Leaving Our Mark: Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Leaving Our Mark: Reducing Our Carbon Footprint — page 3
What Is a Carbon Footprint You may have heard carbon footprints mentioned in the media What exactly does this term mean A carbon footprint is a measurement of the amount of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere by the activities of a person or group of people Greenhouse gases contribute to the greenhouse effect and the warming of Earth To calculate your own carbon footprint you add up the emissions of all the lifestyle choices you make Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas but others such as methane and nitrous oxide are also included in carbon footprints A carbon footprint is often expressed in kilograms or metric tons with the unit Co e which is short for carbon dioxide equivalent It is a measure of the amount of Co that would have the equivalent global warming impact Take something as simple as buying a book The factory that printed the book will have emitted greenhouse gases while making it More gases were emitted by the truck that carried the book to the store where you bought it Did you go by car to the bookstore or did a delivery van bring the book to your house Both trips create more emissions Even an activity as simple as sending a text message contributes to your carbon footprint Electricity is used to send the