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 and The Environment
From Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions I learned that the biggest contributor to carbon emissions for an individual is at home. At 1.1 tonnes of CO2 annually. This is significantly more than the second highest contributor, which is transportation, at 0.8 tonnes. I found this interesting because while I understand why home life is the highest contribution to carbon emissions, I also think this is an easy area to cut down on. For example, turning off lights or fans before leaving a room, not leaving water running, and other more energy efficient methods.