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 >
Science & The Environment
Many different parts of everyday life have an impact on carbon footprints. Acts like taking a flight can add massively to them, as the power needed to make an airplane fly is much greater than the power of a bus or car. Greenhouse gasses on their own are not bad for the environment, it is the sudden influx in many greenhouse gasses that is harmful. These gasses chemical compounds are lopsided, leading to them trapping heat. On a grand level this heats up the globe very quickly. If so much heat is being trapped then almost none of it is able to exit our atmosphere. This idea is expressed in Sarah Fecht's article "How Exactly Does Carbon Dioxide Cause Global Warming?". Ways to reduce carbon footprints are taking less flights and reusing materials like clothes or food containers. Another way to decrease general carbon footprints is to campaign for laws restricting oil companies or other industries that have a large involvement with greenhouse gasses.