biking or walking to the places you want to go. In addition, carpooling with friends could be an efficient way to have less cars emit fossil fuels into our atmosphere. However, Canada's carbon footprint from transportation is a fair amount in comparison to other countries. But if you want to reduce your carbon footprint to help the environment, I would consider riding a bike, walking, and or carpooling.

Using a car is the most convenient way to get places.  I struggle with having the time to use public transportation since I commute a long way into school.  The times the train runs is just not a good fit.  I am part of a car pool for the mornings into to school as a alternative to driving in alone.  Finding small ways to reduce your carbon footprint when using your car is as simple as planning your trips.  Be sure to do all of your errands in the same area at the same time, going places during lower traffic times and buying local items all help.  Conserve energy for the future states that these simple changes can have a large impact.  Also remember to have your parents perform good maintenance on the car to keep your carbon footprint in check.  Check out these 30 ways to reduce your carbon footprint easily.

www.conserve-energy-future.com

Flying to see my grandparents in Colorado and North Carolina is very important to me.  I live in California and really miss spending time with them.  I do think that taking a commercial is better than when very wealthy people use private jets instead of thinking about the environment.  I know that air travel greatly increases my carbon footprint.  According to Native Energy transportation accounts for 30% of all greenhouse emissions. I hope to one day live closer to my family but until then giving up air travel is off the table for me.

www.nativeenergy.com

One of the biggest contributors of my carbon footprint was my transportation, but more specifically my air travel. Although I know I could travel less often, I am not willing to give up the opportunities I have to travel and explore other parts of the world. I am super thankful for the trips I am able to take, and I love to travel and see places that I don't get to see everyday. This being said, I am willing to change my habits in other categories, including growing food from home and not buying it from the store, turning off my lights when they are not needed, carpooling more, opting for less dairy items, and using the AC or heating less often. Although I am not willing to compromise on my opportunities to explore the world, there are many other places in which I can reduce my carbon footprint

I understand you wanting to see the world, but their are ways of travel that release less CO2 than planes. For example sail boats will hardly produce any CO2 and can get you across the oceans. Although they may take more time and cost more, saving the earth is more important than seeing all of it quickly.

A contributor to my carbon footprint that I am not willing to give up is transportation. I need to be able to get around easily with transportation and it is an important part of my routines. I take the bus every day or get rides from school. I am willing to reduce most other things that  contribute to my carbon footprint.

I agree that transportation is a hard contributor to be willing to give up on. Specific forms of transportation can cut down on your carbon footprint such as taking the bus or getting a ride but, I get if you have to use a plane or car to get some place, you can. I agree with you that other contributors to my carbon footprint I am willing to reduce.

I tend to leave my lights on when I am not in my room. I also leave my radio on many times. I am willing to be mindful of when I'm not using a certain technology, to unplug.

The main thing that I would be unwilling to give up is transportation.  This essential for daily life, it allows us to get everywhere we need to go. We use it to get to school, shopping, sports, almost everything that isn't veery close to us. According to the ISCFC carbon calculator I produce 9168 kgs of CO2 per year compared to 2557 in my region all from transportation. The best way, for me especially, to reduce this is to carpool more. Other great options for saving CO2 is to take Bart and to take the bus to get to places.

References:
http://web.stanford.edu/group/inquiry2i … age=fpcalc

I think the only aspect that I and almost everyone would not want to give up is transportation because we need it to get to and from school. We also need it to go other hobbies and places. For me I would sometimes use the bus half of the time, but carpool only when I really need it. I would always need other bus lines to get to and from my friend’s homes. I would sometimes use Bart also. The main thing about my transportation is that I use the plane a lot. However, why I really need it is because of getting around locally. For me, I am willing to change how I eat and how much water I use whether it could be from showering or just by using my garden that we have for fresh food.

Would more travel by bicycle be possible?

The only aspect of my life that I would be unwilling to change, despite its contribution to my carbon footprint, would be my transportation. On a daily basis, I use the bus to get to and from school and get rides to and from sports practices. Although I would love it if I could walk or bike to school or practice, because of where I live, I am simply not able to. For me, transportation is the biggest contributor to my carbon footprint but, I am not exactly sure what to do about it. I am looking for ways to lessen my impact on the environment but I am not able to change my transportation because of my education and extracurricular activities. Based on global emissions from 2010, the EPA estimates that transportation accounts for almost 15% of the  planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Many people, including myself, are unable to help change this because of the situations that they live in. Therefore, I believe that the only way to help change this is to advance transpo rtation to have a less harmful effect on the environment. This way, people can get to and from the places they need and, at the same time, lower their carbon emissions.

One thing that I wouldn’t be able to give up is transportation and travel. My family takes a lot of trips that would be very hard to do without negatively affecting the atmosphere. Although I would like to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide put into the air while I travel it would be very hard to reduce that amount on big trips across the country. I would be able to reduce the number very slightly by riding my bike or walking to places that aren’t very far from my house. A lot of times I get lazy and get people to drive me to a store or park that is close to my house and I don’t think about how I am negatively affecting the atmosphere, but after calculating my carbon footprint I will think about how i am going to affect the atmosphere before I go somewhere.

When calculating my carbon footprint, I was somewhat shocked by the results. Most of my results were much below California’s average. However, my transportation emission was a lot higher. Our region’s average is 2,557 kilograms, while mine was 5,145 kilograms, more than double. I believe that varying the types of transportation I use will greatly decrease my carbon footprint. For example, instead of driving to a friend’s house which would be more convenient, I could instead bike which would reduce my carbon footprint greatly. However, my school is not at a distance where I could bike, so I cannot change that. I also travel a lot, going on 8 planes in the past year, so I plan to reduce that by lowering my amounts of travel. I at first thought that my carbon footprint was not very important, as there are billions of people in the world to even out mine. However, now I realize that my carbon footprint is important and small actions such as choosing different forms of transportation can help our world.

I agree that using forms of transportation such as walking or biking can cut down your carbon footprint by a significant amount, but if you have to use a car or a plane to travel somewhere, you can. Cutting down on travel is a great idea for reducing your carbon footprint. I took a round trip flight to Italy last year, along with a few other domestic flights, and my carbon total for transportation was 21,321 kgs, almost 10 times the amount of the average Californian! The average plane emits around 53 pounds (24 kgs) of CO2 per mile. Travelling less by plane can cut down your carbon footprint by a lot. Also, it's great that you realized your carbon footprint is important. Convincing yourself that your carbon footprint does not matter is  thinking because you don't know how many different people with different carbon footprints around the world are thinking the same thing. Additionally, like you said, small actions to lower your carbon footprint can significantly help our world.
http://blueskymodel.org/air-mile

My carbon footprint was extremely high and instead of talking about WHY it was so high I want to give ideas of HOW we can change it. I know when we all did our carbon footprints they were higher than the average and probably higher than we all suspected. What i did was I stopped taking as long showers, I went from 10 minute showers to 5. I also stopped running water when I brush my teeth, and turned off all lights when leaving the house. I imagine that just making those changes will do a lot to your carbon footprint, and us starting off by doing JUST that can lower our carbon footprints and help each other.

I have noticed that my highest emission from transportation is the car. However, the car is necessary for me. Although I could use bussing, it would cost me money, and if I were to bus every day to school, I'll be broke. Also, if I were to bike, I would probably fall horribly trying to bike up the large hill to get to my class. I'll have to admit, I think I could do these maybe a few time a week, but like I said, the car is right in front of me ready for me to get in.

I completely agree with your statement. Going from point a to point b in a car is extremely relieving because it reduces the stress of finding another form of transportation. The ease and simplicity you point out that comes with one or one's family owning a car is very comforting knowing you have a way around. However, there is a real issue that comes with driving in a car and that is the carbon footprint  that is left when we do. The ways you mention can easily be put in use with a big amount of effort to make it a reality. The financial problem you face when taking the bus can be changed if you set aside an amount of your allowance or simply ask your parents. Another way to lessen your emission from the car is to carpool with others. This is a good way to make new friends and get your carbon footprint down!

I agree! I've been trying to take initiative and take the bus more. When I calculated my carbon footprint, I was shocked to see how much carbon I was contributing just by driving places. If we all carpool more, take public transportation, and walk more, we can reduce all of our carbon footprints greatly.

I also agree, I was also shocked with my carbon footprint results. My transportation was awful it said 523,882. I am surprised because I thought that because I was taking the bus everyday it would make a difference but it didn’t. I think this happened because I use the most so often that it's just like car. I also think it's because I fly places a lot.

I agree! Personally, cars are the easiest way for me to get to school. Unfortunately cars are one of the highest transportation CO2 emitters. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/green … -vehicle-0), an average car emits 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year! A data set from the Reason Foundation (http://reason.org/news/show/does-bus-tr … greenhouse), a bus saves about 12,700,586 metric tons of CO2 from being released per year. A bus is a better and more environmentally friendly to use however I can understand why you wouldn't want to take it. An easy and sustainable way to get to school is carpooling! Gather a few of your friends or peers who live near you and schedule days where some of your parents can drive you! By carpooling you are using only one vehicle, instead of multiple. A study from South Florida Computer Services (http://www.1800234ride.com/13 -fun-facts-about-carpooling), says that carpooling just twice a week saves about 1.600 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

transportation

Hello there! I'm Martina and I come from small country Croatia, Europe. I wasn't surprised of my result of footprint challenge that was 6,161 of CO2 per year because I know that I don't do much to keep nature safe. The worst thing I do is overusing my parents car. They take me literally everywhere with their car. But do we really need that many cars? Aren't they bad for our health?  I think there is no human who can resist taking car instead of going by walk. Cars, just like throwing garbage everywhere, make damage to the nature. We cannot rule with nature in a good way, we can just pollute her. Cars are fast and we have to make very little and we are right away at the wanted address. Isn’t that great? It is. But should it be? No! Everyone should be aware of situation in world and the CO2. I think that we should definitely do something to change our way of living. Maybe getting more bikes than we have cars in the city would help little. Maybe getting a free bus-transport around the city would help. Even though we do that, there will still be a lot of people who will go a gainst the idea. And those are people that need an explanation why is everyone obligated to keep the nature save.I may be too young to do anything but maybe I could start with my own home and recycling. When I get older I could help to environment. Probably not the whole world but at least in my country.

I completely agree with you. There are many ways to end pollution in the different forms of the environment such as air pollution and water pollution. In relation to air, pollution can also be stopped by making a bigger transition to electric and hybrid cars which overall use less gasoline and eliminate the gas pollution in the environment. Anything we can do to prevent the levels of CO2 and nitrate in the air needs to be done as our world continued to experience huge levels of greenhouse gases which leads to the greenhouse effect and global warming. We, as humans needs to, rid ourselves of the toxic environment we have created as it continues to taint and poison our habitat. Additionally, the levels of air pollution lead to many fatal effects taken out on the human body as many are put at a higher risk of asthma, unhealthy lungs, cancer, and etc. However, that is not the only form of pollution that will lead to the end of our planet and take a toll on our bodies. In relation to water pollution, we can end littering near bodies of water and organize cleaning committees t hat will pick up trash before it gets to the water. Not only does dirty water affect and harm us, it harms the animals in those bodies of water as they struggle to continue their lifestyle without being endangered by daily messes created by humans.
Radcliff, Michelle. "Ways to Stop Pollution." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017
"How Does Pollution Affect Humans?" The World Counts. N.p., 06 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Technology is most things that people need to get around or do basic needs. Iphones, Ipads, ipods and other apple products are most things that people say they need, but really don’t. But in a lot of places can’t even begin to imagine the things we have. Most of the things we use to get around cause carbon dioxide to go into our atmosphere making it harder for heat to escape from the atmosphere, causing it to heat up and melt the polar ice caps.  We know this yet we don’t do anything about or try to conserve our use.

If you know me at all, I'm a pretty lazy person. From my home, I can easily walk to my piano lessons, school, and community center. Those are mainly the only places that I go on a weekly basis. But I choose to get driven to piano lessons, I choose to get driven to the community center, and although I live just three blocks away from school, there is occasionally that voice in my head telling me, "ask for a ride, ask for a ride". These are things that I am willing to change about my daily life.

That's an important decision. Perhaps it's helpful to set a goal that can be accomplished each week.

For me, I’m a huge fan of video games, everyday when I get home I turn on my PC, have a snack and get right on to gaming. I play with my friends all the time and it is something I can’t resist. I grew up loving games because of my brothers and cousins. I know most parents would want their children to for once get off the computer or their phones and talk to their relatives. It is a problem. We also charge our devices almost everyday that is on (Phones alone) average a 3,000 mAh battery to charge everyday, multiply that by the amount of people that has devices all around the globe(That's alot), without renewable energy we have to rely on coal, oil and gas to use as electricity. But people can’t give up their phones. They use it for entertainment and educational purposes. We have gone deep enough that people don’t even know that Climate Change is even a thing. If we can’t give it up, we need to find something renewable to feed a never ending addiction.

In all honesty, I can live without a phone because personally I rather talk to people in person than on text. I do have a phone but I only have because I always listen to music, call my parents when I arrive at school or to watch funny videos. I totally sound like a hypocrite but if anyone asked me to not use my for a month I'd be down. I'm not really a lazy person when it comes to transportation because I enjoy the long walk it's better than taking a car because you're not releasing any gases into the air. I always walk to go to school and back, I walk to the grocery stores with my grandma so it's really a no biggie. But here's the problem, by consuming less meat you can make a huge difference in climate change by going vegetarian and etc but I'm not willing to give up on meat. I eat a lot more than a average person that's what I'd like to say, if I give up on meat it's like losing something that's part of me. My family eat meat all the time, I do love eating veg etables.. who am I kidding, I'll eat anything to be honest but besides the point meat is amazing. Why give up something so good?

My soul, and all of its existence, is literally fused with the internet. I am the internet and the internet is me. All jokes aside, i am very addicted to the internet and would be a very difficult thing to give up. I am always on and it just is apart of me. The reason why i can't give up the internet is because of how useful it is. I can take any question i have and within 30 - 40 seconds have an answer to it just by searching the web. The internet is just too much of a useful thing to give up. Another reason would be the entertainment side of things. The internet is filled with fun things to do from playing games with friends to watching funny cat videos. Giving up the internet would mean giving up cat videos and i cant do that. Nope, off the table.

I have a confession....I love being chauffeured, the speed and ease of getting a ride from point a to b saves time as well as preventing damage to my new suede boots! But we must stop and consider the environmental impacts of fossil fuels and pollution. Making a commitment to walk or bike and utilizing public transportation is the only way to reduce our carbon footprint. Not only that, but walking and biking has health benefits as well.

Having the latest technology is a want, it is not needed to have the best and newest phones. Only upgrade when your old phone is not working. I know that my diet and my transportation are big contributors to my carbon footprint, but i am unwilling to try to change those behaviors. I always have to drive to my various sport practices, and often travel by air for most of my vacations. Driving is the best way for me to get to my practices, and air travel is the best way for me to get to other parts of the world. As well, I am unwilling to change my diet; reduce my meat consumption. I have been a omnivore for my whole life, and it's a way of life for me. Most of the time, my parents are the one preparing and cooking the meals, so it isn't really my call. Meat is definitely staying on the kitchen table

The greases and oils are mainly used to increase the performance of machines. The greases is a semisolid content. It containing high viscosity. Sometimes the machines are low performance, so the greases are used to increase the performance of the machines. The oils are mainly used to avoid the frictions of the machines .The oils and greases both are same  function for the machines. The  oil is mainly used in the car engine. The  greases is a more lubricant the the oils. Sometimes it is better than the oils. Machines heat are easy to reduce by using the greases and oils. Oils are mainly used in a liquid lubricant. The greases and oils are mixed with using the thickening agent. http://petrotek.ae/lubricants/1/industrial-lubricants

This informations are very helpful for the students.in this article fully explained about the study about machines.its very very useful for all students.thanks a lot for your great post.[yoga courses in dubai](http://yogaashram.com/ )

Some machines save people a lot of time and we don't even realize it just simple things, like a dishwasher, a washing machine, we would spend a lot more time on these things if we didn't have any of these things.

i noticed that my transportation's footprint is really high compared to the rest of my country.
transportation is for me something that I don’t necessarily need but something that is more practical and easy to use. i live in a small city and there are just a few public transportation that they pass every HOUR. So when I want to go somewhere i have to take the car or i have to wait for an hour and it's not really practical when you have to be in a place on time (at school or on a date for example).

Also my transportation's footprint is high because I often take the car to go out at night. The last bus arrive in my village at 6.00 p.m. so if I want to go out with friend at night I have to go to the city by car. The same problem exists when I have a date and i have to be in this place in time. I can't take the bus because the bus comes evey hour or sometimes also every two hours. I only use public transport to go to school. I think that in my village take the bus is uncomfortable! Anyway my transportation's footprint is high, I use the car very often!

My transportation aspect was high as well. However, this was mainly due to the amount of flights I have taken this past year. I think that this is one area that the carbon footprint isn't necessarily accurate on. If I had calculated my footprint during another year, it wouldn't been so high. I don't normally take the bus anywhere. I normally drive so this impacted my footprint a lot as well.

Transportation greatly affected my carbon footprint as well. The majority of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation come from burning fossil fuel for cars, trucks, planes, trains, etc. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, transportation made up 26% of our greenhouse gas emissions in 2014.  Some ways in which we can reduce this impact include expanding our public transportation system, developing more fuel-efficient vehicles, turning towards renewable fuels such as low-carbon biofuels, and of course, walking or biking instead whenever possible.

Hi Abby, if you take fewer flights next year, you can log back on and re-calculate your footprint!  You can also use the calculator to find out exactly how much of your footprint was due to flying.

Unfortunately I must admit that my transportation footprint is pretty high, especially if you include my whole family.  My older brother and sister, and both my parents, and I all drive our own cars and none of them are electric.  Thankfully I live very close to my school, so it is only a five-minute drive. However, that also puts me in the position where I could also bike to school, but I must admit I am too lazy to do that every morning.  I also drive a lot on the weekends and usually have to fill up my gas tank once a week. I think I should start carpooling to school because I know several people who live by me, and maybe I can convince my parents to try and cut down on driving so much every day. And on the weekends I will pick up my friends when we all hang out so that even though I have to drive to pick them up, we will not be driving four different cars to go to the same places.

For me one thing that is certainly off the table is the internet. Whether I am connected to the internet on my phone or laptop does not matter to me but having access to the internet itself is a huge necessity. The internet provides access to family, friends, games, information, and so much more. Without internet access it would be so much harder for me, and I'm sure a lot of others, to get the things I need, ranging from information on a topic for an essay for school or the ability to communicate with a long distance relative. The internet has become a necessity not only for me but for the entire world, for it simplifies the ability to negotiate treaties, organize trading, etc. In conclusion, the internet is off the table.

I agree that the internet has become a necessity. It does a lot for students such as ourselves, but more importantly it creates an easy way to connect with other people (e.g. this forum). Throughout history, society has increasingly flourished as people grow more and more connected. This is shown in every major city that ever thrived/thrives artistically, scientifically, etc. The Internet has already greatly increased innovation, and hopefully progress will continue to pick up.

The internet is nowadays so important to human nature, that it is often categorized alongside basic human rights such as the right to freedom of speech and freedom from slavery. It is used in every single facet of our daily lives, from socializing to playing a part in acquiring the food we consume. Don’t believe me? We have a Safeway app that you have to use if you want to get the best deals on foods, a conglomerate of a corporation that has a service or extension for everything from conference calls to music editing (Google), and virtual surrogates to real life objects. (Calendars, notetaking, etc.)
    The information-communications-technologies ecosystem (which also includes cellular data and similar communications) uses up 10% of the world’s total electricity generation. In the near future, hourly internet traffic will exceed annual internet traffic in 2000. The amount of devices connected to the cloud per capita (and per worker) is enormous. If you have a workstation with multiple devices, and you have multiple devices with internet capabilities, you’re using up a lot  of data. And that data comes from datacenters, and each datacenter can use up to 180,000 homes worth of energy. The internet grows faster and faster, and uses up more energy, as our lives shift towards it.
    However, it is one thing in my life where I probably won't change my habits, much less get rid of it entirely. Much of my life is centered around the internet. I check my chat servers online, I do my homework online, I browse a good chunk of my life away online. And even if I do decide to cut back on internet usage, it will most likely be negligible in the grand scheme of things. I don’t mean to sound hypocritical, but even though I won’t do it, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea to cut back on internet usage. However, because it plays such a big part in my daily life, all things considered, internet is off the table for me.
                                                           Works Cited
"Bracing for the Cloud -- Digital Economy Requires Massive Amount of Electricity." The Breakthrough Institute. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.  <http://science.time.com/2013/08/14/powe … sing-more-      energy-than-you-think/>

Walsh, Bryan, and Bryan Walsh. "The Surprisingly Large Energy Footprint of the Digital Economy [UPDATE] | TIME.com." Time. Time. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. <http://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/pr … he-cloud/>

Aiden Leech
Laws
Biology Period 5
29 September 2016
ISCFC Forum Posts
The internet contributes quite a bit to climate change, this needs to be changed. We wouldn’t have to get rid of the internet to solve this problem. We could reduce the amount of energy the internet uses by stopping advertising emails, and not using the internet when you could just as easily use something else. In addition, the internet’s impact comes from the energy it uses, its effect on the environment could be largely negated by switching energy production to green energy. If we manage to switch to green energy, the internet among other resources will be sustainable and less costly.
Green energy would help most of our carbon emission problems, but there are still other problems such as deforestation. Deforestation not only reduces the amount of plants on the planet, it also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. With so many issues facing us and our
lack of will to focus most of our resources on confronting this issue, it will be amazing if we manage to reduce its impacts. That is all we can do  now, reduce the impacts, because at this point we are already and will continue to see the effects of climate change. This is the most urgent issue facing our species as a whole, I urge you to do what you can to slow it down, no matter how small.
Work Cited:
Farrar, Lara. CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. <http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/scienc … rnet.CO2/>.
"Global Warming Solutions: Prepare for Impacts." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/global-w … lutions-pr
epare-impacts>.

I completely agree that the internet is "off the table," and I would like to add a few more reasons as to why. For one, the internet provides a wealth of information to anyone who has access to it. From YouTube videos depicting DIY plumbing to scientific journals on the microbiome, there is virtually no question you can't find an answer to online. This is incredibly important because it levels the playing field for access to education and information. Suppose you are from a lower socio-economic background and cannot afford a college education. Internet access though a library computer opens up the possibility of getting an online degree. On a more personal level, the internet provides me with information I need for school research projects, but also allows me to pursue interests that are not covered in the classroom. A few examples of things I have been able to learn about include analysis of the current presidential election, social research applications of the P risoner's Dilemma, and (briefly) how to play guitar. In a nutshell, the internet is key to keeping information free and easily accessible and thus is off the table.

I totally agree with you, because internet is really a need, it helps us with most things and without it we couldn't "meet" our friends, and our parents.                                                                                          we can youse it at school to find infotmation too, so it useful to limit of waste of paper.

One aspect of my daily life that is ‘off the table’ is air conditioning. Living in a southern state means a longer summer season. Temperatures can climb towards 100 degrees on any given day between June and October. The heat index can rise above 110 degrees making outdoor activities a health hazard, especially for the very young and very old. My brother once suffered from heat exhaustion during a summer soccer camp. The danger is scary and real for people and their pets. After hurricane Ike, my family’s home was without power for fourteen days. Winds exceeded 140 mph and caused severe damage to power lines. It was a difficult time. Fortunately, the hurricane hit towards the end of the season in September. Being without air conditioning made it harder to function. My body was more tired, yet it was harder to fall asleep. The issue is that air conditioners run on electricity that is generated from coal-fired power plants. In warmer climates, the air conditioners run all the time to maintain climate control inside homes. This adds a huge amount of carbon to the atmosphere.  Knowing this does not change the fact that I never want to be without air conditioning again. Does anyone else have similar feelings? Are more energy efficient options available?
Source: http://www.livescience.com/919-increase … e-gas.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092008_Ike.pdf

I agree that air conditioning is a key to human society now, but I believe there could be other ways to cool down. In the summer, you should wear light clothing layers. You can also wear white clothing. There's also the option of swimming. It's a great way to cool off. Also make sure to drink lots of water to keep you body hydrated and cool. If you're finding trouble sleeping without ac. Put an ice pack on top of your pillow bfore or during your sleep. It helped me feel cool without AC.

(This is just a fast suggestion from classmate to classmate, not a full-length and detailed post)

My family, personally, tries to at least lower our carbon footprint by not making our air conditioning work so much, and instead only cooling our house to a comfortable-but-not-ridiculous temperature. We also warm our house less in the winter. If the outdoor temperature is closer to the indoor temperature, it's much easier on the system, and can be both cheaper and better for the environment.

I think we should depend on our own gardens because it have more advantage than buying it from shops or supermarkets,and we can also have good stuffs from it,To save money is one of the advantages because with gardening we earned and save money throught selling,our health is another advantage too because the stuff are natural and is good to eat is without any chemical products,they are naturally product.So peoples lets eat natural stuff!

I think your idea is good but it isn´t for me.I think that benefits of having a natural garden are pretty good but the beneficts of buying a garden are better because you don´t need take care.

I know that I do not need to buy the latest version of a phone or computer, but I do consider it off the table for myself. Internet connection is a necessity in my life, because my school is centered around being able to have internet access. Also older products become slower and unresponsive as more new products are released. Companies stop contributing the accommodations for older products, so it becomes necessary to buy the new one. Also things like news and work have moved online, so it is important to have access to it. Also transportation is off the table for me. I could walk and bike to places in my small community, but it becomes unrealistic to have to do that when traveling farther away. For example, I drive to school every morning. My school is about a 20-30 minute drive and it is not convenient to walk or bike to school in the morning. There are also no buses that are close to my home that go to school, so transportation is off the table for me.

Wasting food may not seem like much of a big deal, but in the big picture, it is a concerning problem.  Wasting food makes it so food producers have to create even more food than they should have to.  This means more emissions.  If food producers have to kill more meat, grow more vegetables, and package more, than the machinery that goes into making that produces carbon.  But even more than that, it amounts for 3.6 billion tons of carbon emissions each year.  The reason that it causes so much carbon is because it takes lots of water and chemicals to dispose of this waste and 250 km of water is being wasted along with 3.5 billion acres of land used for landfill.  Also during the past 50 years the carbon emissions for food production have increased by 300%.
    All of these statistics mean one thing: don’t waste food.  It makes sense if you are looking to eat a fruit and you see that it is completely rotten, but if it is past the expiration date, this means that you should at least try it to see if it is fresh enough to eat.  Also people that eat their meal and scrape all  of the rest into the trash can need to stop doing that.  They either need to bring it home with them, or if they are already at home, then stick it in the fridge for the next day.  Food waste is a major contributor to the carbon emissions causing climate changes and is a big problem.  Comment any potential solutions to keep the conversation going.
Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/1 … 04687.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35988093

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, over a billion tons of food are wasted every year. From growing and maintaining the crops and animals to the transportation of these foods, a tremendous amount of carbon is unnecessarily emitted.
There are many actions we can take in our everyday lives to do our part to reduce carbon emissions as a result of food waste. We can plan ahead when shopping so we buy only what we need, therefore wasting less and not supporting the overproduction of food. Another easy way to reduce the amount of food we waste and save money is to keep the refrigerator tidy, making it easy to see what you have. In my household, we often save leftovers with the intention of eating them later, but never do and end up finding old food in the back of our fridge weeks later, when there's not much we can do except throw it out. This ties into another helpful thing we can do to reduce food waste: save leftovers and actually eat them.
Other ways we can use our power as consumers include buying food that is grown locally. While this ma y be difficult for some because of where they live, we hold tremendous power as consumers and can make a big impact through consciously buying foods that are more environmentally-friendly. This might mean buying produce that is in-season so that it doesn't have to be imported from other countries or choosing to eat meat a few less times a week.

Traveling by air was the biggest make up of my Carbon Footprint because my two sisters go to college in different states that are too far away to drive too. Visiting my sisters is very important to me because I don’t get to see them very often therefor not making it worth it to stop flying to reduce my Carbon Footprint. I do care deeply about reducing my Carbon Footprint so I make up for it in other areas such as public transportation.

Nice Athan!

Thats good that you are trying to reduce your carbon foot print as much as you can! I need to do that too.

I think its a nice idea and I'm glad you're going to reduce more.

It is good that you want to decrease you carbon footprint

In my opinion you use the plane for a reason which is very important and I think that's very nice that you are aware of your actions and you try to decrease your carbon footprint. According to the site http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsan … ochure.pdf "public transportation is reducing energy consumption and harmful CO2 greenhouse gas emissions that damage the environment.Traveling by public transportation uses less energy and produces less pollution than comparable travel in private vehicles. To make progress in reducing our dependence on foreign oil and impacting climate change, public transportation must be part of the solution." I think you can be pleased with yourself because the private vehicles, which you don't often use, is the largest Contributor to
a household’s Carbon Footprint.
If we analyze the current household emissions in typical two-car household we can see that private vehicles occupy the 55%, the electricity the 25% and the natural gas the 20%. If you take the public transportation you can save the 30% from eliminat ing one car.
The result will be:
- Potential saving: 30%
- Electricity: 20%
-Natural gas: 20%
-Private vehicles: 25%
If you want to know more about it, I suggest you to visit the website, which , in my opinion, is very interesting.

It is great that you're trying hard to reduce your carbon footprint. Until I started researching my carbon footprint I never new that air travel released used so much energy or released so many greenhouse gases. Now I will try to stop flying in planes as much as I do.

Technology is always improving and scientists are always finding new ways to make things faster and convenient for everyday people. Most technology uses electricity though and producing electricity burns resources that release gases that cause global warming. However, a lot of the new technology produced may not be necessary for people to purchase when every small change lets companies release new things. Depending on who you ask these changes are necessary or not but in my opinion a lot of the new technology releases is a waste of resources that could be used or preserved for something else. When you spend hundreds of dollars for a few small changes annually or every few years it starts to become a diminishing return. First, a lot of techonology is overpriced for how much it offers meaning you’re wasting your money (or your parents money) on things you don’t need. Second, this encourages companies to keep overpricing products until you stop paying for them. This means they will keep putting resources into things that aren’t that important and aren’t producing as much or  more for how many resources it uses. That being said, it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to stop spending money on what they want to buy, after all it’s their money and they can do what they want.
My last argument is that maybe we need a rapid increase in technology and risk destroying the Earth to try and counter global warming. This means we don’t put our focus towards stopping global warming but finding alternatives to stop us from dying to global warming. This is because it’s unrealistic to expect enough people to stop from continuing their habits of wasting resources or producing technology so instead we just try our best to find what alternatives we have. I don’t think we would have to do this because global warming is still manageable and this could kill the world.
Technology isn’t restricted to just phones or computers however, aircons, fans, lights, and many more fall under technology and you can help the Earth by not using them when you don’t have to. Things you’ve heard since you were 5 like turning off the lights when you’re not in the room, not using the aircon when you’re not home, stuff like that can help or at the very least take the burden of thinking that you are helping destroy the Earth off of you.

Do you really need it, or do you just want it? When using all forms of technology, as a human being, you have the choice to use this technology or not. "I'm gonna go play some slither.io" stated a young, handsome, intelligent, o'dowd freshman. In our interview with this man he said slither.io was a need, he needed it to function, he could not sleep without it. To a naked human eye, it seemed as if technology, for this man, was a necessity. But we did not give up on our investigation. We found he was the one making the decision to power on his computer and go on the slither.io website. It was his decision and when we received information from an anonymous source stating, "He said, 'I WANT to play slither.io'", it is proven that technology is a want and not a need.

Well stated, there is a difference between wants and needs. I agree with your research that Slither.io is a want instead of a need in life. Technology can be used as a learning tool but can be a distraction.

In addition to being used in learning, technology is what is used to figure out how to reduce our carbon footprints, and is used to raise awareness for it, so in some cases (like the game) it is a want, but often it is a necessity.

In concurrence, I believe that technology can be a want, like playing slither.io, but it can also be a need. For example, many people use technology to communicate with others. Technology is a need in this day and age because of communication with others. Technology is also a need for research and learning. Therefore, technology is a want and a need.

This is a valid point. Technology is very important today. Although it is important, I believe that usage has gotten a little out of hand with people being constantly sucked into their phones. according to the Daily Mail their have been 12 selfie related deaths this year, which is more than the amount of shark related deaths

Technology is an important part of our daily lives today. It has taken over our world with many effects on society and the environment. iPhones and Computers have been proven to be extremely beneficial for the population however, there are a lot of negative aspects to go with them. People all over the world have become addicted to technology so much that it has changed from a need to a want. Also, nowadays there is a lot of technology that people want but do NOT need (http://www.webopedia.com/Blog/technolog … -need.html) In the first place it really was only needed to contact family members or for scientific purposes. Now, it’s for useless apps like instagram, or snapchat, or facebook or something else. Where has it gone to? Something so new and innovative to dropping your iPhone for a youtube video. In my opinion, technology was once a need but has come over time to be a want.
    For most generations there has been a boom of something or something they are known for. What will our generation be known for? Will it be the generation that is obsessed with  their technology? I think the question here is are we actually over obsessed with our technology. Yes, we have turned it into a want instead of a need, but are we really over obsessed? Every generation has looked down upon the lower generation for something. Maybe the generation above us has led us to believe that we use cell phones too much which actually resulted in us using more and more technology.

I agree with you! I do think there are some helpful aspects of technology, but we need to be careful about how we use it.

Transportation was the highest part of my carbon footprint. I think it is because my family and I travel a lot and we have to travel by plane to get to another country. We mostly travel to see my family because some of them live there. Some of my family members are unable to get on a plane and travel for a long period of time so my family has to go to them.

Other than the transplantation was the rest of your carbon footprint relatively low?

Transplantation?

I think if the other components of your carbon foot print are fairly low then it is fine that you travel by plane. Everyone needs to see their family in other countries.

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There are many things that I need that contribute largely to my carbon footprint data, but there is also a lot more that I don’t necessarily need but want. My huge want that I had that contributed to an increase in my carbon footprint was in the category of transportation. I gained 29,000 just from this category which was more than half of my carbon footprint. Planes were a big problem for me. Plane rides took up 13,000 of my carbon footprint, almost half of my carbon footprint in travel. I travelled to two place in the last year, Hawaii, and New York, and I know there are people in my city that did at least two times as more flights than me. I think that this has to change, I now vacationing is fun and it is great to go to other places in the world but solutions need to be made. For one people could take longer trips, and instead of going to lets say France one year and Germany the next go to both of them in the same year to decrease the amount of flights needed to take people back and forth.
    My second big issue that increased my carbon footprint ws food. I am not vege tarian at all, I love meat and I won’t stop eating it, but I know there is a way to fix that. I on average have maybe one vegetarian meal per week. That is not good, it means that I am eating more meat, which actually takes tons of gallon of water to make. For one cows and other animals need tons of water to grow to their full age before they can be eaten. Also, it takes energy and fuel to make the water feed to the animals drinkable, as it has to grow through many different cleansing stages. A way to help help prevent so much water being wasted and greenhouse gases into the air is to eat more vegetarian meals. You don’t have to become only vegetarian for the rest if your life, but maybe eating three vegetarian meals in one week would make a huge difference, and maybe even trying to go vegetarian for selected months would also help.
    Finally, car rides affected my carbon footprint. Travelling locally wasn’t too bad, I didn’t travel that much within my city, but finding other ways to get around your city would help. Taking the local bus or carpooling places would definitely help, but the real problem was longer drives to vacation spots around my own area. I travelled almost six times last year and almost all of the car rides took at least three hours, sometimes taking seven. This definitely affected by carbon footprint because long distances put a lot of gas into the air. There aren’t a lot of solutions taking a break from the stress from your regular day life is needed. One main solution that comes to my mind is energy efficient cars, yes I know that they are known to not have enough battery life to get you long distances, but you could get a hybrid and refill your gas and there are some gas stations that have the battery charger for a car, but getting a hybrid would definitely help.
Sources: Clark, Duncan. "The Surprisingly Complex Truth about Planes and Climate Change | Duncan Clark." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 09 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/environment … s-shipping

Car Emissions and Global Warming." Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/ca … -2AJfkrIdU

I think having the latest technology is a want not a need because you can live without the latest technology.

I agree; technology has evolved to make a huge difference on our world today. Most people have a phone now a days and many more people want one. As the big companies like Apple and Samsung make new devices every year, people feel the need to buy the biggest and greatest, and they just leave their old phones in closets never to be use again. But what people don’t realize is that to text, call, and do anything involving connection goes to the cellphone towers which run on the power of nearby generators, which pit greenhouse gases into the air to work. Every call, text, and safari search is putting greenhouse gases into the air. Also, some people are buying too many devices, laptops, computers, phone, smart watches, and IPads. I think we have to try to prevent this because all the work needed to make the phones, the metal and other stuff needed to make them. So to prevent this companies need to slow down on the produce of new phones/gadgets and people need to only have devices that are necessary, phones for anyone above the age of 12 or so and one computer and maybe a addit   ional laptop.
But phones and computers are not the only thing affected our carbon footprint technologically. Most people now a days have a car, and most people can’t afford or don’t have the option to buy the more fuel efficient electric cars. Cars have made up about 26% of our carbon footprint. They pump gallons of gas and methane into the air everyday, if this keeps on going our world will start to deteriorate. Not only does the gas that is used to power the cars bad for the environment, but also the method to attain the fuel cars use.
This is a big problem that need to be fixed, more than ever we need to either find other ways of commuting, maybe taking bart or some other public transportation or get energy efficient cars.  Long distance travel has also had a negative effect on our atmosphere. People want to travel and explore taking planes and other long distance machines to get there, and many companies are now shipping their appliances across the ocean and land. Planes, trains, and ships have been putting greenhouse gases in our atmosphere as well. They pump huge amounts of fuel to keep them moving, planes use tons of fuel to keep them in the air and going fast, ships carry large amounts of cargo across the ocean and they need tons of power to keep moving their heavy loads, and trains have been known to burn coal and other fuels for gas and they also need to cover long distances in a short amount of time. To fix this we need to find better ways of travelling, instead of the older trains that take fuel, we could install more electric trains like the ones that we use to commute to work.
Sources:
@gazettedotcom. "Do Cell Phones Contribute to Global Warming? | The Gazette." The Gazette. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. http://www.thegazette.com/2010/02/18/do … al-warming

"TRANSPORTATION AND GLOBAL WARMING."Transportation and Global Warming. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/prog … l_warming/

Air conditioning is a big part of pollution in the atmosphere. According to http://environment.nationalgeographic.c … al-impact/ involves releasing millions of CO2 emissions each year. This is eye-opening to many people, but air conditioning is something I can't give up. I live in Texas and Texas is notorious for it's hot summers. Air conditioning is a part of life here. The http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/TX shows how hot it can get in Texas depending on each city. And yes in the winter the temperature does drop a few degrees, but that is only 2-3 months out of the rest of the year. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are common in Texas and air conditioning is a significant part of keeping us from experiencing them. I have experienced slight heat exhaustion while camping and it is not fun. I had a terrible headache, was completely tired, and was dizzy. I drank 3 bottles of water, but what brought  me back was walking into the nurse's office and the air being on. Heat exhaustion is a serious thing and air conditioning helps cool the body down. I am so thankful for air conditioning and it's off the table for me.

I live in California and our house is so old that it doesn't have air conditioning. Although I hate feeling too warm, I can deal with the lack of air conditioning and it doesn't affect my life in any drastic way. It also makes me feel good because I know about the huge an effect it has on carbon emissions. I have experienced slight heat exhaustion before and it is very serious so I understand where you're coming from. I think we should all try to limit air conditioning use though, so instead of having the temperature set to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, we could have it set to 70 or 75 degrees F. It would still feel colder than the outdoor temperature, but it would use less energy. I'm curious to know what effect the air conditioning had on your carbon footprint as well.

Thanks for your feedback, Frances. My house is usually set around 70 or 75 degrees, but I live in a big two story house. So, my carbon footprint is still large. I'm astonished (in a good way) that you can live in such a hot place with no air conditioning. I don't know what I'd do without air conditioning. In the winter the temperature of our house is in the 80's because sometimes it does get cold here, but that is only 2-3 months out of every year. I feel that air conditioning is just one of those things that people take for granted when they've lived with it their whole life, while others are used to living without it. I do know that companies are finding more nature friendly ways of providing air conditioning, but until then I still believe that air conditioning is off the table for me.

Global warming is occurring on Earth, and it’s because of humans. However, we seem to be stuck in an endless cycle. The more energy we use, the more energy we will need. Most energy is obtained by burning fossil fuels, so lots of carbon dioxide is put into Earth’s atmosphere. As global warming increases, people turn on their air conditioning more often, and use more energy. Because of this, more energy is used/needed, and even more fossil fuels are burned. This never-ending circle is only going to get worse as time progresses. In addition, energy shortages and blackouts could potentially increase as more air conditioning is used.
    Even though there seems to be a cycle of using more and more energy as climates rise, there are some helpful ways to cut down your energy use, no matter what the temperature is outside. Plants and trees can be planted near offices and homes to provide shade and to cool things down naturally. Although it may take some time for the trees to grow, it is still beneficial. Another great way is to use fans. If it’s not too hot, a small fan can cool y ou down very easily. If air conditioning is truly needed, then it would be smart to set the thermostat just a few degrees warmer to use less energy, but still stay cool. Lastly, if you are buying a new air conditioning, you can buy energy-efficient models. These use less energy, and can cut down the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The link below can help explain energy use and how it relates to global warming.
    https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids … nergy.html

I live in Guatemala City, commonly known as the city of eternal spring. Because of this, I usually don´t need anything other than a fan for one or two months a year, and therefore my CO2 Emission in that area is not very high.

I live in Guatemala City, Central America. I live in a country known for the eternal spring. I don't use air conditioning,and it is very rare on public places. With this in mind, my CO2 emission is not high at all in this area.

Technology has evolved and has become a very dependent source for countries all over the world, including the US. Most teens or even children have at least some form of technology. People should lower their uses of technology so that it does not become as big as a problem it already is. Maybe using only the items that are necessary can make a change.

I totally agree with you Bryce! Today, teens especially use technology everywhere. It  has taken control over them. With technology evolving, the lack of communication by speaking will occur at some point. People would just be type or texting each other as their form of communication.

I agree that a lot of countries have become dependent on technology, even to accomplish everyday tasks. People shouldn't be so dependent on technology because technology can't help us with everything.

I agree that countries such as united states are so dependent on tech but as for 3 world countries i dont think so

I agree with you because we all teenagers are always on technology and making our brain cell destroyed part of brain that we need for educated and it also taking the time we should spent of doing something that would be the change or that would be really necessary. We all need to take care of our earth from being damaged or being involved with technology. Spend time with helping earth!!!.

As a teen I agree as well because it's so easy to get distracted from what's really important. Now a day, my generation is more concerned with sending a message than paying to attention to what their teacher is discussing in class.

I believe that in this day and age youth are so much more interested in keeping up with newest tech. Sometimes it is better to stick to the old-fashioned ways. If we get to caught up in new tech we will never learn the same again. An example of the old-fashioned way being better is writing instead of typing because you remember more if you write.

I agree, the world should cut down its use of technology. One study found that 53% of children in the United States receive their first phone before the age of six. Giving phones to children under six years old for the most part is unnecessary because they are mostly dependent on their parents at that age for communication. In addition, it exposes them to cellular radiation at a younger age, which heightens there risk in cancer later in life according to the National Cancer Institute.  Also, the United States in 2012 created 9.4 metric tons of e-waste. The modern person could have a laptop, ipad, phone, home computer, kindle and TV. The world collectively needs to rethink what technology is necessary and what is not.

I do agree with many that people have become so dependent on technology as years have gone by. But, I don't necessarily believe that technology has had only a negative impact in our environment. Technology has also helped to educate and inform people about the way our environment is being destroyed, and  the ways they can change and help to make it better.

what i am unwilling to change is driving a car because its fast travel and easy to get around

I think that this would be off the table for me as well. Driving allows me to use my time much more efficiently, and the convenience that comes with being able to drive myself wherever at any time is unmatched. For example, I love to surf. However, if I did not have a car, I would never be able to go surfing as I do not live right on the beach. The alternative of public transportation would not work on many levels because even if I could carry everything I needed on a Bart train, I would still have nowhere safe to put my belongings while I am in the water. Furthermore, it would take over three times as long to commute, and what would normally take 4-5 hours would turn into something I would need to commit my entire day to. As high school students, we are too busy with so many different activities in our lives to afford sacrificing something so convenient as being able to drive from place to place.

The newest technology is both a want and a need because children and other people want it but doctors, surgeon, and more need it. They use it daily to keep records and to do surgeries.

traveling by air

I agree with you

In today's impending society, we encounter technology on a daily basis. In our homes, in our schools and in our workplaces. It has come to the point where technology is a necessity. It is something we need to function and complete work with ease and efficiency. And, it is there to make our lives easier. It provides us with many resources and gives us means to being more social people.  Even so, the “need” for the latest piece in technological development is more of a want than a need.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educat … C2%A2.aspx

I agree with you in today’s world we could not live without technology, but technology is both a good and bad thing. It keeps us connected with people who live around the world. Technology is also used to form new types of renewable and/or forms of clean energy, Nuclear power plants are run by computers. Technology also is a learning tool. The internet quickly provides us with answers whenever. (if it is accurate or not that is another story) It can become a negative thing when it is used for things such as bullying. Social media can be the hub for things such as this. I have also found while writing my English paper that people on some forms of social media are using social media to help encourage people to keep on with their eating disorders. I think some parts of technology are a need but some parts are not. Things such as the creation of clean energy is a need but social media is not.

Personally, plane flights are off the table, because my family lives in Europe. My family and I fly to Europe every other year and a roundtrip is about five plane flights. Transportation was the biggest part of my carbon footprint mostly because of the flights I have taken recently.

The same is happened to me. I carpool to school and take the buss home, as well as walked to my old school for the past six years so I figured that my carbon footprint would be lower in the transportation, however I traveled a lot in the past year, which brought my overall up.

Transportation was my biggest impact to my carbon footprint as well! Personally, the town that I live in is relatively small with little to no public transportation. Things are very well spaced apart from each other along the highway because of suburban planning. There are sidewalks but walking to the places I need to go is just not plausible, as it would take upwards of hours. I drive a car that is relatively good on gas, but I still must drive everywhere I need to go on my own since my parents have busy working schedules. I would even attempt to carpool with friends and neighbors to decrease my impact on the Earth, but we all have vastly different after school activities and there is no way to work them out. I wish my town had been developed using smart growth techniques and principles, and that it had more available public transportation.

I know that having a ride home from practice with a carpool is better than a ride from my mom. I need to try to schedule that more often. I would not be able to give up my phone. It it too useful.

You ever tried carpooling?

Personally, I hate the taste of any vegetable ever, and so my diet mainly consists of meat. The meat industry produces high amounts of carbon, because of animals natural gases, and the rate at which these animals are produced. The manure from animals also causes carbo to be produced and causes runoff into water. Information about this can be found here. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ … -than-cars

Although a diet with meat can be good the production of the meat and the preparation is harmful and in the preparation there is also packaging being produced that is leading to even more carbon dioxide being produced.

Having the latest technology in my opinion is just a want because we can live life without having the newest of everything. Traveling is the one thing that I would never want to change even though I could stop visiting places and people around the world if I chose to. I try to reduce my transportation carbon emissions by carpooling and skateboarding whenever I can but it doesn't make up for my want to travel. I travel a lot with my family for vacations and to visit relatives across the world so that's off the table for me.

It wouldn't necessarily mean you cant travel. If you could find ways to travel smarter you could travel just as much but also release less carbon. For example you could take trains that run on electricity if you want to travel across the country.

Transportation was definitely the biggest contributor to my carbon footprint. I live in Livermore so my commute is longer than the average high school student. I take BART to school and carpool on the way home, but I don't think there is any way to reduce my transportation carbon footprint any further without changing where I live or go to school. I think biking and walking to destinations that are close by is a reasonable solution, but it won't fix the problem entirely. Fuel efficient vehicles and eventually alternate forms of energy fueling our transportation should be the ultimate goal.

My issue is the same. I live in Richmond. It takes about 45 minutes to get to school everyday if I'm riding in my dad's car. I recently decided that I'd rather take BART because it will help my father (who's very old) and maybe decrease my carbon footprint.

I also have a similar issue, I don't live very far from school, but I don't carpool or use public transportation as much as I should or would like to. My carbon footprint for transportation was more than three times the average for my region in that category. It was a real eye opener, and showed me that I can make easy changes that can reduce my carbon footprint.

I really like how you listed out all the options you could to limit your carbon footprint even with your obstacle of having a long commute. I don't know if you can but taking the bus and AC Transit are also good solutions to limit your carbon footprint. Making these small steps make a huge difference in our future. According to http://www.cartalk.com/content/global-w … your-car-0 burning one gallon of gas creates 20 pounds of CO2!

I drive to and from school everyday. I know this isn't the best thing for the environment but I have no other option. To make my transportation as eco friendly as possible I carpool.

My off the table carbon footprint is in the transportation category. This is because my family likes to travel a lot. We had lots of plane trips in 2015 to places far away. I also live in a hilly neighborhood and there is nothing nearby where my family could walk or bike to. Is this the case for anybody else?
Does anyone have any possible solutions?

I might have one possible solution that can help your family reduce their CO2 emissions. My highest category was Home due to all the various appliances my family has like ovens, microwaves, etc. We are also always charging our phones even sometimes when we don’t even need to. I would recommend carpooling maybe to school with a friend like I do almost everyday. I’ve been doing this since grammar school and I feel it has really reduced my carbon footprint overall. This won’t really work if your friend lives kind of far away, because it will cause more CO2 to be released into the atmosphere.

I have the same situation too, but I do not really fly planes that maybe. Maybe once or twice a year I'll get on a plane. Also, my family likes to live in the hills and I live in a location where there are lots and lots of trees and cannot really walk anywhere unless I know someone who lives nearby and I want to walk to there house, so my carbon footprint would be very high.

When I did the Carbon Footprint Calculator, I was below average in all my categories except for transportation. My transportation section was about 5X more than the average person in California. The main reason my transportation was so high was I think that my relatives all live in New York. If we want to see them, it makes the most sense if the 3 people in my family fly to New York, than for all 12 of them to fly here. Seeing my family is not something I am willing to give up.

I agree. Seeing your family is important, and often people need to fly to get there. A big problem is the amount of resources that planes use and the greenhouse gases they expel. Is there any way to reduce their impact on the environment?

That's a good point. Most of my family lives in India and so I go there every few years. It does increase my transportation. The only way to get there is by going on an airplane. It would be nice if they could come up with a more eco friendly way of traveling internationally and domestically.

I completely agree with all of you. I too noticed that a large amount of my carbon emissions came from traveling by plane and while I understand how harmful air travel is to the environment, it is also important to consider how beneficial it is to humanity as a whole. Exposure to different cultures is necessary for understanding those same cultures. As it is there already exists a lack of knowledge about different countries and it is this ignorance that promotes harmful stereotypes. If we limit travel we limit our capacity to learn from different practices. I agree our methods of transportation must be improved upon but not necessarily limited.

My carbon footprint mostly came from travel as well. I do fly across country to see family and make lots of trips to and from school. I could take public transportation but it would be difficult.

That is understandable seeing as how your family lives far away. Some things can't be helped when people are far. So your carbon footprint for transportation is perfectly okay because it is reasonable.

A huge contributor to my carbon footprint is transportation, but I'm not willing to change it. I need to be able to drive to school and to my after school activities. I try to carpool, but it's hard to do that with everything. I don't want to ride the bus to school because I usually have things to do afterwards, so I need to be able to control when I can leave. I fly a lot too, so I don't want to not go on vacations, but I'm willing to walk places on vacation instead of driving around. There isn't a bus that I can take to go places. Transportation is something I'm not willing to alter, but I do try my best in other aspects of my life to decrease my carbon footprint.

I agree that transportation is a large contributor to global warming but we cant just stop using cars and planes. Sure you can ride a bike but they are slower and may not be a good choice for some people. A solution to this problem are clean vehicles. For example electric cars and natural gas buses. Although electric planes have not replaced regular commercial planes, they might be something we see in the future.

how many times do you leave a room and leave all the lights on? I do it too, and it didn't even cross my mind  - until I took this survey - how much electricity we waste because left the lamp on in our bedrooms. I also barely use my bicycle, which would benefit the world a lot more than cars would. The problem is that people like to be "comfortable". When it's raining, we prefer to stay inside a nice, warm car instead of out on a healthy bike ride. When it's night time, we prefer to keep the house bright instead of turning off that bedroom lamp. We all think that it's OK to leave that light on... but when EVERYONE is doing it, our world is suffering. That's the hardest part for me - being aware.

I completely agree with you because after taking this carbon footprint survey, I have found myself walking around the house and realizing how many lights I accidently or unconsciously leave on so I think that this would be something that I could work on, but it may be difficult to do so for me. I too enjoy staying inside where I am warm and don't enjoy a cold, dark room when it is raining. I think that before this survey, it would have been something I wouldn't have been willing to give up, but after seeing how it contributes to not only my carbon footprint but the whole world, I think that I need to be more self aware of this.

For me, my transportation is off the table. I know that my transportation is a huge contributor to my carbon footprint, but I am unwilling to change it. I need to drive to school and sports after school. I know that I could take public transportation to some of these places, but I like being able to control when I leave instead of it being dictated by a schedule . I also have to fly to visit my family because they live very far away. Those things are necessary, but I am also unwilling to give up the unnecessary things, like driving to get dinner or flying for vacation.

I agree with your that it just feels more convenient to drive by ourselves. But getting to work might be a good choice to change since it's everyday.

I have the same limits, too.  Living in the Bay Area and going to a commuter school means that we have to drive a lot, so it's hard to cut down on carbon emissions from transportation.  Planes also use a lot of carbon, but it's unreasonable to not travel or visit your family because of that.  Finding little ways to cut down on transportation carbon emissions, like using Lyft or carpooling will help, even if just a little bit.

I am a junior in high school and just got my driver's license. Naturally, I am very excited and I love being able to drive myself to school. As a consequence, I rarely take the city bus anymore and I usually drive alone. My dad used to drop me off on his way to work, but now we take two separate cars on what is largely the same route. I realize that my change in behavior is contributing immensely to my carbon footprint, especially since transportation was already my highest emissions area by far. In the future I may have to compromise and only drive alone to school some days, or start a carpool to help reduce this unnecessary pollution.

One thing that you could do is talk to your dad about being the one who drives to school. In this way you do have not give up your love for driving at all and effectively halve (or eliminate depending upon how you look at it) your carbon footprint from your commute to school. This also allows your dad to keep driving if it is something he enjoys, gives you two time to bond, and saves gas money.  [Carpooling vs. Driving Alone Graph](//muut.com/u/footprint/s1/:footprint:oRry:commute2.png.jpg) As you can see from this American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials graph the number of people carpooling to work is actually falling, despite a recent uptick in the amount of work done to promote sustainability. This is a problem because carpooling is the second most popular method of transport to work, as shown by this Department of energy Alternative Fuels Data Center graph, [Means of Transportation to Work](//muut.com/u/footprint/s3/:footprint:rchm:chart.jpeg.jpg)  While it is certainly not as good as biking or taking the bus, take it upon yourself (and help your father) to change this and do your part to help save our planet.

I can't live without technological devices like phones or computers. I use them a lot, to solve problems, have fun and also improve my efficiency in studying and  organizing my projects. Another thing I couldn't give up is, living in a big House because I love it and I would have big problems in a little one, because I have a lot of stuff to keep it organized.

You still can work around that, (if you don't already do so) why not using a tower PC, so if a component gets older/slower/inconvenient you can only change that component, instead of the whole PC... As for your house, have you ever thought of heating it up in alternative ways... Such as dressing up for winter, using more blankets when sleeping and using a programmable thermostat... That by itself already helps!

I don't think you need to get rid of phones or computers to reduce your carbon footprint. The thing we all can do is not buying a new one when the old one is still good to use.

Yes I will not change my transportation because I like to travel and I can't just tell my family to stop going on an airplane. There are many things that are off the table like my food and my dog.

Nice bro

Unfortunately, driving is off the table and also happens to be one of the reasons my carbon footprint is as high as it is. Driving is a part of my life – whether I am going to school, practice, or an event, it is something that I cannot live without. I am aware that biking, walking, and taking public transportation are amazing all alternatives, but the convenience is all too great. However, I do believe that I have taken steps to minimize my impact: I carpool to school on a daily basis which helps and I also try to minimize driving in general. For me, it is simply a necessity that I could not give up.

It is useful to add a reference to support your ideas. If you find a valuable reference, include the link with your comments.

Every morning, my dad gets the newspaper from the front sidewalk.  He goes straight to the front page, and then reads the sports section.  My mom likes to do the crossword puzzles when she has time in the morning.  My younger brother reads the comics.  My question is, are paper newspapers really necessary?  Now that online newspapers are available, we can save ink, paper, and carbon released in the manufacturing of the newspapers. 
Another point is what if some families don't have access to online resources?  My suggestion is specialized newspapers.  For example, in my family, we only read the front page, sports, business, and entertainment sections.  What if households could choose which sections of the newspaper they want delivered to their house every morning.  Through online newspapers and possibly specialized newspapers, we could save resources and the carbon being released in the manufacturing.

This is a good idea! I know that most newspapers have a website, but they still give out the papers every morning, and my family doesn't read it so we recycle it. I know of plenty of people who do not need the paper copies, so they throw them away. There should be a survey on what families need, if they don't need the news, or if they just need certain sections. Since we are able to publish things online, such as magazines, comics, newspapers, and plenty other things, I think we should, since it reduces our carbon footprint.

Maureen, that is an excellent idea. It took me a few years to get my parents to switch from reading the newspaper to reading the online version. Now, my family reads the online version. I know that some families don't have access to internet or a computer to read what is going on in the world. I believe the government can reduce the carbon released into the environment by giving newspapers to people who do not have access to online resources.
Technology is becoming a big part of people's lives in the U.S., so the government can have the newspaper companies post their newspaper online instead of printing out billions of copies increasing the carbon released into the atmosphere.

I agree! It would be quite nice to buy only the sections of the newspaper you are going to read. I believe, even though that technology has advanced greatly, some people still stay in their 'old-fashioned way' and may refuse to buy online versions. It may be nice to have an option to either buy an online or paper copy. Also, maybe if the paper copy cost more, then some people may consider buying online versions of the newspaper. Reasons for an increased price in the paper copy of the newspaper include the labor cost of someone delivering it, manufacturing costs, and merely the cost of the CO2 emissions in being released into the environment by the printing of the paper.

This is a very interesting idea. http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number … s-decline/ According to this website, 23% percent of Americans read a paper newspaper. Now, that number has been dropping steadily in the last 10 years but it still a huge amount of people. Imagine how many pieces of paper that wastes! All those dead trees! And when you're done, it's consumed, you throw it away. You get a new one tomorrow. This is a very wasteful attitude, it teaches us that our resources are disposable and makes us believe that they are endless. 500,000 trees are killed a day just for the newspaper. How long will this last?
I don't understand the need for a daily newspaper in modern times. If something important has happened, we would most likely see it as soon as we log on to the internet. 87% of the US population has internet, and if they don't they'll probably hear news by word of mouth or on TV or on the radio. We live in the age of communication, so why are we still reading the newspaper? That was used in the days before t he internet, when people lived far away from cities and had no idea what was going on.
Also, like Maureen pointed out, her family only reads certain parts of the newspaper. With the internet, you can get endless information about what does interest you, and you don't have to waste all that paper that you won't even look at. I think that nowadays, paper newspapers are a waste and there are much more efficient ways of getting the news. If most people switched to the internet newspaper, more trees would be alive, there would be a lot less waste, and you'd only have to read what you want to!

This is a) a really good idea and b) completely doable.  Seeing as you live in Texas (I assume based on the profile picture), here's some contact info for Texas and National newspapers:

Texas Observer- Phone: 1.800.939.6620
Address: 307 W 7th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701
or call (512) 477-0746

Dallas Observer-  http://www.dallasobserver.com/about/contact

New York Times-
letters@nytimes.com (Letters to editor)

opinion.video@nytimes.com  (Op-Ed Video)

Washington Post-
http://help.washingtonpost.com/ics/supp … ptID=15080  (General Contact)

In addition, you don't have to contact any of these directly- movements can be started by general suggestions.  I suggest making a video or something else that can be easily shared. Good luck!

Can you find a reference that documents how many trees a community could save if they switched to reading the news online?

Transportation is  very important for me because I have to go to school with a public bus and I love travelling by plane. In fact when I did the test I saw that the transportation section had the highest result (5985 kg and the average in Switzerland is 3976 kg). I was very surprised, but I don't want to give up my travels because transportation is part of my life.

I agree with you 100%,  Transportation is apart of my life too and I don't know how I would give that up. I find it surprising that the national average is so low. Do you think your national average is low?

I would agree with you.  My transportation total was over 6,000 because we took three airplane flights last summer to visit family.  Normally it wouldn't be that high because we rarely travel by airplane, but sometimes it is necessary.

i agree with you completely, transportation is important to me as well i had 13,230 kgs!!! I love to travel an go places! Mainly just riding in the car with the windows down, I love to doing that.

Transportation seems to be the highest for almost everyone, and I understand that you don't want to give it up, I love to travel too.

Hello! I'm Mirco Hochkofler and I'm from Switzerland. My personal carbon footprint is very low, because I don'travel so much by plane. In fact in the last year I didn't take any plane. In the summer my family don't use the air conditioning, so we don't consume much. My carbon footprint is under the average of my country, but in one thing I can improve: every morning I go to school by car only for a distance of two km.
In the future I want walk more and I want to use less and less the car for short distances, like that between my home and school.

I agree with you, if you live close to school you should walk or even car pull with 3 or more people. I also think in order to make people walk more to school, we could use more sidewalks around the streets to the town.

If you live close enough to the school you should walk more ! I walk home everyday! i personally like to walk home after school i can breath in all that fresh air which is good for you !! I also stay in the car like im always out doing something !! im just really an all around out going person!!

I know that flying on airplanes makes such a huge impact on my carbon footprint, but I love flying on planes and going on vacations. Am I the only one who has this problem? There's not really a way to stop this problem other than just not going on vacations far away.

I also face this problem and was wondering if anyone had any other ideas to make vacations more sustainable and efficient for the environment.

Very interesting, Maggie. I was wondering the same thing.

I don't know how to reduce my carbon footprint for vacations as well (need to research it). Maybe you could try to reduce your carbon footprint in other ways to balance it out?

Here's a resource I found- http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can … stainably/

It has some good advice such as:
Fly during the daytime, because studies have shown that flights taken at night have a greater impact on the climate.
Fly economy, because more people per plane means fewer emissions per person.
Pack light, because lighter planes mean less fuel is burned.
Purchase carbon offsets to account for the emissions from your flight.

for my family we go to 2-3 places when we go on a vacation and we fly to the first but then take a train or boat or drive to the next places and that helps with less flights.

I think a good way to go on vacations but not fly is to do long road trips to places.

Izzy's idea is a good one.  Also, many people like to "combine trips".  Like fitting in visiting family AND a vacation in one flight.  Everything helps.

Izzy,
Great point- GO ON TRAINS.  They are energy efficient- the emissions per passenger are nearly half that of cars.  Other environmental impacts are up to a tenth smaller on rail than on car.  In addition, studies have shown that they improve the quality of life in nearby towns.
-Diego

http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/file … better.pdf
http://www.ushsr.com/benefits/economic.html
https://www.aar.org/BackgroundPapers/En … 20Rail.pdf
http://gorail.org/rail-benefits/environment/

RESOURCES!!! YAYYY!!!!

For me I have to go on these airplane trips because of my baseball team like last year we went to Las Vegas and Colorado and this year we are going to California and Oregon and Maybe Canada.

I think that people should use trains for long distance travel. they are much more efficient and comfortable than cars or planes. However, there is very little competition in the train industry, and until there is, trains wont reach their full potential for travel.

Like just about all countries, we have a semi-nationalized system in the USA (Amtrak).  But unlike most other countries with successful rail, it is underfunded and the infrastructure is not suppported

While trains are a good choice for reducing carbon emissions when travelling a long distance, trains have limitations. They're significatly slower than planes, meaning that they're impractical for time-sensitive travel.

Trains cannot travel over seas, either. The alternative would be boats, but they're even slower and emit more carbon over distance. (http://articles.boattrader.com/how-to-c … -minimize/ ). So, sometimes planes are necessary. (Note that I'm not saying that trains are pointless).

However, this article: (http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable- … ar-or-rail ) states that trains emit 70 grams of CO2 per kilometer per passenger, while most cars are around 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer per person. We can conclude that; while trains could be an option to reduce your carbon emissions, they aren't used widely enough or available to enough people. End of class, I'll elaborate on this later.

I feel flying on planes definitely emits the most carbon, but i think most of the time it is the most efficient way of traveling long distances. If you were flying somewhere maybe only a state away you could go by train or car, but for trips out of country there's not much you can do about it.

I really love to travel but now that I know this I feel bad because of how large my carbon footprint is. My transportation part of my carbon footprint was more than the average carbon footprint in Washington by itself.

I think we could be better without washing machines and dryers because before 20th century people used their hands and I can agree that it isn't as efficent, but can reduce the carbon footprint caused by them. This topic I would say wouldn't necessarily be off the table.

An easy way to eliminate dryers is to dry clothes outside. This eliminates half of the source, and is very easy. Its much easier to buy a 20 dollar drying rack then buy a dryer worth a couple hundred dollars.

It may not be efficient but hand washing and putting things out to dry would be using less electricity and other energy that could potentially cause CO2 emissions. Just because it takes more time and energy, people tend not to do things like this that could actually have a huge effect on our home CO2 emissions. I know that at some households, the washing machines and dryers are constantly going, especially in houses with larger families.

Adding on to the drying clothes outside idea, I don't think that it would be very affective because not every single part of the year is ideal for drying clothes. But in countries that are close to the equator this idea might work because it is hot and sunny there most of the time but for people far away from the equator, like Alaska, never in a million years this would work.

I agree that hand washing things and hanging them out to dry would be better for the environment, but now a day there is not enough time to do those things.

Would there be a way to perhaps use hand technology with the washers instead of using electricity/fossil fuels/etc? Doing it with a wash board is much less efficient and much more time consuming than using a washing machine, and many families work outside of the home, unlike before the 20th century in first world countries. If we could invent some contraption that removes the dirt and other gunk from the clothing in a large way, it would considerably lower carbon gas emissions and be much cheaper than buying and maintaining an electric washing machine. Also, if it was close to as efficient as electric machines, it could be sold to third world countries to make it easier and quicker for them as well.

As for the drying, maybe we could have neighborhood drying rooms? Like green rooms, but built for naturally drying clothing during wet seasons. There are plants that suck moisture out of the air, and other ways of lowering humidity in the air. It might create the opposite desired effect however, working as a terrarium instead of a dryer.

My school is very far from my house and I have to take the bus or use my motorcycle. I know that consume a lot of CO2, but I need to take these means of transport. I could go by bike, but I'd lose a lot of time. The best thing I can do is take the public transports as much as possible.

You can't do anything without a means transport, but as you have said there are way to reduce the most possible our carbon footprint. You can try to go to school to bicycle or use the public transport. The motorcycle consumes very much fuel and then it has a big carbon footprint. If you can't do really with the motorcycle you can find an alternative solutions to have a cleaner world. For example for you have ecologic household electrical appliances is off the table?

My family loves to travel, and mainly by airplane. This has greatly affected my carbon footprint, which would be below the regional average if I did not travel as much. Airplane travel contributed 33,000 kgs of carbon to my total footprint. Even though I took 12 flights this year, I do not think I would be able to take any of them off the table. I feel like this is the same for most people, because who doesn't want to go on a vacation or see a new place? Automobile travel contributed another 873 kgs to my footprint, which I could reduce by traveling with more people in the car on road trips. I think airplane travel is the number one thing I could not take off the table in my carbon footprint.

Hi Jessica,
I agree with you! I also really love travelling, because I like to see new places. I am not ready to give up my travelling to reduce my carbon footprint. That is absolutely off the table for me! That is way I try to reduce my carbon footprint in other ways: I try to buy things only if I really need them, I try to save water and to use as much as possible public transportation! I think that if we don’t want to reduce our travelling we should pay attention to the other little things that can make a big deferens for our planet!!

Hi Jessica,
I agree with you! I also really love travelling, because I like to see new places. I am not ready to give up my travelling to reduce my carbon footprint. That is absolutely off the table for me! That is way I try to reduce my carbon footprint in other ways: I try to buy things only if I really need them, I try to save water and to use as much as possible public transportation! I think that if we don’t want to reduc e our travelling we should pay attention to the other little things that can make a big deferens for our planet!!

I agree with you. Even if I know that airplane trips are highly harmful to the environment (on average a long distance flight require 113 g/Km CO2 per passenger, a long domestic flight 177 g/Km CO2 per passenger and a short domestic flight 257 g/Km CO2 per passenger -source: http://lipasto.vtt.fi/yksikkopaastot/he … /ilmae.htm ), I can't help but consider trips off the table.
Personally, I always loved travelling. My dad passed me this passion and I'll probably love learning about new cultures, visiting new, stunning places and meeting new friends as long as I'll live.
I'm careful about my carbon footprint, as my family taught me, but everyone has something he can't stand to lose. Mine are airplane (and road) trips. I mean, I know it's not a need. If I had to, I could reluctantly give up on them, although my life would be kind of plain.

I do sport very often, more precisely I swim and the swimming pool it's two kilometers from my home. I know it's not very far, however I always call my parents and I go home with them with the car. Sometimes I walk, but for example in winter, in the evening I'm very tired and I'm too lazy. Considering that I know this isn't good for the nature and it would be healthy for me I think I'll try to walk more and use less the car.

I think that I use my scooter too much!
Fortunately I live near the school and I don’ t need  transport; I walk. However I use my motor scooter to go everywhere (except to school) even if it takes not so much time to walk. I’ m lazy, I know, but so I gain time and nowadays time is a very important resource. In fact I think our society is too hectic, we don’ t spend time to relax, to enjoy nature,… on the contrary we kill nature. I’ ll try to walk more!! That’s also healthy for me.

The aspect of my life that I am unwilling to compromise on is forms of transportation. This includes airplanes and cars. Growing up, vacations and road trips are some of my favorite memories and have become something I really enjoy doing. It brings you closer to your family and friends which I think is really important and I don’t want to give that up. Likewise, using a car is a necessity for me. I am willing to carpool to help my carbon footprint, but using public transportation on a regular basis is not option for me. I need to be able to get to locations on my own time and I simply do not live within walking distance to a bus stop. Since I do not have my own car currently, in the future, I can look into hybrid cars to reduce my carbon footprint. How can I make smarter choices for travel and transportation in the future?

Hello Angelica! I have a similar problem to you, is that I need transportations all the time, so it increase my carbon footprint a lot. My family members and I love to travel. We often travel by plane and even we are going outside with our friends and meet our relatives, we travel by car. I think the transportation is a very important tool in our daily lives and it makes our lives better and more convenient. However, it will pollute the air and bad for the environment. I totally agree with your opinion that willing to carpool to reduce your carbon footprint, I will use this method in the future too! I should travel by bus instead of cars and I can hang out with friends by underground. Moreover, riding bikes and walking are great idea too because I like riding bikes very much and walking is the most healthy exercise too.

Hi @vivienz! I definitely agree that transportation is so important, especially for teenagers so it is hard to compromise. For students, I think taking the bus to school is a good option if you are able to. Also, carpooling to school with people who live near each other is a good compromise. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and we have a train system called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). This system is really beneficial to the environment and the community since it saves time and reduces the number of cars on the road. There are stations in many different cities in this area, so you can get on or off at any stop. Also, when going to San Francisco, you beat the traffic and you are in the heart of the city! This is a great option for teenagers who are not able to drive to get around the Bay Area.

Hi! My name is Paulina!
I always travel by car, is  too fast comfortable and easy to me, but when I saw the estadistics about the pollution, something happened in my head that need to do things that contribute to change these.
I make a purpose to myself every day, if  I need to go to any place,  I have to walk or I will ask for somebody can give me a lift to use less a car to go to an especific place.
Other thing that I try to do is, that it is necesary to take a car, I will wait for the next time to take  a car.

I agree with you, if not that necessary i will choose to walk, and it is health to me.

I agree with you. You can take the public transportation (train, bus,...) for go to different place. For example I go every day to school with the bus. The public transportation go always (with or without you), they pollute always identical, so it is better that you take the public tranportation because so you don't pollute with your car.

I totally agree and support your idea of using cars so much, yet this is a bit unrealistic because our society is now almost entirely based on cars.  I also wanted to ask how this has been going for you so far?

My mom's family is all in Massachusetts and my family and I live out in California. We fly back every summer to see them and that is not something that I can or am willing to give up. Not only is it vacation but it is also visiting family. I previously did not think about how my taking a flight would contribute to my carbon footprint.

However I do sometimes think that even if I did not fly on that plane it would more than likely still make the trip anyway. There are many people who need to travel for work or other reasons and plane may be the only way to do that. So if I am not in that seat I do not doubt that the airline company will just fill the seat with someone else who wants/needs to go somewhere. Therefore I think that instead of not flying we should find ways to make travel better for the environment. I know that it is not something that can be done over night but is there a way that we could work to lessen our carbon foot print while still being able to  go on the trips we want? Driving across country is not time efficient but flying is defiantly not the best for the environment.

When I calculated my carbon footprint online, I noticed that the transportation section was too high. I started thinking about what I could do to reduce my CO2 emissions from transport, so that my footprint, in general, could decrease. But that’s really difficult for me. Firstly I live quite far from school, and I have to take the bus to go there. Sometimes I take also the train. Furthermore I live too far also from the city, to go there by foot. When at the weekend I meet my friends, we have to meet us halfway, because we don’t live in the same city. Or when I have to buy something I have to go to the city, because where I live, there are few stores. In the end, I can’t give up to travel. My father’s parents live in another country, and also my mother’s parents. Every year, we visit them, and we go there by airplane. I know that airplanes pollute a lot, but it takes too much time to go there by car: about 13-14 hours.
Most of the time, I take public transport to  go to a place, because my parents often work. But, when I can, I prefer to walk to go somewhere. Nevertheless my footprint is too high and I don't know how to reduce it without give up to travel.

When I calculated my carbon footprint online, I noticed that the transportation section was a lot larger than I had wanted it to be. I started thinking about things I could do to reduce the amount of transportation in my life that harms the environment. For me personally, It would be quite hard to reduce my amount if the time in the car. This is because I live pretty far from my school. Many if the other girls who go to my school live a lot farther than I do. It can take hours for them to get to school. Also, I do extracurricular activities that require extra travel on top of the distance I have to travel to school each day. I carpool each day after school, so this decreases my carbon footprint a little bit. It would be very hard for me to reduce my carbon footprint when it comes to the amount of car travel I do on a daily basis. Does anybody else struggle with transportation affecting their carbon footprint? What do you all do to decrease your transportation?

Hi I am Paulina!
Also when I calculate my carbon footprint, I was surprise too, one of the things that I start to do is to try to use more carpool, or ask to familiars, or cousins if they are going to go away to give me a lift.
I try to convince to other fiends that is better to go at the school at the nearest of their homes, I hope it can help a little to these.

Hi Emma.

Sometimes we have to accept the fact that we can't really do anything about a problem. If you need to cover long distances, to this day, the only way to archive your goal is (like you do) driving a car.

Carpool may be a solution, but (as the noun says) it still requires a car. Of course you could buy an efficient car or, even better, an electric car: but we all know that money doesn't grow on threes!

Because I, for one, believe that there's no solution to your problem, I'm not going to help in your specific case. But, in general, I can tell you what I did and still do to (indirectly) reduce my carbon footprint.
For instance, a year ago I bought an electric bike for my daily home-to-school travel: just two years ago the same distance was traveled by car! When it rains I take public transports: of course, you can imagine that the home-school distance is pretty small (actually it's about 10km).

This is why I think public transports should develop more and be more efficient because, if not, nobody will use them!

Although I care very much for our environment and want the best for it, there are some things that are "off the table" for me. I live about 25-30 minutes away from school without traffic, and about 20 minutes away from the city. For these reasons, carpooling and biking to school/into the city are "off the table" for me as forms of transportation. Another thing that is "off the table" for me are using my electronics. I use my phone to communicate with my family and friends, and watch TV to relieve stress. When I find myself very tired or nervous for a test, I find that watching TV helps me to temporarily relax and clear my mind of my worries. For these reasons, these 2 things are "off the table" for me. Here are some useful ways to reduce the transportation part of your carbon footprint: http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgem … ation.html. To reduce your electronic use, reference this website for ideas: http://www2.epa.gov/smm-electronics

I definitely agree with what you said. Transportation is the main reason why people's carbon footprint is abnormally high. For most people it's driving from school/work. For others it's traveling for vacation. My carbon footprint was abnormally high, especially this year, because I traveled to India twice. Usually I travel to India every other year. But this year, my grandfather passed away, so we had to travel to India for his funeral. I went to India again in the summer just to visit family. So when calculating my carbon footprint, I had to add the two India trips, which increased my carbon footprint. I could definitely decrease my carbon footprint by travelling less often. But carpooling or walking to school or to sports practice isn't an option.

Although transportation made up the biggest portion of my carbon footprint, I realize that it may be off the table. Most of it comprised of airplane travel, but my family usually has good reasons for traveling this way, and we don't do it excessively. As for driving, this is also off the table. I feel that we already minimize our driving as much as possible, and other options are not practical.  I carpool with 1-2 other people to and from school everyday, and when traveling with my family, there are 3 others in the car. I'm not a good enough cyclist to travel safely by bike, nor do I feel comfortable walking or taking public transportation, especially by myself. So it seems that what we have now is the best it's going to be for now, at least.

Hi Phoebe,
Like you, I noticed that transportation accounts for a major portion of my carbon footprint. I also feel that driving is off the table for me, but I know that I have to somehow cut down on my personal carbon emissions – it is not fair to others who are affected by this pollution. According to www3.epa.gov/…/420f13033a.pdf, passenger vehicles account for almost half of all transportation emissions while buses are responsible for less than 5%. I think we must be willing to consider public transportation, even if it is only once a week. To address your safety concerns, maybe ride with a friend or two and only take bus routes that you feel comfortable with.

Thank you for your suggestion, Nick! I will try to utilize public transportation when possible.

Our city has added new trollies that are totally electric, and they are fun to ride because they have an "old-time" feel about them.

I agree. I have the same exact problem, most of my transportation was taken up by the 8 plane rides I took this year plus I had to drive to Louisiana and back for private reasons. But I also do carpool with 2 other people so I am too doing the best I can. Although some of my closest friends live 20-30 minutes away from my house so it is not like I can walk or ride my bike there, I have to drive. But my friends that live within a mile of me I do try to walk to their houses as often as possible. I have to find other ways to reduce my carbon footprint that are not transportation related.

According to http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how- … vironment/ it takes 2,500 gallons of water to make one hamburger and only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Also, of all the fossil fuels and raw mateirals used in the United States, more than a third are used to raise animals for food. The source goes on to provide examples of how meat and raising animals for food is harming our environment. However, for me, eliminating meat and food from animals is off the table. In my opinion, nearly all vegan foods are not apetizing. Although, if as a country we all turned vegan, we would create a much healthier Earth. Meat is a main part of my diet, and is where I take in much of the needed nutrients and minerals I need, as well as milk and eggs. As a country the United States is one of the primary consumers of meat and other animal produced foods, so if we all reduced the amount of meat we eat, we would create a healthier environment. Many people including me, eat meat more than once per day, exceeding the amount of meat we should eat everyday. By  lowering this number, we will be saving the planet, as well as ourselves from excess fat and calories that we do not need as humans. Overall, food is off the table for eliminating; however, we can all make a change to reduce the amounts of meat and animal produced foods we eat and instead eat some fruits and vegetables.

You make a very interesting point! I'm a vegetarian and always have been. Even changing from being a vegetarian to a vegan is difficult. Nowadays, there are so many food items that contain egg and dairy. It's very challenging to find foods that are both appetizing, receiving all the nutritional value, and vegetarian/vegan. I definitely agree with what you said. People should be more aware of how much and what kind of food they are consuming on a daily basis. Maybe, for a week, people could try only eating one type of meat once day. People could also only eat fish every other week and not any other meat. There are many different ways people could reduce their intake of meat. We all just need to be more aware of what we eat.

So often areas that depend on air conditioning are in the perfect location to make use of solar panels. Wouldn't it be great if more incentives (from local and national governments as well as energy providers) were available to encourage people to install them.

Hi I am Paulina!
I am agree with you to promote solar panels at the places that depends of air conditioning, I think that would be good idea to make information at these regions to make awareness to use a different kind of enery in these kind of needs.

Hi
I think we should pay more attention on solar energy, you know solar energy is kind of  recyclable energy, we should get well use of it instead of using too much Earth resources.

Although it is harmful to the environment I would find it very hard to part with the gas heating in my household. Bundling up with many extra layers is always an option but I have always found it extremely uncomfortable to wear more than the necessary amount of clothes in my house. Although this is certainly a luxury, it's one close enough to my basic comforts that makes me reluctant to part with it. I think in the future when (I am financially able to) I would definitely consider looking into extremely efficient heating options so that the need for a warm living space doesn't have to come at the cost of the environment.

Hey Peter! I understand your displeasure with the thermostat however I would like to advocate for just turning down the temperature by a few degrees. Just three degrees can save a good amount of money every month as well as save a ton of electricity. Here in the bay area you can save 10% on a hundred dollar gas bill by just lowering the temperature by a barely noticeable three degrees. Check out this article to learn more: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bl … 3-degrees/

As an iPhone 4s user, I can tell you how "hard" my life is because all my friends have the iPhone 5 or better. And yes, I DO really want the six, but have you ever taken the time to see how the usage of your cellphone affects your carbon footprint? According to http://fatknowledge.blogspot.com/2007/0 … hone.html, in an article dated in 2007, manufacturing a cell phone uses about 1390MJ of energy and produces 60kg of carbon dioxide emissions. Yes, this is somewhat of an old article, and because the phones were less technologically advanced, the amount could have changed drastically if we used cell phones as much as people did in 2007. Think about it. Not all of us were old enough in 2007 to have a cell phone (me included), but how much more do your parents or guardians use their phones now than you remember them doing so when you were younger? For me at least, A LOT.

The use of cell phones contributes a lot to the universal carbon footprint, but has become a sort of global necessity. Without his phone, I don't think my dad could do the job he h as and loves. In my case, the iPhone 6 is a want, but in my father's, his phone is a need. In his situation, reducing use of his cell phone is "off the table" because that is a major factor in his job.

As a teenager, I use my phone all the time for useless and pointless things such as Instagram and Snapchat. Reducing the use of my cell phone is not "off the table" for me, so I urge all of us who have cell phones to cut down our usage to help keep universal carbon dioxide emissions down.

I definitely agree with you. As teenagers, we use our cell phones for the most unnecessary reasons. My parents and their friends use their phones a lot more now, too. I looked at the website and I'm shocked at cell phones' contribution to the universal carbon footprint. I agree that people who actually need to use their phones should use it. But, teenagers don't really need their phones. They think they need it, but it's honestly not that hard to go a day without your phone. We all did it at the retreat. I've done it several times by choice, and it was not torture. I thought I was addicted to using my phone, but it actually was relieving not using my phone. If I can do it, I'm pretty sure other teenagers can to.

,too*. Sorry for my grammatical error!

I agree. As a student, using your phone and its data primarily to take pictures and to get on social media is a rather unnecessary addition to every individual's carbon footprint. We should all look at exactly what we do on our phones and try to cut down on things like social media and pointless games in order to reduce the environmental impact that results from us using our cell phones.

I actually went a whole year without my phone and it was AMAZING.  Not only did I notice my grades improve, but I saved a ton of money from not having to use it on a cell phone bill.  Along with you guys, I'm also surprised that cellphones contribute so much to the carbon footprint.  I now have a phone again, and I'm actually surprised how dependent I'm on it now.  Thank goodness I have no cell reception in most of my classes (haha).  I'm definately going to start turning it off now when I sleep and try to only charge it once per day.

Hi I am Paulia!
Some times I forgot my cell phone.
I feel better without listening at all the day the bell of all the messages, it make me feel a little nervius. Thinkin about the tons of CO2 emission that it cause, I will fell better to forgot my cell.

Texas is the worst Carbon Dioxide emitter in the United States, while also being the second largest state. A third of the emissions of carbon are from transportation. Texas as you know is a rather large state so bigger cities are more spaced out from each other and as a result more gas is needed to fuel the cars for these longer distance emitting more carbon into the air. If you live in Texas, you may not know that over half of the the population living in Texas are breathing air that is unsafe. Even though this is a serious health hazard, the government has not made any efforts to reduce our carbon output; Texas is still one out of 15 states without a climate action plan in place or even under consideration. As students we can write to government officials or organize a group to petition for the government to do something about the dangerous output of carbon and get major oil companies to cut down on their emission.
http://www.newsweek.com/texas-worst-co2-emitter-93371

Katy I think you brought up a really good point when you talked about how cars are an unfortunate necessity in many places both in Texas as well as the US. I know that many of us would much rather take other, more environmentally friendly, transportation options but are limited by our schedule requirements and the current public transportation state in the US. I agree that in the meantime it's extremely important that we look at ways to minimize the harmful ecological effects of driving ourselves around.

Don’t wash it. Standard washing machines use 40 gallons of water per load. If your clothes don’t stink, don’t wash them―and save a load a week. If American households were more thoughtful about laundry, each year they would save enough water to fill more than 7 million swimming pools. When you do wash, put full loads (saving 3,400 gallons of water a year) in cold water.

i used to always wear things for only a few hours and then throw them in the hamper without thinking about how it would affect my carbon footprint. Since my studies have begun, i have found that washing machines use a lot of energy and water, and that doing the laundry every day is excessive. i now only do the laundry when the loads are full and when i know that the clothes are actually dirty. for more info on how to help the planet go here: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizi … ips/home-1

Hi I am Paulina!
I am agree with you, also in my house my mother organize the dirty clothes to only use the machine wash twice a week. At the end of the day also my family and I rehuse the clothes that stay clean, like sweaters, or jeans. I hope that this contribute to save water and help the planet. Let[s start a change!

I have several activities that would be off the table for me. An example of one of these “off the table” activities for me is driving in a car. I live in a big city in which many buildings and restaurants are fairly spaced out. My school is also too far away to walk to each morning. Another activity that is “off the table” for me is watching television. Although, I might be able to significantly reduce my television watching. I use television as a stress relief for myself when I need a break or when life gets overwhelming. Although these activities maybe “off the table” for me, I will try my best to significantly reduce the amount of time I do each of these things. Reducing my driving will help me to be in better shape and help improve myself physically and watching less television will help me to waste less time and be more productive.

I completely agree with you! It is also very hard for me to reduce the transportation part of my carbon footprint. I live 30 minutes away from my school, so driving less is definitely off the table for me as well. I also use watching TV as a way to relieve stress. It relaxes your brain and calms you down. Although I will not stop doing it completely, I will reduce the amount of time I watch it as well.

People should not turn on lights during daytime in order to save energy and reduce carbon usage. Using bulbs for daytime is not essential, since we already has natural lights that provide enough lightening for most human activities. Besides, natural lightening is more healthy for human being, especially while we are out of buildings and get into nature (without all carbon-used products). We can turn on lights if necessary, because some places can be dark and we need lights to do what we need to do, but just if necessary.

After seeing my carbon footprint calculations, the first thing I though of was to lower the amount of driving I do. However, after thinking about it, I realized that doing so is pretty off the table. I drive myself to school everyday from Berkeley to Oakland, Ca. The drive is only 15 minutes each way, but it is still far too much of a distance to bike. Furthermore, twice during the school week, I have to drive to practice in American Canyon, about an hour away from school. This commute, although long, is something that I can omit either, as no one else drives out there that I could carpool with. Moreover, every weekend, I have to make the same drive out there, although it is only about half an hour. All of these commutes, together, produce an extraordinary amount of carbon dioxide. However, as much guilt as I feel about these emissions, abridging the commute is not an option. Any solutions for my dilemma?

Hello, this is Lois from China. I am totally agree with your opinion. Lots of people using cars during their daily life, the cars became more and more necessary in our life. We could use car- pooling, it could save the environment. If other people could think like this way, it would be better and great for the environment.

Before, I couldn't find anyone to carpool with. But after checking every year, because of new students, my family found another family that lived very close. So I suggest for you to check every year to see if anyone lives near you.

That's a great idea. Thank you so much.

I travel to Spain once a year to visit my family. Unfortunately traveling by plane is the only reasonable way to get to Spain from the United States and seeing my family once a year is very important to me.  In the last few years I have been taking the train instead of flying for the last leg of my trip. I did it because of price and convenience but it turns out I was also helping reduce my carbon footprint. So from now on I will travel by train whenever possible instead of flying.  Buying carbon offsets is a viable option when financially possible. There are websites where you can plant a tree for $10 or one can always plant a tree for real.  https://www.carbonfund.org/individuals
To understand how carbon offsets work visit http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro … ffset2.htm

Hi Maria, I have a similar situation. I visit family every year across the country and plane travel is off the table for the most part. I also have discovered train travel as a great way to make less of an environmental impact, it is also a great way to see the route in a different way! I had never heard of carbon offsets before but it seems like an interesting concept to help mediate footprints. I think it could be a great beginning for people to start finding ways to neutralize their CO2 emissions and to start supporting others who have off the table situations.

Hi Maria and Nina, this is exactly what I was thinking when I thought of my "off the table" item. Although it is hard to admit, I think that I could not live without the opportunity to travel on airplanes. Throughout my entire life I have traveled all over the world with my family, and I know that it has become one of the most important aspects of my life. I have been to four of seven continents, including Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. I have been to almost 20 different countries and almost 30 states, and I know that this exposure to so many different cultures has shaped my character greatly. When I took my carbon footprint test, it did not surprise me that my transportation emissions were very high and all my other carbon emissions in the other categories were low compared to the people I live around. I travel a lot, but otherwise I am pretty good about living an eco-friendly life. Nonetheless, sacrificing the opportunity to travel and learn about other places in the world seems like something I could never give up. However, I really like both of your ideas a bout taking the train. I never realized that taking the train was a more eco-friendly way of travel. I have taken the train before while I was in Europe, and if I ever go back there again I will definitely consider taking the train more!

Hey Maria, I think taking the train instead of a plane is an awesome idea. I understand that you go to visit family and that's a very important thing, so I think everyone understands why you do what you do. I think that more people should think about if it's necessary to travel by plane and it's great that you've found other ways to travel. Keep up the good work!

I experience the same thing. Every other year, I fly to visit my family in Italy. This has a huge impact on my carbon footprint, especially because the flight is international.   Personally, I didn't see my own airplane travel as such a negative carbon impact. I assumed that because I was using transportation along with 200-300 other people, it meant less of a personal carbon emission. I agree that is it very important to start finding ways to reduce carbon footprints by finding alternative travel methods than air travel, such as using trains or other forms of public transportation.

I recently went on a week long backing packing trip in Yosemite, and while the trip was amazing, I began to miss many of the luxuries that I have in my life. During the cold nights, I missed access to heating. Although this has a large impact on my carbon footprint, trying to survive frigid nights by wearing five layers helped me to realize that I would not be able to function without a heating system. Additionally, I learned to appreciate access to lighting. When it becomes dark, trying to get around or do any task without proper lighting becomes nearly impossible. Although this is another thing that impacts my carbon footprint, I’ve come to recognize my reliance on lightbulbs as I spend almost all of my time at home doing homework after the sun has set. Finally, I’ve really learned to value flushable toilets and showers. These two things are definitely carbon-emitting luxuries that I can’t live without on a daily basis. I’d like to think that I’d be willing to g ive up most technology to lessen my carbon footprint, but basic things such as these that improve the quality and ease of my daily life are not something that I could live without.

I completely agree Emma. I think that there are so many things that we take for granted in our modern society. I never even thought about all the water that we use in our toilets as well as showers. I of course say this as i am watching football on television. It is amazing that we spend so much of our time using natural resources and not even thinking about what we are using. I think that if we completely regulated things like energy and water use it could really help our environment. However, it is hard for the government to impinge on people's liberties and such. I think that the way for the government to do this is to take the initiative and maybe create a program that encourages people to cut down on their waste by taking shorter showers, buying waterless toilets, and composting more.

I face a large conflict when it comes to driving and the carbon emissions released by cars.  Even though I drive a hybrid vehicle, I have to drive far to school and back everyday, as well as to events with my friends and other activities on the weekends.  While I want to cut down on my carbon emissions, I feel as if driving is almost off the table for me.  In most cases I cannot ride a bike because the trip is simply too far.  Public transportation is an option, but is often very inconvenient and in some cases won't get me all the way to my desired destination.  Any suggestions for how I could compromise and still drive without producing as much harmful carbon?

Hi Nick,
I seem to have the same problem as you. I have my own car and I drive myself to and from school everyday, and then to  and from after school activities everyday. I live in Alameda, so there is not really a public transportation option for me to take to school. Before I got my own car, I was in a carpool for about six years, however I had to stop because of conflicting schedules. I would suggest that you maybe try carpooling to school, This would still allow you to drive to school, but it would definitely produce less carbon in the air if you're riding with other kids.

Hi Nick, I found this site from the California Energy Commission http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/tra … d_mpg.html that lists some tips to increase gas mileage, including not exceeding the speed limit when driving and avoiding rapid acceleration and braking. Like Nina, I also recommend carpooling as a way of reducing your carbon footprint. I personally drive my brother to school. Maybe there is someone in your neighborhood that could use a ride. I also find driving to be off the table when it comes to carbon emissions because I live in a town where there isn't much to do. I hope my article helps. This one has some good advice as well. http://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/

While I hoped that my Carbon Footprint was at least average in my area (Bay Area), the calculator told me otherwise, and I figured that before hand because of the amount of traveling that I do. The two main contributors would be driving on a daily basis, and flying, which I don't do extremely often, but the negative affects of air travel still add up. It's quite difficult to reduce my transportation footprint mostly due to daily activities and school, as well as my passion for traveling. More specifically, I have to travel by car basically everyday of the week, back and forth, and I do not live that close to my school (20+ miles). Until I am done with high school, it is practically impossible to lessen the amount of driving and the effects of that. (A plus side is that my little brother and I carpool to school though!) Traveling by airplane and going to places that are significant distances away from me is definitely difficult to sacrifice as well. My passion for culture and learning new things in new places makes it super difficult to give up. I have been on three signi ficant trips within the last year, flying from the Bay Area to Montana, the Bay Area to the East Coast, and Bay Area to Nicaragua, which truly add up and make my Carbon Footprint super hefty. As much as I know it is important to lower this in anyway I can, traveling is super important to who I am and who I want to be. How do I lower my Carbon Footprint, but still explore the other places around the world?

When I looked at my results for my carbon footprint, I noticed that my CO2 emissions from transportation were by far the highest. While it is very important to consider different modes of transportation, I personally find it very difficult to incorporate these different methods for various reasons. First off, my parents are very worried about my safety and do not give me permission to take public transportation/carpool with those who live around me. Living in a not very safe part of Oakland for 12 years, my parents never felt assured of the safety of our neighborhood. Because of this reason, I was never allowed to bike, walk, carpool, or take public transportation to different places. My parents always drove me. However, after we moved to Castro Valley, I was able to do all of those things. Nonetheless, my emission levels were still high. Secondly, I have daily trips to various places that require me to take some mode of transportation, which is usually driving. Going back and forth from home to school and vice versa, I find it almost inevitable to have to drive to schoo l. I live in Castro Valley and my school is in Oakland, so my parents drive me to school every day. Driving such a long distance, I found that my carbon emission levels just kept rising. During each school break, I always go down to Los Angeles to visit my sister and volunteer at an academy. This involves taking the plane or driving. I just find it so difficult to change my emission levels when it comes to transportation. Looking at the greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 (http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgem … ation.html), I saw that transportation was one of the highest sources. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can change or any alternatives I can take when it comes to transportation?

When I saw my carbon footprint, my CO2 emissions from transportation were almost three times the average amount in my area. I would love to reduce this, but it seems impossible. I travel all over for softball tournaments making many trips, and I also fly to many countries around the world. Transportation for me is off the table. I could never give it up because I have to travel for many important reasons. Personally, transportation is a need for me instead of a want, and it is the one thing I could not give up. If anyone has any tips on reducing my CO2 emissions from transportation, can you share them with me? I would appreciate them a lot!

I am In agreement with you when you say transportation is a need instead of a want. In my own carbon footprint transportation was the biggest thing that contributed to the amount overall. Transportation is a necessity for me and I do wish I sometimes lived closer to stores and restaurants to where I could just ride my bike. That would greatly contribute in lowering my carbon footprint. However, I love to travel and without my vehicle I'm at a loss to get anywhere. A great way to reduce the CO2 emissions particularly in a vehicle is getting a catalytic convertor. This device converts toxic pollutants into less toxic pollutants. Although it will not completely solve your problem it will greatly reduce your carbon footprint.

Wow that is pretty high maybe just ride your bike more might help and I know how it is being busy expectably with a job.

Transportation was high for me also. And I dont think that i could reduce it easily either. Because we have 6-7 people in our house. So someone always has to go somewhere or needs something. And we still have a house where we used to live in another state, so we travel back and forth a whole lot to make sure everything is ok and sometimes just to see people. And my mom is always running air ins when she gets off work.

I agree with you, we NEED transportation to go to different destinations. As a teen I all a lot but I know one I get into those adult ages I'll be driving like crazy, So. Yes I agree with you.

My transportation is also high for me. I travel a lot to see my family and I have sport activities as soon as I get home from school, so it kinda difficult to reduce the transportation.

I totally agree, the highest part of my footprint was transportation, but it is so nice having a car that I forget about the affect on the Earth.  Maybe try carpooling more.

I'm sure carpooling to your softball tournaments could make a huge impact. Are there no restaurants or stores within biking distance of your house?  Maybe eat at home more often, this also is a huge financial saver. I think that picking and choosing when we decide to take a flight instead of drive is also very important. For instance, trips to LA or even places like Yellowstone, could be made road trips instead of plane flights if we dedicate ourselves to driving. While transportation may be a need, we certainly can reduce our impact on the environment from transportation without removing it entirely!

These things are off limits, I depend too much on them at this point to give them up. Had You asked me this question a couple years ago, I would have probably only said travel. Unfortunately, many things have changed for me since then. 
Technology is a want but it can become a need. I wanted it when I bought it, but now that I have it and I use it in for so many things I have to do, it is a need. I have integrated it into my life so much that if I try to rid myself of it, everything will fall apart and it will take a while to pick up the pieces.
Travel is something I believe is a need. It helps you be more open, it helps to have a change of scene, and it develops your mind. My parents taught me the importance of traveling so it is something I have a deep personal connection with.
Driving for me is necessary, its my therapy. When I am worried or stressed, I drive around town with someone for as long as I can and when I get home, I'm happy again.
These three things I really cannot compromise about.

Technology has become an every day thing. Without it I would not be able to sit here and respond to you. I believe that is started as a want, but has definitely become a need. It is integrated in to just about every aspect of life. I can relate to you about driving when I get stressed. It really is therapy. It clears my mind.

Naomy T, I agree with exactly you said. I also feel as if one can not live without technology today. Also, I know what you mean when you say driving is your therapy. The feeling of the open road as you travel really helps the mind. I also liked how you opened your statement with " Had You asked me this question a couple years ago, I would have probably only said travel." Your opinion is well stated and I whole-heartedly agree!

Naomy T,
I agree with you. In the day and age that we live in technology has become a necessity. In a lot of schools technology is used to teach the students, data and information is mostly put into some kind of database or website, and a lot of entertainment can be found with the click of a button or mouse. Driving is something that most people can't live without. Most people commute to get to their jobs, or to get food, etc. Traveling in my opinion though is more of a want than a need. For some people they have to travel because of their jobs, but for a lot of people they travel because they want to. It does help to create a more well rounded person but on most occasions it is not something that you need to survive.

Becca Mooresville NC 15 / Using less technology can help with your carbon footprint become lower.

I definitely agree with you when you say that you've been so accustomed to these pieces of technology that now you need them in your life because I am the same way. Ever since I got my car I've had to use it so much that now if I don't have it, it's a burden. But some ways that we can limit this are find things to do where we don't need to drive as far. Also driving is good therapy but maybe there are some other things that could help you calm down.

I don't think we would be able to get rid of technology now a days. We are becoming more technology advanced. So there is no way we can get rid of technology. Almost everyone is using it in the world. Everywhere you look there is someone on a cellphone. People have adapted to technology and now we need it.