Carbon footprint

Each person has their own carbon footprint, which is normally measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide used each year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and is part of the problem in Global warming

There are many factors in calculating your own footprint, depending on your lifestyle will affect the size of your carbon footprint. Carbon dioxide is produced in many ways including electricity and gas, transport and shopping. It is very difficult to have an exact figure as there are so many factors to consider, one of the best carbon calculators is from the government on the Act on CO2 website.

How much Cardon dioxide is produced?

• The UK produces on average 9.4 Tonnes of CO2 per person.

• America is one of the largest at 19.8 Tonnes.

• China produces only 3.2 Tonnes, but as China has one of the largest populations they are the second highest emitter.

• Some of the third world countries have such a low figure that it is not measurable.

What can we do?

There are lots of ways in which we can adapt our lifestyle to reduce our carbon footprint some of these are easy and your just need to look at the way you live. Other solutions are more expensive and a decision will need to be made seriously as to whether it is worth while making the changes.

Things worth considering are:

• Home energy savings – This includes reducing your energy bill by some simple energy saving techniques, to insulating your home, replacing windows and energy saving appliances.

• Transport – There are some simple ways in which you can reduce your fuel consumption. Look at the ways you travel do you need to take the car or is there an alternative form of transport which you can use.

• Recycling - Lots of energy is used in making new goods from raw materials, most recycling uses less energy

• Renewable energy – See if there is a solar project which will save your energy, these range from simple shed lights, solar heating, solar hot water and DIY solar projects.

• Shopping – Food normally produces carbon dioxide as it is delivered to the shop, so it is better to buy food locally. In the UK we also have very high food wastage; find out ways this can be reduced.

Carbon offsetting

It is possible to buy carbon offsets; this is normally involves investing in either renewable energy projects around the world or planting trees. The main problem with this solution is as an individual we are still producing high CO2 emissions. It is better to try and reduce your CO2 emissions first and then look at solutions to offset the remaining amount.

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