


Terry Cullen
Apr 11, 2023
Global
Categories:
Carbon Footprint, Greenhouse Gas, Climate Change, Environment
Ever wonder what your carbon footprint is? The amount of greenhouse gases you are responsible for putting into the earth’s atmosphere each year by your activities? The Nature Conservancy has a calculator to estimate it.
Globally, the average person has a carbon footprint of 4 tons. Still, that average must drop to less than 2 tons annually to reverse climate change.
The easy-to-use calculator from the Nature Conservancy takes you through a series of questions to estimate your carbon footprint, including where you live, how many are in your household, details about any cars you own, how much you use public transportation, how much you travel by air, details about the energy you use in your home, the size of your home and amount of water used. It then breaks down your estimated household carbon footprint based on home, travel, food, goods, and services. It compares you to the average of similar households.
The exercise concludes with practical tips for reducing your footprint in transportation, housing, and shopping, three areas where change can make a big difference. Examples of those actions include: getting a more efficient vehicle, practicing eco-driving, reducing air travel, installing low-flow toilets and showerheads, installing a tankless water heater, using rechargeable batteries, going organic, and eating a low-carbon diet.
Many companies now estimate the amount of carbon footprint for a good or service. Airlines and air travel are good examples. Companies like American Express track your carbon footprint using your credit card. 90% of large companies have plans to achieve partial or net zero carbon emissions. The call to lower our carbon footprint is being heard globally.
For a person, lowering their carbon footprint is a simple way to make a difference in the world and their community. Start using the calculator to understand your footprint and commit to short- and long-term goals to reduce it. Consider bringing your friends and family together and make a game of it. This goal may be a challenge your community leaders can give their residents. Or the company you work for. Track the carbon reductions with a community signboard, such as a thermometer showing progress towards a community goal. Ready to go further, have your community challenge its surrounding towns and cities or a sister city in another part of the world? Make it fun. Celebrate benchmarks. Make it educational. Award prizes for the most creative ways to lower carbon emissions. Get on social media. Get your town recognized. Encourage your higher levels of government to designate ‘green communities’ and offer financial incentives to reach targets. Develop educational programs that educators from colleges and universities to elementary schools can use to build long-term awareness. There are many possibilities to make this a triple-bottom-line win for your community (with benefits to social well-being, the environment, and the local economy).
The next several generations almost certainly face an uncertain future. We can change that starting now.
Photo by Yomex Owo on Unsplash.
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