This document provides information about calculating and reducing carbon footprints. It discusses how a carbon footprint measures the amount of carbon dioxide released from activities like transportation, food, and energy use in homes and is primarily from burning fossil fuels. The document then provides many strategies for reducing individual carbon footprints in areas like transportation, housing, food, water usage, goods/services, and energy use habits. The goal is to encourage changes that help address the increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and global warming.

1. Carbon Footprint Calculation

2. Learning Objectives
• Determine your carbon footprint using a
calculator online
• Relate use of fossil fuels to your carbon footprint
• Compare your carbon footprint to that of your
classmates, school, community, and nation
• Describe the components or factors associated
with a carbon footprint
• Predict ways to reduce your carbon footprint
• Discuss political ramifications of “climate
change” or “global warming”

3. Background Information
• A carbon footprint describes the amount
of carbon dioxide that is released into the
atmosphere as a result of your activities
such as travel, preparing food, and cooling
or heating your home
• Most of the carbon dioxide that results
from your activities is produced by the
burning of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas,
oil)

4. Carbon vs Ecological
• An ecological footprint compares the total resources
people consume with the land and water area that is
needed to replace those resources.
• A carbon footprint also deals with resource usage but
focuses strictly on the greenhouse gases released due
to burning of fossil fuels.
• Greenhouse gas calculations make up a portion of an
ecological footprint, but are not used in the same way as
those in a carbon footprint. Both calculations illustrate
the impact of human activity on the environment.

5. • Carbon dioxide is a “greenhouse
gas,” which tends to trap energy
released by the earth that would
otherwise travel back into space.
Thus, greenhouse gases act like a
large blanket in the earth’s
atmosphere which reduces heat loss
by the planet. (Temperature goes up)
• Use of fossil fuels has greatly
increased in the last 130 years.
Correspondingly, atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels have also
been increasing dramatically over the
last century. In fact, atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentrations are
higher now than they have ever been
in the last 100,000 years.

6. • Corresponding to recent increases in atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels have been increases in the earth’s average
temperature. Over the last 130 years the earth’s average
annual temperature has increase about 1.5°C. Toward the
poles, the temperature increases have been over three
times greater.
• Many prominent scientist and political leaders are
concerned that human production of greenhouse gases
may have already contributed to this warming trend, and
other climate changes, occurring over the last century.

7. Reduce your carbon footprint
In the USA, there may be one
car per person – which
contributes greatly to
pollution.
Use cleaner transport
• Walk, bike, or take public
transit
• 1 gallon of US gasoline =
35KWh energy
• KWh = energy usage
• Avoid short airplane trips –
take a bus or train instead

8. Add energy saving features to your home
• Install compact fluorescent
bulbs (CFLs) in all your
home light fixtures
• Weatherproof (insulate)
your home.
• Insulate your water heater,
switch to a tankless water
heater
• Choose energy efficient
appliances

9. Adopt energy-saving habits
• Keep thermostat relatively low in winter and ease up on the air
conditioning in summer. Clean or replace dirty A/C filters as
recommended to keep A/C operating at peak efficiency
• Unplug your electronics when not in use.
• Make minimal use of power equipment when landscaping
• Choose green electricity. Many utilities give you the option to purchase
electricity generated by wind and solar power for small rate surcharge.
• Dry your clothes outside whenever possible
• These save money for your household, as well as saving energy

10. Reduce your Food Footprint
• Eat more local, organic, in-season
foods
• Plant a garden – it doesn’t get more
local than that
• Shop at your local farmer’s market
or natural foods store. Look for
local, in-season foods that haven’t
traveled long distances to reach you
• Choose foods with less packaging
to reduce waste
• Eat food lower on the food chain –
going meatless for just one meal a
week can make a difference.
Globally, it has been estimated that
18% of all greenhouse gas
emission are associated with meat
consumption.

11. Reduce your Housing Footprint
• Choose sustainable building
materials, furnishings, and
cleaning products
• Explore green design features
for your building, like passive
solar heating, a rainwater
catchment or grey water
recycling system, and
recycled materials
• Choose efficient appliances,
including low flow shower
heads, faucets, and toilets
• Plant drought-tolerant plants
in your garden and yard.
• Use biodegradable, non-toxic
cleaning products

12. Adopt water-saving habits
• Don’t use the garbage disposal. Compost
instead.
• Run the dishwasher and the laundry machine
only when full
• Wash cars rarely, or better yet, take them to a
carwash.
• Avoid hosing down or power-washing your deck,
walkways, or driveway.
• Take shorter, less frequent showers – this not
only saves water, but the energy necessary to
heat it.
• Regularly look for and fix leaks.

13. Reduce your Goods and Services Footprint
• Buy less. Replace items only when you really
need to.
• Recycle all your paper, glass, aluminum, and
plastic. Don’t forget electronics.
• Buy recycled products, particularly those labeled
“post-consumer waste”.
• Compost food waste for the garden. Garbage
that is not contaminated with degradable
(biological) waste can be more easily recycled
and sorted, and doesn’t produce methane gases
(a significant greenhouse gas contributor) when
stored in a landfill.

14. Procedure
• This assignment asks you
to calculate your own
ecological footprint using
this website:
www.myfootprint.org
• Answer the following
questions by typing your
answers in the spaces
provided in your
workbooks. Include a
summary of the Quiz
Results (see page 11-6)