Carbon Footprint

M3D2: My Carbon Footprint: What Is It and Why Should I Care?

First:

Calculate one score for your carbon footprint and one score for your ecological footprint from the sites listed below or another you have located that has a calculator and provides a score you can compare.

• Carbon Footprint site:
  • The Nature Conservancy:https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/consider-your-impact/carbon-calculator/ – You will answer questions and your carbon footprint will be calculated for you. Be sure to record all of your results before leaving the page.
• Ecological Footprint sites:
  • Islandwood Ecological Footprint Calculator: https://islandwood.org/footprint-calculator/

Next, post to the Discussion Board:

1. How do your carbon and ecological footprint scores compare to the averages for the U.S., China, and Europe?
   • You can find these figures about U.S. averages and European averages by a simple search, or you can use these figures:
     1. “An average American’s carbon footprint exceeds 20 tons, which is an astonishing amount. If the CO2 emissions we exhale were made into a solid mass of carbon, we would need 40 trucks – i.e., 1540 tons of carbon, which is 5 times more than a Frenchman and an unimaginable 20 times more than a person that lives in India.” (downloaded 6/2016 from net(http://factspy.net/an-average-us-citizens-carbon-footprint/)
     2. “The per capita emissions in China increased by 9% in 2011 to reach 7.2 tons per person, only a fraction lower than the EU average of 7.5 tons.” (downloaded 6/2016 from: the guardian.com(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/18/china-average-europe-carbon-footprint)

2. How does your carbon footprint compare to your ecological footprint for the overall score? Do you see a consistent trend, either high or low, in comparison to the U.S. average? Do you see a marked disparity from one of your scores to the other?
3. Which do you think is a more accurate representation of your energy consumption and greenhouse gas production? Why?
4. Did you find things that you could do to reduce your scores? What are these things? Do you think you will keep up these efforts in the next few years?

Your initial post responding to this assignment should be no shorter than 350 words. Include both in-text citations and complete APA style references for all the sources you used to inform your work.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Refer to included Excel Spreadsheet for answers to questions required to complete the Carbon and Ecological footprint calculators.

-I don’t normally count calorie intake (I eat until I am no longer hungry).

-I don’t keep good track of household and other expenditures so figures are guesstimations.