All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
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Changes
There are many ways to help the environment. When I calculated my carbon footprint, the amount of carbon used while travelling was high above the average number that was showed on the screen. I believe most of the CO2 being released into the atmosphere was caused by the plane's jet engine used while flying. A simple way to decrease this amount of carbon is to take less trips to far off places and try to find somewhere nice that is also close to home. You can make just as many memories in a park by your house than in Paris, for example.
Other small but significant ways to help the environment are taking shorter showers, making sure the water is fully off before leaving the bathroom, turning off all lights when you leave the room, and putting waste into the correct bins (trash, compost, or recycling).
I agree with what you are trying to say, however I do not think we should just make the decision to not flight. The whole point of a plane is to allow you see see and explore the world, that cannot be achieved if the only thing you are able to see is a park near your house, even if you can make the same memories there. After reading an article, I discovered that something called biofuels are now being thought of as an alternate fuel for planes. Biofuels are made from algae, wood, agricultural waste, and certain plants. This alternate fuel is sustainable, and would cut planes carbon footprints down by 80%. This technique is fairly new, but would be the best way to keep the plane and still look out for the environment.
source:
http://www.wired.com/2015/06/planes-get … ent-heres/
(really intresting!! should read)
I agree. I'm not saying that people should never use planes to travel because, as you said, it's a great way to explore the world. However taking multiple flights each year or so can be harmful to the environment with the fuel we use as of now. If someone lives in San Fransisco and wants to go to Disneyland, for example, they could drive instead of flying. I also agree that the biofuels will help the environments and making flying a lot more sustainable
Helen, I'm really glad you brought that up. I was unaware that there were biofuels for airplanes; we should invest more in that to fix the manufacturing process, making it more affordable and thus more appealing for major airlines.