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 >
Appliances in the home
Make energy efficiency a primary consideration when choosing a new furnace, air conditioning unit, dishwasher, or refrigerator. Products bearing the ENERGY STAR label are recognized for having superior efficiency.
This is important, because while advanced, energy-efficient appliances may have proportionately higher upfront costs, lowered energy costs help to counteract the potentially prohibitive purchase price. However, it can often be financially detrimental to spontaneously purchase these types of appliances, because they can sometimes work poorly, however little energy they use; And if you have relatively new appliances or plan to sell your home soon, it may be an unwise investment.