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 produced during production
The reason why purchasing items add to your carbon footprint is more about how they were made than the actual product. Every time a product is made, Carbon is added into the atmosphere. This mainly occurs because factories burn fossil fuels that release carbon. The more products you buy, the more demand the item is in, which means that it will be produced more in factories that will continue to realease dangerous amounts of carbon. By purchasing clothing and items at thrift stores or borrowing from neighbors, you decrease the demand for the item. Therefore, your carbon footprint decreases.