I'm Nick and I am 16 years old from Oakland, CA in the United States.  I was very surprised to find that my carbon footprint totaled 18,341 kgs of Carbon Dioxide, which is nearly twice the average in California, my home state.  Even more interestingly, my carbon footprint was below or even to the California average in the categories of home, food, and purchases.  However, my 11,000 kgs due to transportation were nearly 9,000 above the state average.  This also surprised me greatly, because I often drive myself and my car is a hybrid with very good gas mileage.  I suppose the large amount I drive weekly and the fact that I often cannot carpool results in lots of Carbon dioxide production.  This is definitely something I will keep in mind as I drive in the future.

It is weird to see that your total was so much higher than your region, but so little compared to mine. My average was about 3 times the size of yours and both of our transportations are the largest out of our averages. Your average for transportation is still extremely small which is most likely linked to your use of the hybrid car. I drive a mid-size SUV, which is not the most environmentally friendly vehicle, which is probably why my transportation was larger than yours. I also try to carpool as often as I can, such as when I visit a friend's house, I will drive with another friend or two.

I find it interesting that your carbon footprint is so much higher than your region especially due to your transportation. I would think that because you drive a hybrid car, your transportation wouldn't be as low. I drive a mid-size SUV and my transportation is only 2,000 kgs larger than yours. I do drive a good bit as well by myself. It's rather weird how the carbon footprints play out and how they aren't as we expected.

Wow, that is interesting that your carbon footprint for transportation was so high! Especially since your car is a hybrid and has good gas mileage! Does living in Oakland require you to drive a lot? I mean, are the places you need to get to (school, restaurants stores, etc) far from your house or is everything pretty close together? My transportation carbon footprint was pretty low because I live in a town where all of the restaurants, the school, etc, are only a mile or two away from my home. Because of this I don't need to drive that far to get places, and most of the time I can even walk or bike instead! Also, do you go on vacations? That can contribute a lot to your transportation footprint too. I know that for me, most of my transportation footprint was from driving down to Florida for our family vacation every year, which is a pretty big trip!

Your carbon footprint was approximately 2,000 kilograms less than mine. It is interesting to see the difference in the regional consumption of resources. My carbon footprint was only about 5,000 kilograms above the regional average. Driving a hybrid car is a great step towards reducing your impact on the environment. Since you cannot carpool, is it possible to ride a bike on occasion or possibly use public transportation on occasion?

I am surprised how high your total footprint was compared to your region. My average was a little lower than yours. Both of our transportations are the largest of our averages. Your transportation was most likely due to you having a hybrid car. I drive a Volvo, which is probably not the most environmentally friendly car. I also drive myself to and from school, when I should be trying to carpool more often. For example, when I go out with my friends we should try to carpool instead of everyone driving separate cars.

I find it as rather a alarming shocking to how you managed to accumulate  such a number that is above the average. I know a fact that my footprint is 842, which is drastically under the average footprint. I am curious to know what contributed to it being so drastically high? What do you think you could do in the future to not contribute to the amount of harmful carbon being let out into the vast void of our sky>

Your carbon footprint is approximately 2,000 kilograms larger than mine and this difference seems to be made by the transportation portion which is interesting because you drive a hybrid and I do not. I spend most of my day driving around so I'm interested in why your footprint is higher than mine.

Hi everyone,
Yes, I do drive a lot, mostly because I live about 12 miles away from my school and I make at least one roundtrip to school and back everyday.  Also, I do take my car on lots of long trips either with my friends or sometimes to places around the state for my brother's soccer games.  I rarely do ride a bike or take public transportation, mostly because it is inconvenient for my location.  It would be a good idea to make the extra effort in order to cut down on carbon emissions.  Brooke, I also find myself taking separate cars often when I should be carpooling.  As I turn 17 and become legally capable of driving others, I will make a much stronger effort to do so.  Beaux, I am really not sure what contributed to the large amount.  I suppose just the distance I drive on a regular basis is well above the average.  I will make an attempt to drive less, but also I wonder if there is another hidden cause.  David, that is interesting.  I never thought of myse lf to be someone who drives a lot, so I am unsure why your transportation footprint is less than mine even though you probably drive more often than I do.

Nick,
Have you thought about riding your bike/ skateboard to places of leisure? I can understand if you live more than 2 miles from school to drive, because no one wants to walk/ ride that. But maybe if you walk/ bike/ carpool to the places that aren't school or work this could reduce your footprint. Or whenever you decide to go out with your friends, you each take a turn driving one another so that all of you aren't in a separate vehicle. That would not only reduce your footprint, but theirs as well.

Wow, I'm surprised that you said 18K, which was around your carbon footprint, is twice as much as the average for California. For NC, where I live, the average is around 16K. My carbon footprint was very close to yours, about 17K, so I was just barely above average for my state. For me, my highest category was transportation as well, which actually didn't surprise me as much as it might've for you, since I drive myself everywhere I go, especially to work. It's good to hear that your other categories were around the average or perhaps even below it, so that you can focus on reducing your usage of transportation. However, in regards to helping you reduce your total footprint, I think it might help to try and let your friends drive you every once in a while, or carpool with others instead of driving yourself. If your destination isn't that far away, perhaps you could walk or ride your bike, though I know how difficult this can be, since it is rather inconvenient.

I am really surprised by your transportation footprint. I was also surprised that you use a hybrid car, but managed to achieve 11,000 kgs in transportation alone. However, it is good that you want to lower it. If your destination isn't too far away, you could use a bicycle or walk. If your town has public transportation you could try to use it.