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 Footprint
Gracyn B. Mooresville, NC, USA, 16 Years Old
My total carbon footprint was 14,164 kgs of CO2 per year, while my region was 15,918 kgs of CO2 per year. My totals for transportation (3,782 kgs), home (4,723 kgs) and purchases (620 kgs) were all below the average for my region. However, my food (5,039 kgs) was above. I think it was only above because unlike the other categories, the information I entered for food was based on my entire family of four, not just myself. The transportation, home, and purchase categories were mainly used based on me.
My carbon footprint was a lot lower than I expected it to be. I use a whole lot of energy. I mean, I sleep with two lamps, two fans, and my tv on. That’s crazy. However, I feel like I don’t do a whole lot of traveling or purchasing things. My family also eats a normal amount of food, but we don’t recycle, which also made our food average higher. I learned that I seem to be doing okay compared to others, or my regions average, but I could be doing better.
To decrease my carbon footprint in the future, I can defiantly try to sav e energy and recycle. Just doing little things that switching a light off while not in the room or turning the faucet off when brushing my teeth can make small but effective impacts of not only my carbon footprint, but the environment as well.