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 >
Plane, train, or automobile?
If you're anything like me, you can't sit still and love to travel. I noticed that my biggest downfall is how much a travel a year. I don't like to fly, so I tend to drive. I may drive an eco friendly car, but the amount of gas I use is still insane. However, I'm going to start traveling by train for my long distance trips. Rather than walking or riding your bike, train travel is one of the most eco friendly forms of transportation. Since the train emissions aren't close to the atmosphere, they're less damaging than a plane. There is a harsher effect on the landscape due to the fact the railways have to be built, but they're not quickly ripping a hole in the ozone. In addition to this, trains *can* be ran on solar energy, where planes and cars will almost always use fuel. As we all know, using solar energy is the quickest way to cut down on carbon emissions in our atmosphere. It's also more cost efficient to travel by train, it may take a little bit longer, but the money you save on your travel is important. After getting to your vacation destination, opt for a "Green ho tel" or even just an AirBNB rather than a fancy hotel. AirBNBs are generally someone's home and it's more regulated for energy conservations. Green hotels just go out of their way to be more environmentally friendly with proper electricity, water management, even the food brought into the hotel.