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 >
My Carbon Footprint (Mooresville, NC, USA)
Hello, my name is Sydney. I am a 16 years old. I am from Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States. My total carbon footprint was 10,054 kgs, which is about the same as the average person in my region (15,918 kgs).
Most of my carbon footprint came from my transportation section. 5 days a week I drive to and from school; I also commute to work, run errands, commute to after school activities, and go out with friends. Every year I drive to New Jersey (about 1,200 miles round trip) to visit family. Both riding alone to all my personal events, and taking an extremely long drive every year makes for a greater overall footprint.
Personally, I believed that I would end up with a higher carbon footprint than I did. I was surprised how low my home section was compared to my region. I learned that every little bit of conserving that you do around the home helps decrease your carbon footprint.
To decrease my carbon footprint even more, I could carpool with people to and from school, as well as take shorter showers to conserve water. I believe that these were my main two f actors that made my carbon footprint higher. I believe that if I adjust the factors I am aware of, I would and could lower my carbon footprint in the future.