What Is My Carbon Footprint?

If you have ever been asked about your carbon footprint don’t look down because it has nothing to do with your feet. Your “carbon footprint” is a verbal symbolism for the personal impact you are leaving upon the planet by your physical activities and by certain lifestyle choices. It is not a visible imprint but the ramifications can become visible by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over time.

What is a carbon footprnit?

A carbon footprint is simply a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases your presence on earth adds to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are important because when they build up to unmanageable levels it can cause clouding of the air and lead to global warming according to some scientists. The choices you make in lifestyle activities can cause you to have a larger or a smaller carbon footprint. For example, if you have a private plane and a gas guzzling car you are creating a much larger carbon footprint than the activist who rides a bicycle to work and never flies anywhere even commercially.

Why is your carbon footprint important?

The concept of a carbon footprint is important to understand so everyone can make even small adjustments in their lifestyles to try to reduce the global buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. A reduction by everyone is needed to affect the environment. Governments are trying to influence businesses to reduce CO2 outputs by levying high taxes if they produce too much pollution. Governments also can tax consumer items such as gasoline to influence the public to drive more efficient cars and to reduce the amounts of gasoline and other fossil fuels that cause CO2 buildups. The concept of “cap and trade” is one huge taxation effort that will force everyone to pay more in an effort to force a reduction of the carbon footprint of a population.

Calculate your carbon footprint

It is possible to estimate what your household carbon footprint is by using carbon footprint calculators that are easily found online. Just put “carbon footprint calculator” into your computer browser and many will be listed. Go to a calculator and fill in the blanks and you will get a reasonable estimate of the size of your carbon footprint.

Once you know what your carbon footprint is you can begin to attempt reductions. The areas to work within include the home, transportation, food choices or your diet plans and recycling and waste efforts that you can participate in. According to The Nature Conservatory, the average 5 person American household contributes 130 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere yearly. The world average for a 5 person household is just 28 tons per year. Use their calculator* to discover where your lifestyle choices set your family compared to those averages.

Ways to reduce your carbon footprint

Ways to reduce your impact include driving less or not at all, using appliances that are energy efficient and cutting your use of electricity and other energy sources that require power plants that use fossil fuels to produce that power. Change from meat to vegetarian meals because the carbon cost of raising meat is higher than that for growing vegetables. Also, animals produce a lot of CO2. Use energy efficient CFL light bulbs that last much longer and use less energy than incandescent bulbs. When possible use solar or wind power as alternatives to electricity. Plant trees and use recycling, composting and other waste reduction practices. If everyone attempts to reduce their carbon footprint even a small amount the total impact can be multiplied by millions. Everyone has a vested interest in keeping the planet safe and healthy. Reducing carbon footprints is a great way to help save the world.

Save The World Today

Save the world today - three easy ways to help save the world

It's official -- virtually everyone wants to fight climate change, conserve our natural resources and save the world. That's great, but saving the world has to happen one day at a time. Every choice you and your family make can further, or damage, the cause.

Saving the world doesn't have to be about buying high-end eco-conscious fashions, pricey fair-trade coffee and expensive organic produce. The good news is that there are lots of ways to help save the world that will not only help the planet, but will actually save you money. It's great to save the world and cash at the same time!

Here are the three fastest and easiest ways to save the world and save money at the same time.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL)

Compact fluorescent light bulbs use a fraction of the energy of old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs. CFLs are available at virtually every retail store and hardware store. Lately, CFLs have even been spotted at grocery stores.

When you replace an incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, you save in two ways. First, CFLs last 8-15 times longer than a traditional bulb. Secondly, CFLs use 77%-80% less electricity than traditional bulbs. Considering that lighting is about 10% of the average household's electricity usage, switching to CFLs can save you 7%-8% of your total household electricity budget!

A recent US News & World Report article stated, "A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12% discount to estimate the savings."

Now that's one way to save the world that makes good financial sense.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

The mantra "reduce, reuse, recycle" has been chanted thousands of times. Here's what it really means: by reducing the quantity of items you purchase, then reusing them as long as possible, then recycling them when there's no more use for them, you reduce waste. Not only that but you extract the maximum utility out of your purchases.

Here are some simple and easy ways to reduce, reuse and recycle every day:

- Save your paper or plastic grocery bags and take them back to the store.
- Instead of throwing out old furniture or clothing, you can list them on Craigslist or give them to a local thrift shop.
- Selling on eBay? Use crumpled newsprint or shredded paper as packing material.
- Purchase concentrated cleaning products to reduce packaging bulk.
- Separate your recycling every week. No curbside recycling near you? Look up the closest recycling center and make one trip per week.

When you reduce, reuse and recycle, you're diminishing the resources you consume and helping to save the world.

Diminish your carbon footprint with public transportation

One big way you can help to avert climate change and save the world is through reducing your carbon footprint. In America, we spend a huge amount of energy and fossil fuels in transportation. If you can take a bus or train to work instead of your car, you're cutting carbon emissions by at least 75%.

Carpooling helps to save the world as well but is not quite as effective as public transportation. Besides, riding public transportation is an adventure! You'll meet new people and see new sights while you're helping to save the world.

Each of these tips will help you to save the world in your day-to-day life. Not only that but you'll be saving money and contributing to a healthier, happier planet. Start saving the world today!