Many students using our footprint calculator said that they could not pledge to reduce their home footprints because they were not making the decisions for the household. Here is your chance to design your own sustainable virtual household!
If you had your own home, what would you do to make it more energy efficient? Where would you get your electricity from? Where would your house be? Would you live near to your school or work or local transit options? Where would you get your food from?
MY Family Footprint >
Transportation - My Carbon Footprint
In total, I found that I released approximately 13,714 kilograms of carbon dioxide last year, making my carbon emissions about 141% the average Californian’s and approximately 362% the average person worldwide’s. Naturally, I was surprised and horrified by this result, as I deeply care about the environment and try my best to prioritize sustainability. I reuse and recycle materials whenever I can, eat less than 2,000 calories a day, turn off the lights at home when I am not in the room, and take other measures to protect our planet.
When I looked into my emission totals for each category, I realized that my carbon emissions were below the average Californian’s in home energy, food, and personal purchases. However, I released about 8,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide for transportation last year, and this amount is about 313% the average Californian’s. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation article “Climate Change: Should you fly, drive, or take the train?”, the combustion of aircraft fuel emits significant amounts of greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide), which lead to global warming. Last year, I took eight flights, so it makes sense that my unsustainable transportation choices would release a lot of carbon dioxide.
Since 75% of my flights were to Southern California, I intend to reduce my carbon footprint by carpooling with my family for these short journeys instead of taking commercial flights.The B.B.C. article “Climate Change: Should you fly, drive, or take the train?” continues to explain how research by the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs shows that a single person emits 133 grams of carbon dioxide (in addition to 121 grams of non-CO2 emissions) for every kilometer traveled on a commercial flight, while a person driving a car with three other passengers only releases 43 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. Additionally, I can ask my family about having more local vacations so that we travel smaller distances.
Link to B.B.C. article “Climate Change: Should you fly, drive, or take the train?”: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566