When calculating my carbon footprint, I noticed that the transportation section was much larger than any of the others. I was surprised to see that airplane flights and taking individual cars every day were responsible for so much of my carbon emissions, and I have decided I need to make a change. Currently, I only take public transportation about one a week. But, now that I have seen the consequences of my transportation choices, I am going to take the bus much more often than I do, as well as take Bart, our local subway system, at every opportunity. According to All Points Transit, Buses emit 80% less carbon monoxide than the average, one-passenger car as well as reducing the United States' dependence on imported oil by more than 40%. I would greatly reduce my carbon footprint if I chose to take the bus as much as I can. One problem, though, that I may encounter is that using our car is very convenient. We do not have to look for the nearest station/stop or wait for it to arrive, but we can always have a car at our leisure. I think it may be difficult to bring myself t o take the bus if the car would be an easier mode of transportation, despite its negative impact on the environment. Additionally, I tend to forget to turn off the lights in my room when I leave, whether it be for the whole day or only for a few minutes. Either way, this is a waste of electricity, and I will now always remember to turn out all of the lights in my room and house when I am not present. If I make these crucial changes, I will decrease my carbon footprint by a large margin and better the environment.

Sadie-- I think all of these ideas are great! I take the bus to and from school every day, and it reduced my carbon footprint by a lot. Public transportation is good because it transports so many more people, with less carbon output. Most forms of public transportation use energy efficient fuel, so the carbon output is far less harmful than a car's

I agree with you that the transportation section of my carbon footprint is much larger than the average level as I often traveled by airplane and train. However, people can't prevent from using it. What I am trying to point out is that our technology is improving, such as Tesla could help save energy and produce much less CO2 which will improve our environment.

Shengxingma,  while it is true that travel by airplane and train contributes to a carbon footprint, electric cars such as Teslas are not quite ready yet. They are very expensive, take an hour to charge, rather than under five minutes to refuel a non-electric car, and usually have a lower range.  http://www.businessinsider.com/why-morg … ars-2017-5