Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
How electric vehicles can change the world for the better.
I believe that electric vehicles can change the world for the better because gas emissions are a big cause of global warming. EVs can also reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and smog, improving public health and reducing ecological damage. Charging your EV on renewable energy such as solar or wind minimizes these emissions even more. A gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds. When it is burned in our cars, the carbon pulls an additional 14 pounds of oxygen from the air to make a total of 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is the main driver of climate change. To change peoples mind about gas cars we could raise gas prices and produce more electric cars to make them more available.
I appreciate that you pointed out that charging your EV on renewable energy helps even more, as charging your EV with energy produced by burning fossil fuels would make buying an EV ineffectual and have much less of an impact on carbon emissions and climate change. I also agree that raising gas prices and making EVs less expensive and more available could get people to move away from gasoline cars and switch to EVs.