Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
Reflecting Upon My Carbon Footprint
My carbon footprint was much higher than I thought it would be, but I realized that the majority of the contributions to the higher number are my food consumption and travel. I was surprised because I did not realize how much transportation, especially airplane flights, contribute to not only my carbon footprint but the global carbon footprint as well. Transportation accounts for 28% of all greenhouse gas emissions according to the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Additionally, the EPA reports that around 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent are released due to food production and waste. These numbers are staggeringly high, and I did not fully comprehend that I contributed to these high numbers until now. However, there are some ways that I can reduce my carbon emissions in these categories that I can start doing today. I can bike more often to places that are nearby, and I can also try to ride in electric vehicles more often. Even hybrid vehicles are better than fully gas vehicles. As for reducing the carbon footprint in terms of food, I can try to shop more sensibly and buy groceries that come from more environmentally sustainable farms and I can also try to incorporate a more vegetarian diet into my daily eating habits.
Sources:
1. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source … d%20planes.
2. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2022/01 … r%20plants.