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 >
Carbon Footprint
After I finished my carbon footprint calculator I noticed that most of my carbon footprint came from food. I think this is because of how environmentally unhealthy it is for people to raise and eat animals. For example, when raising cattle we need to water the grass for them to eat, which uses a lot of water. We also need water for the cattle to drink, and while the cattle are alive, they release lots of methane, a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Kingdom, the global total of carbon emissions is 7.1 gigatonnes per year, 14.5% of all emissions. By eating less meat, you no longer contribute to the meat industry, so they will produce less meat, ultimately having lower carbon emissions.