Global warming and your carbon footprint

Global warming and carbon footprint 

Image by Tony Crider 

If you aren’t familiar with the term, a carbon footprint is a “measure of the impact that human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.”  Now, have you ever wondered what your carbon footprint is?  Do you know how much CO2 you emit into the environment?  Do you know what effect you and your lifestyle are having on global warming?

If you haven’t taken the time to find out, do so.  It’s a simple first step on the way to going green, because no matter what your personal beliefs are on global warming, the carbon footprint is something most people can understand and relate to.  Learning what your carbon footprint is gives you more understanding and more information on what you can personally do to help reduce harmful CO2 emissions.

To help, I looked around and found a great website, Conservation International.  They have a tool where you can calculate your own carbon footprint and/or that of your family and also see how you can offset it.  Another tool allows you to measure your eco-footprint and get creative ideas on how to reduce your ec0-footprint. 

Apparently my family of four produces about 4.6 tons of CO2 per year from our basic household and driving habits.  (Average is about 4.15 tons for a household of two.)  We also help to offset our carbon footprint by recycling, having only one family car, etc.

Other ways to offset your carbon footprint are to use fuel additives, travel less or use public transportation, recycle, eat more organic/natural foods, use Energy Star appliances, etc.

So, what’s your carbon footprint?  What can you do to help offset your carbon footprint and thus help global warming? 

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