I think people in big cities should ride the bus or subway to get to work/school because if everyone had their own vehicle there would be endless traffic. Sitting in a running vehicle is not good for the environment and it causes a lot of unneeded stress. Even carpooling would be a better option. And recycling is always a good way to make your carbon footprint smaller.
   People who live in rural areas can do their part too by recycling, composting, and growing their own food. I also think car companies should switch to hybrids because cars are a major part of the air pollution. People who switch to hybrid cars save money on gas and help save the earth.

Innovation is the key to achieving sustainable growth and helping to create a more just and environmentally friendly society!

population even more. Also riding a subway is faster and doesn't pollute the earth as much so i hope people don't use cars as much in cities i hope they use more subways.

Think Big

    Thinking big can be helpful. People think big on lots of stuff like windmills because if a windmill is not in the right spot the blades on it will not catch the wind and turn. Me personally, I’m going to cut back on tv and lights. I don't know what other people might do -but just think big on cutting back on energy useage. If we try to, we can stop climate change. Little by little we can and will win. But that’s only if smart and creative people start making creative things, big things, things like... well I don’t know i’m not much of a thinker.

Everyone can help make our planet a better place to live, but we have to start from ourselves first. Nowadays, we have machines who do everything for us (cooking, cleaning, washing...) and people are used to that. I'm not saying the machines are bad for us and can't help the environment because most of the products are made to save electricity or water. But I think we can all agree that we all have become slaves of technology.
While saving the planet, we can save ourselves too. Exposed to radiation, people have to cut down Internet, Videogames, etc.
Instead of spending your day on your laptop, phone or watching TV, go out and enjoy nature with your friends. There are a lot of beautiful places all over the world. Also, when you meet your friends, skip the Cafe and go to a playground or take a walk.
When you're done using the laprop, turn it off. When you dont need light, turn it off. Don't leave your TV on all the time, if you're not watching it, turn it off.
Th is is just some small things we can do for our planet and for ourselves, but it's a start.
Feel free to leave a comment

yes, connecting with nature is an important step, I agree!  Just that connection in our own communities can inspire us to seek sustainable solutions to climate change and other environmental challenges.

Nowadays people don't appreciate what they have and what Earth gives them. I think it should be in everyones interest to preserve our environment and everything what it offers to us.
In my opinion some of the solutions could be: planting more trees, not throwing litter outside the trash bins and not using plastic bags.
For example, everytime I go to the store I always bring my cotton bag and I always remind my friends not to litter.

Think Big

I live in the bay area where people commute to work from very far distances which is releasing a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the air. On my way to school every morning I see the cars going in the other direction stuck in traffic and most people are alone in their cars which is a big problem for the atmosphere. I believe that transportation is one of the biggest problems for the atmosphere around the world today. A way that we could prevent the amount of carbon dioxide being put into the air by cars is having people carpool to work and other places they are going. The state could make incentives for carpooling like not having to pay tolls on the road and things like that so more people will start carpooling. When people carpool it will reduce the amount of cars that are on the road by a large amount. If three people join a carpool only one car will be on the road compared to three cars.

I agree. There is already a small incentive with the faster carpool lanes on the highway but the no toll idea is good. One issue might be the method to make sure the lane is being used properly because people might try to go through with only one person but if that can be figured out it's a good fix.

I also agree. Our imagination is limitless so why no use that imagination to create big things. Here is a big idea, why not create a trash shoot to the sun. This could clear up so much and help with the pollution we are already dealing with. Also we can get the trash out of the ocean. This will very much help the life there.

I very much agree that transportation is a huge contributor to the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and like your ideas on improving the carpool system. However, I also believe that improving public transportation would have an even greater effect on reducing the emission of carbon from transportation. Although vehicles like buses and trains are better for the environment than cars, a lot of people don’t use them because they are less convenient or less accessible. However, I believe that if public transportation could reach a level where it was easy, efficient, and convenient for people to use, it would have an even greater impact on reducing the emission of carbon than carpool alone.

Most places in the world rely on mobile transportation to transport from place to place. I think the creation of transportation that runs off of energy from a solar panel ran vehicle will help the atmosphere from being less polluted. The usage of burning of fossil fuel of cars will be reduced with this solution. Vehicles are the main reason for global warming. Vehicles give off about 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas. Reducing the usage of oil is the real solution. So with a Eco-friendly satellite vehicles, we can solve this issues.

I agree, but these vehicles are unavailable now to most and there is no need to wait for them when we can reduce the worlds carbon footprint now. For example instead of going everywhere by car, we can take public transportation like trains and buses, or if you live out of the city you could walk or bike. By doing this there is no doubt we will lower the carbon footprint. If you must take a car, then try carpooling so that you let of the amount of CO2 for only one car instead of two. There are gas saver cars that are better for the eco system and can go far distances on less gas, and these can also move us in the right direction towards a smaller carbon footprint.

Sweden is a great example of a resourceful and sustainable country. One city in Sweden, Växjö is trying to become fossil-fuel free by 2030. They are reaching this goal by getting their electricity from trees. Other cities power buildings through body heat, and solar panels. Sweden is a good example of a sustainable country because of how they harness their resources. I believe that in the US, we should try to set goals for us to become more sustainable.

To reduce carbon footprints, farming and caring for your own gardens, so you do not have to drive to get food. Living close to the city or somewhere where you can walk/bike to get the things you need for everyday life will reduce carbon footprints. Always remember to turn off your lights, stove, etc. (anything that uses energy).

To reduce our carbon footprints we can use or install solar panels. These solar panels will take the sun's energy and convert it to electricity for our homes. Solar panels can cut the price of an original power bill. Wind turbine's are also a good way to create new electricity. We can plant our own food to reduce chemical additives that stores might use in our foods. Farming helps clean the air because plants use carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen. Animals rely on plants to survive. Using cars causes a lot of pollution in the air so we can carpool, ride bikes, or walk to lower their effects. The pollution affects people, animals, and nature. Some ways to reduce our carbon footprint are simple like turning off the lights or water when not used. These things can really make a difference in the whole world.

I agree! Creating your own farming space can really make a difference in how our energy is used. Home grown food is always more healthy than store bought food. This is because of the use of pesticides, food coloring, and hormones. Carpooling is a great idea if you don't live close to a city. This is another way to conserve energy.

I agree, creating a garden at your own home can help so much. I also think that making everything close together can help lower peoples carbon levels. Another reason why I think a home garden could work is usually when you grow a garden the food being grown is healthy. Some good ideas I think that could reduce our carbon footprints is making an environmentally friendly airplane.

Even though these small actions seem small, if everyone turned off their lights, planted a vegetable garden, etc., it can have massive effects! According to theecoguide.com having a 10x10ft tomato garden can help to keep 27 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere. There are 413,775 people living in my city, Oakland, right now. If everyone had a tomato garden, we could save approximately 11,171,925lbs of CO2 per year!

http://theecoguide.org/whats-environmen … r-own-food

I think that Vaxjo has a very good idea of getting rid of fossil-fuel. If other cities followed in their footsteps, the world's carbon use would drop significantly.

I agree with you, we should find more efficient ways of living rather than hurting our environment. Other examples could be just walking rather than driving or carpooling with friends and family rather than taking separate cars. If we reduce the amount of driving it can make such a big impact. Carpooling is still driving but if you have to get somewhere that other people are going where you are, you should just carpool with them. Because you carpool, you are not polluting the environment as much. Little things like this can make a big impact.

After I calculated my carbon footprint I realized that one of my biggest problems was transportation. I am driven to school and half the way back everyday. There are about 8 months in a year so in all that is a lot of fossil fuels burned. And that is just me. There are many of other kids doing the same things as me and that is just students alone not including adults. Many cars emit massive amounts of pollution depending on what the car is powered on and the model and brand. Cars that run on electricity typically or are hybrids typically cost more which means less people can buy them. Therefore a plan could be for someone to develop a more affordable electric car so we can help fight global warming.

I agree. Larger families that take in more foods on a regular basis should limit the amount of store bought items and grow their own fresh garden foods. This could help reduce the carbon footprint.

I think that globally, if commuters were to use public transportation, bikes, electric, and to walk more often, pollution could decrease greatly. Cars emit harmful gasses and carbon, and if we were to decrease our use and necessity for them the world would be a lot healthier. Human health would increase, because more people would be walking and biking, and there would be far less car accidents. Also, the air would be healthier and the other plants and animals in different areas would have better environments.

I agree. Transportation is a huge part of our carbon footprint and finding any ways to reduce it would help. Carpooling and walking rather than driving are great ways to do this. I also think growing food at home would not only reduce the carbon footprint, but also help add more plants to the environment that have taken away by big cities. Growing food at home would lower transportation, by the person themselves and the people who transport food to the store if home gardens occurred on a massive scale. Also, home grown food would be very fresh.

I agree - so Anna: how do you think we can encourage more people to walk and bike?

how about if every new apartment building or condominium in our cities had to set aside space for vegetable gardens?

Jackson, what other ideas do you have?  How about a more efficient carpooling system?  or perhaps bike rides in which a bunch of students from the same neighborhood bike together to school and watch out for one another?

these are all great ideas!  what do you think cities can do to encourage more of these green ideas from taking root in our communities?

I agree with using reusable ways to reduce our carbon footprints. Most people don't realize that simply thinking before wasting can save so much for the environment Also using reusable energy like solar and wind are expensive but will save them more in the long run. Recently a lot of people are catching on to that also. As according to The Cost of Solar, 68% of Solar PV was installed in the last 2 1/2 years.

We need to take a stand and try to make amends to our planet.

I believe I can reduce my community's carbon footprint by changing the ways of transportation to get to school. Instead of using their own cars, people should carpool with others, bike/walk to school, or even use electric cars to get to school. Instead of buying foods from across the country, we could buy food grown near where we live to reduce the amount of gas used to transport food across the country. We should also save electricity by turning appliances and our water supply off when we are not using it

Factories have an extremely large carbon footprint on this earth. Many people who live by factories are prone to getting asthma. These factories release large amounts of greenhouse gases which pollute our atmosphere. I know that the EPA creates many regulations to prevent factories in the US from polluting our atmosphere too much, but that isn't enough. We need to make world-wide environmental regulations. Just the US can't make a difference; we all do.

I believe we should take some of the trash and waste in the ocean and make it into a useful space device. then we should send it into space as like a satellite or something.

This is a great idea and I agree whole heartedly.

We could use the other trash for different things that could help us now. It could be used to actually create objects that could lower CO2 emissions.

I also agree with these ways to reduce carbon footprints. Another way to reduce carbon footprints is to eat less meat in your meals. Animals like cows are the leading cause of gases like methane, a greenhouse gas that is roughly 30 times the severity of Carbon Dioxide. If we eat and request less meat, carbon footprints and methane levels should reduce dramatically, reducing the amount of global warming around the world. I am not suggesting hat we completely cut off meat in our diets, I am suggesting that you reduce your amounts each week. Even if 100 families take this action, it would definitely help our environmental crisis with rising sea levels, diminishing habitats for animals, rising heat levels, and the purity of the air we breathe. This is just one suggestion about how to reduce your carbon footprint.

I think that people have to recycle more in there house and  use more bicycles or walk more instead of using there cars.

I agree with your statement completly, and maybe people should sort their waste everywhere. Not just at home

Think Big-
      One big idea is reducing the amount people drive there could be a worldwide no car day where you can run, walk, bike,  and jog to any place you need to be without using a car so you don't leave a carbon footprint.

are u mark or paul?

How we can reduce carbon footprints:
Recycle as much as possible
Reduce the time spent taking showers
Walk or bike as much as possible
Invent the solar powered phone!
Compost your food to make good soil instead of throwing it away to go in the landfill
Buy things from thrift stores such as Goodwill
Buy locally grown food

Think Big   
One thing we can to help the environment is we don't have to use any harmful things and that will mess up the environment. We could use solar panels and be eco friendly. What really messed me up was my transportation. My family and I drive lots of miles per year and fly,a lot! I think as a family, we need to reduce the amount of miles and hours we drive a day. My family and I also need to reduce the amount of heater usage per month. Lots of other people do things like this to but don’t do anything to stop it.

Think Big   
One thing we can to help the environment is we don't have to use any harmful things and that will mess up the environment. We could use solar panels and be eco friendly. What really messed me up was my transportation. My family and I drive lots of miles per year and fly,a lot! I think as a family, we need to reduce the amount of miles and hours we drive a day. My family and I also need to reduce the amount of heater usage per month. Lots of other people do things like this to but don’t do anything to stop it.

You know you should become a scientist so that you could make it so we don't use any harmful things in are environment anymore. It would help a lot of people make the environment better.

I think that the world should start using solar and wind power more. This should reduce the number of greenhouse gases that are emitted by factories. I also think that we should use more reusable or biodegradable packaging. To make large companies want to package their food in these packages, we should make them less expensive by using common and abundant materials in the packaging.

I believe what you are saying and I agree with you. However, I do believe that it will take some time to phase fossil fuels out in place of renewable resources. The reason I say this is that it will cost large amounts of money to build these new plants, and the plants which use fossil fuels will have to lay off workers as they would be decommissioned, along with people from factories which produce non-renewable resources. I do however hope to see a future of renewable resources and less air pollution.

While I agree that we should use more solar, I think it's important to recognize the negative impacts of this sources. Solar energy requires solar panels. These panels are not only expensive to make, which makes them hard to access for many people, but can harm the environment. They contain toxic materials and leaks of these substances can be dangerous. Additionally, clearing land for their construction can cause deforestation, or could take farmland. If we were to look at the benefits and the negative impacts, I feel that the benefits would outweigh all negativities. However, it is still important to acknowledge these issues so we can work towards solving them to make solar panels even more beneficial.
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?pa … nvironment

One major change that can be made to reduce all carbon footprints for every single person, is carpooling. Not all students live close to school and not all students have parents that can drive them to school. Carpooling is a great way for those that are far away or close to school to reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are increasing due to humans releasing too much carbon dioxide and it is having a direct impact on the Ozone layer. Slowly the Ozone layer in the atmosphere will deplete away to nothing if humans do not slow down the greenhouse gas emissions they are putting into the air. For those who live in a city, BART can be a cheaper and more effective way for students to go to school or for adults to go to work. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a public transportation train system that is much cheaper than driving a car and spending gas money. It is a great way to avoid traffic and is a great way to make sure one always gets to work on time. Overtime, the money that is saved by carpooling and us ing BART is grand. Not only will money be saved, one can also be reducing the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and saving the Ozone layer.

A big way to reduce your carbon footprint would be to unplug. Everything. Keeping things like phone or laptop chargers plugged in all hours of the day cause what is called vampire energy. This is where your devices still use energy even though they are not currently being used. This wastes a lot of energy, as well as money. This waste is something that could be causing a carbon footprint to be much larger than it should be. To prevent this, companies that use outlets to power their products should make it known that their products are using up way more energy than they should be.

There are so many ways to reduce peoples carbon footprints all around the world.  One way is that people could not use as much energy as they are using by turning of the lights after they're done with a room.  Another way to reduce footprints is to try to walk to places more instead of driving everywhere.

Alexa S, 15, NC, US

How do you suggest we do that? There are so many possible ideas to better the Earth. After all, the earth can live on fine without humans, but humans cannot live on with the Earth.

Good point

I agree, we could use save electricity and not eat as much as we usually do to reduce our carbon foot print