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 >
Reducing Our Carbon Footprints
I was very surprised to see how large my family's carbon footprint was. I realized that I have the power to change how much carbon I produce. I am now carpooling with more families in the hopes of reducing my transportation footprint. I am encouraging my family to turn off the lights and to take shorter showers to reduce our home footprint. We are reaching for more organic and locally grown foods to reduce our food footprint. Finally, we are watching how much we shop in order to reduce our purchasing footprint. I believe that everyone has the ability to make a difference in our environment, and that can start with something as simple as turning off a light!
I agree with this post. My personal carbon footprint (not even including my family) was way bigger than the average. The biggest problem was transportation, so I am planning to carpool more to reduce the footprint. Also, I leave on the lights a lot, so I am trying to turn them off. My family also buys locally grown food from the farmers' markets nearby so hopefully that will help as well.