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 >
Transportation
Today transportation is one of the leading causes of CO2 emissions into our atmosphere and grounds. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. A lot fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes gasoline and diesel. To reduce this cause we can
1) Carpool (to school, stores, events, practices, etc.)
2) If you are traveling short distances walk or ride a bike instead of driving
3) Try to limit the amount of miles you drive
4) Reduce amount of flying/air time
5)Use electricity cars
In 2013, transportation contributed more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons emitted into our air. But if we reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned we can reduce out carbon footprints.
Another way to reduce CO2 levels would be through public transportation. Taking buses and trains can reduce the number of private vehicles people use. I went to Japan over Spring Break and often used the subways and transportation systems to travel to different cities. The Shinkansen, or in English the Bullet Train, can transport people across Japan as an alternative to airplanes. In addition, it is electrically powered. Although taking a plane may be faster, the Shinkansen is a much more eco-friendly alternative to domestic flights. Where I live, we have BART, which sometimes serves as my alternative for getting home from school. I hope that I can use it more often and that other people find some way to utilize it.
To go further, because some of these scenarios may not be ideal to everyone, there should be a limit placed on the minimum miles/gallon a car can have. This meaning that cars with poor gas mileage should either stop being sold, or taxed due to their stress on the atmosphere.