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?
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Transportation
In calculating my carbon footprint, I was shocked to see how huge the impact of my driving and flying is. I never could have guessed how far it is above the average amount. Flying is a tricky one to reduce, as I do not have control over it as my parents decide how they want to spend their money, and they love to travel once in a while when possible. However, as I think about how much I carpool I realize that I probably could much more often. I typically do not carpool very often for convenience purposes because I am typically not going to places, even if my friends are, at the same time. Now that I think about it though, I bet that I could really adapt my schedule to fit in a lot more carpooling and limit the effect my driving has on the environment. A typical day for me includes going back and forth to school and then back and forth to school again for practice, but if I tried, I could create a schedule with a classmate and teammate so that I would be driving wit h a full car instead of just me. I think this is probably the most impactful thing that I could do to reduce my carbon footprint.
I agree. The largest and way above average part of my carbon footprint was transportation. I drove and flew a lot over the past year but I want to find a way to reduce that section. I think carpooling is a great idea. I used to carpool to soccer practice, but it is hard to get on the same schedule with someone. However, if I was able to find some ways to reduce the transportation part of my footprint, like carpooling or riding my bike, I would definitely want to put those ideas into action.
Carbon is a very effective way to reducing carbon and I definitely think it is something you should try to do! Not only is it good for reducing carbon, it is also very efficient and helpful for your parents if they are the ones not driving. However, if this is a bit of a stretch for your family, you could try using metric or city buses if allowed. Doing this will reduce carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. If this is not an option either, you can also ride a bike.
I know it is hard to reduce carbon while flying and choosing how we get to places at our age. If you are planning a trip, however, ask your parents to try to take direct flights and try to fly into eco-friendly airports. This will help reduce carbon emission.