My name is Cassandra, I am 17 years old and I attend Mooresville Senior High School in Mooresville, North Carolina. In the Honors Environmental Earth Science class at Mooresville High School, we are learning how to measure and calculator carbon footprints. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been able to calculate my carbon footprint using the online program offered by Stanford University. Below I have included the data pertaining to my carbon footprint:

Transportation: 11993 kgs
Home: 2188 kgs
Food: 163 kgs
Purchases: 2247 kgs
Total: 16592 kgs

After calculating my carbon footprint, based off of the amount of energy I use daily, I found that I was not surprised with my results. In comparison to the region that I live in (North Carolina), my results for transportation were a little bit higher than average. Although I walk to school every day, my family drives to Florida for vacation every year in a car that seats nine people. As the mileage for this trip amounts to over 1,000 miles, I was not surprised that my results for this area were higher than average. In regard s to the amount of energy I use at home, I use significantly less energy than most people. I came to the conclusion that my results were lower than average for this particular area because I do not own a cell phone and rarely watch television. My results for food were also lower than average in the region that I live in, because I consume at least 7 vegetarian meals a week, and do not eat a lot of beef or processed foods. Additionally, my results for purchases were lower than average because I do not make a lot of purchases; I prefer to save my money. As a whole, my carbon footprint was a a little bit above the average carbon footprint of my region (the average being 15918 kgs) because my family travels far distances to go on vacation every year. Based off of this experience, I have learned that there are ways to conserve energy and help reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the world. Just by turning off the sink while brushing my teeth or turning off a light when leaving the house can reduce my carbon footprint. Although I cannot prevent my family from going on vacation every year to Florida, I can commute to local places by walking and riding my bike more often. Although I walk to school, I can also choose to walk to other places that may be within walking or biking distances. Every change can make an impact in the long run.

This is a very detailed and organized summary of your footprint! Awesome job and I think that your habits to keeping a lesser footprint are inspiring. We have a similar footprint in the fact that our transportation is higher than the average. Like you, I travel with my family and drive over 400 miles in just one trip. Also I think that it is great that you walk to school instead of driving yourself because that has a positive affect on your footprint.

Hi Cassandra! When comparing my results with yours, I found that we have very large differences in our footprints! My transportation footprint is only 4,147 kgs, but since you drive to Florida every year in a car that seats nine people, I understand why we have such large differences. I think that walking to school, not owning a cell phone and rarely watching television are great ways to reduce your carbon footprint.