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!
Now It's Time for Action >
Helping others understand
We need to spread the word of our carbon footprint and how to help! Students could start by talking to their parents about their home. Things so small as turning the heat down a few degrees can have a huge impact long term. Taking slightly shorter showers, and maybe fewer of them. Eating less meat (the meat industry has a huge carbon footprint). One obvious one is to recycle! It does contribute to your footprint, but not nearly as much as throwing everything in the trash would. There are things us students can do, even if we think we are powerless youths. Spreading the word is the best thing we can do right now, as well as small things around our own homes. If we all do this collectively, we can accomplish something great!
Adding on to your idea of recycling, another great way to reduce carbon emissions is to create a compost pile and use the compost to grow your own food in a garden. This reduces waste and both creates plants, reducing CO2 levels, and provides the grower with natural vegetables. Other small changes like replacing incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent or even LED bulbs can help reduce carbon footprints a lot. Do you know of any other projects that we can do in our neighborhoods to help reduce carbon emissions?