All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
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Carbon emissions and what we can do to change them
Over the last 800,000 years, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen and dropped, but in the last 60 years, the undulating CO2 has stopped going down and has skyrocketed to a level it has never been before. According to The Keeling Curve, the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than it has ever been, and if we don’t find a way to either stop increasing or decrease it, then the effects of that amount of CO2 will be irreversible (Scripps Institution Of Oceanography, 2023). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States released 5,130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide connected to energy in 2019, whereas 33,621.5 million metric tons were released globally. (“How Much Carbon Dioxide Does the United States and the World Emit Each Year from Energy Sources?” n.d.) We can change the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by cutting down both our own carbon footprints. There are many ways to easily do this, such as one day every week, and commuting to work using an alternate mode of transportation (bus, rail, carpool, or bicycle). Eat less red meat and more locally produced food.(“Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save Money | AustinTexas.gov,” 2017)
References:
How much carbon dioxide does the United States and the World emit each year from energy sources? (n.d.). Retrieved from www.usgs.gov website: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-carb … gy-sources
Scripps Institution Of Oceanography. (2023). The Keeling Curve. Retrieved from keelingcurve.ucsd.edu website: https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save Money | AustinTexas.gov. (2017, March 24). Retrieved from www.austintexas.gov website: https://www.austintexas.gov/blog/top-10 … save-money