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 >
Connor W: Mooresville, NC, USA
Hello, my name is Connor and I am from Mooresville, North Carolina, USA and I am 16 years old. My carbon footprint total was 13,946 kgs, which is below my regional average, but much more than the worldwide average. The majority of my carbon footprint comes from my home category at 4,843 kgs, but my transportation was close at 4,132 kgs. Home is the most for me because I use many appliances and run the air conditioning and heat year round. My transportation is close because I drive almost everywhere I go and went on many trips this past summer. I was surprised that I was below average for the region because I went on many trips this past year and use appliances all the time. My results were below what I expected as I thought I would be at or above the regional average. I learned that the United States has a very large carbon footprint compared to the other countries in the world because we use so much more energy and resources than other countries. In order to try and decrease my carbon footprint in the future I will start to try and drive less and to carpool with others more. I will also try to reduce the amount of air conditioning and heat we use. Finally I will try and improve my diet to eat more organic foods and less processed meats.