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 >
Carbon Footprint in the US
My total footprint was 16,877 kg of CO2 per year. This is much higher than the average of 10,370 kg. I expected this based on the amount of travel we do and because the home we live in is quite old and doesn't have much in the environmentally friendly category. The amount I travel by plane also contributed a lot because my family makes at least one round trip to Mexico every year. My footprint could be reduced by simply not traveling as often. Even though my footprint is pretty bad its really interesting to see the effects just one person can have on the world. I hope i can change some of my habit and lower my footprint in the future.
***Now*** we're talking
You can also try to encourage your parents to see if they can take a single (non-stop) flight to Mexico, because a lot of excess carbon is burned when changing planes (takeoffs and landings burn a lot of fuel). Then travel to and from the airport over land if possible.
My carbon footprint was well over the average is there other ways that I can reduce my calculations?