Carbon Footprint

carbon_footprint_assignment_rev5_12

carbon footprint assignment

Name: ___________________________________

Carbon Footprint Assignment

Greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), are increasing in concentration in the

atmosphere because of human activities, leading to climate change. Each of us is

independently responsible for a certain amount of the carbon emitted each year. The first

step toward taking responsibility is for each of us to become aware of the amount of

carbon we emit, i.e. to calculate our personal carbon footprints. A variety of tools are

available to help you estimate your carbon footprint. A good carbon footprint calculator

can be found at:

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Please go to this site and estimate your carbon footprint for the past year. Then answer

the following questions. You will need to explore the site a bit to answer (after you have done your main calculation); but use the values on this website in your answers.

You may not have values for each category, but you should complete the questions to the best of your ability – even if you have to estimate some of the numbers.

1. Please fill in estimates for your personal carbon footprint:

House ____________tons of carbon per year

Flights ____________tons of carbon per year

Car ____________tons of carbon per year

Motorcycle ____________tons of carbon per year

Bus & Rail ____________tons of carbon per year

Secondary ____________tons of carbon per year

Total ____________tons of carbon per year

2. What is the US average per capita carbon footprint? Global Average? How does your annual carbon footprint compare to these?

3. In what areas do you think you do better than most Americans? In what areas do you do worse? Be careful with this one – it is not enough to look at which numbers are the highest/lowest – think about what the numbers mean.

(Note for questions 4 and 5: reduce and offset are completely different concepts – make sure you understand the difference.)

4. Follow the links to sites offering carbon offsets for sale. An offset is an investment in an activity that reduces carbon dioxide (i.e. planting trees). An individual can choose to purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the amount of carbon dioxide he/she puts into the environment every year. List 2 of your options for buying offsets, and how much each would cost to offset your own personal annual carbon footprint.

5. Give several reasonable ways for you to reduce your own carbon footprint. These should be based on areas above where you result in the production of the most carbon dioxide.