A. Definition Of Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to direct and indirect support human activities,usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide. In other words : when you drive a car, the engine burns fuel which creates a certain amount of carbon dioxide. Depending on its fuel consumption and the driving distance. Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emission of CO2. Which were induced by your activities in a given time frame.
B. Calculating Our Carbon Footprint
If you want to know how much your carbon footprint production, you can check by carbon footprint calculator online, just type "carbon footprint calculator online" on the search engine such as, google, yahoo, MSN, and ask, then tons of websites willl appears, after that you can start to calculate your carbon emission.
for example :
1. Transportation
2. Housing
[CALCULATE] (CLICK HERE )
Then your answer will be processed.
Example of carbon footprint calculator :
CARBON FOOT PRINT IN GENERALS
A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint (shown by the green slices of the pie chart) and the secondary footprint (shown as the yellow slices).
1. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these.
2. The
secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO
2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. To put it very simply – the more we buy the more emissions will be caused on our behalf.
Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year.
The best way is to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions based on the fuel consumption. In the next step you can add the CO2 emission to your carbon footprint. Below is a table for the most common used fuels:
Examples:
- For each (UK-) gallon of petrol fuel consumed, 10.4 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted.
- For each (US-) gallon of gasoline fuel consumed, 8.7 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted.
- If your car consumes 7.5 liter diesel per 100 km, then a drive of 300 km distance consumes 3 x 7.5 = 22.5 liter diesel, which adds 22.5 x 2.7 kg = 60.75 kg CO2 to your personal carbon footprint.
| fuel type | unit
| CO2 emitted per unit
|
| Petrol | 1 gallon (UK)
| 10.4 kg
|
Petrol
| 1 liter
| 2.3 kg
|
| Gasoline | 1 gallon (USA)
| 8.7 kg
|
| Gasoline | 1 liter
| 2.3 kg
|
| Diesel | 1 gallon (UK)
| 12.2 kg
|
| Diesel | 1 gallon (USA)
| 9.95 kg |
Diesel
| 1 liter
| 2.7 kg
|
Oil (heating)
| 1 gallon (UK)
| 13.6 kg
|
| Oil (heating) | 1 gallon (USA)
| 11.26 kg |
Oil (heating)
| 1 liter | 3 kg
|
Each of the following activities add 1 kg of CO2 to your personal carbon footprint:
- Travel by public transportation (train or bus) a distance of 10 to 12 km (6.5 to 7 miles)
- Drive with your car a distance of 6 km or 3.75 miles (assuming 7.3 litres petrol per 100 km or 39 mpg)
- Fly with a plane a distance of 2.2 km or 1.375 miles.
- Operate your computer for 32 hours (60 Watt consumption assumed)
- Production of 5 plastic bags
- Production of 2 plastic bottles
Benefits of Carbon Footprint
By discovering your company's carbon footprint, and implementinga carbon management programme your business can help make a difference.
- Your company can save money by lowering operating costs and have a better management of resources
- By completing the carbon footprint, it enables you to set targets and reduce emissions
- A Companies are increasingly looking at environmental factors in identifying the most suitable suppliers
- Managers can motivate their staff and improve recruitment
- Get involved with the Carbon disclosure project (CDP) and report on your companies greenhouse gas emissions
- Meet the environmental demands of investors and bankers
- Prepare your company to meet future regulations and legislation from packaging and transport, to buildings and energy consumption
- Demonstrate your commitment to your local community to act responsibly and minimise environmental pollution.
Effects of Carbon Footprint/ CO2
It's well known that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, but just what does this mean, and what are the possible consequences of global warming?
Radiation from the Sun heats Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land, making life on Earth possible. The incoming radiation can easily pass through the outer atmosphere in order to reach the Earth, but much of it cannot escape as the atmosphere acts as a one way valve. Exactly how much of the radiation escapes the atmosphere depends on the concentration of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, methane etc) present. However, the so-called greenhouse effect is not a bad thing as such - without it, the temperature of the surface of the Earth would be -18°C, instead of the actual value of about 15°C. So what's all the fuss about?
The main worry is that, as previously mentioned, the amount of radiation which escapes depends on the concentration of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere - carbon emissions add to the concentration, meaning that less radiation escapes. This means that the surface temperature of the Earth increases - by 0.6°C ± 0.2°C over the last century. This may not sound like much, but the warming will increase with time, and could have disastrous consequences. These might include:
Sea level rise - densely settled coastal plains would become uninhabitable with just a small rise in sea level, which would result from melting of the ice caps
Impacts on agriculture - Global warming could have major effects on agricultural productivity
Reduction of the ozone layer - Warming would result in increase high cloud cover in winter, giving chemical reactions a platform in the atmosphere, which could result in depletion of the ozone layer
Increased extreme weather - A warmer climate could change the weather systems of the earth, meaning there would be more droughts and floods, and more frequent and stronger storms
Spread of diseases - Diseases would be able to spread to areas which were previously too cold for them to survive in
Ecosystem change - As with the diseases, the range of plants and animals would change, with the net effect of most organisms moving towards the North and South Poles As you can see, the effects of carbon dioxide emissions could be extremely far reaching and cause major problems. Even a small reduction in household emissions could help to alleviate the problems future generations are likely to face.
How to reduce your carbon footprint
Gardening and Home
- Use vegetable-based and biodegradeable cleaning products
- Use recycled wood chips to keep the weeds down, retain moisture, and prevent erosion.
- Use natural predators to control unwanted growth rather than pesticides which harm the environment.
- Water grass early in the morning. See more on Water Conservation in Gardens
- Borrow seldomly used items such as ladders, chain saws, and people.
- Put leaves in a compost heap instead of burning them or throwing them away.
- Install water barrels to collect rain water from troughs. Place a small bucket in your sink to collect water when washing produce. Use this water in the garden.
Office Work
- Reduce the need to copy and print. When you need to, copy and print on both sides of the paper
- Reuse items like envelopes, folders, and paper clips
- Set up a bulletin board for memos rather than sending copies to each employee
- Use recycled paper and recycle printer cartridges
- Use Soy based ink which is very environmentally friendly.
- Use more reusable water bottles rather than disposable cups.
- Turn off power strips and lights at the end of the day.
- Consider flexible work schedules or telecommuting.
- Switch from paper towels in restrooms to continuous cloth towels
Transportation
- Consider using your bike, feet, or mass transportation for most transportation needs
- Consider purchasing a Hybrid vehicle, an Electric Motorbike or more efficient car..
- Purchase radial tires and keep them properly inflated
- Drive during non-peak hours If you avoid heavy traffic you will not spend a significant amount of gas during stops.
- The best way to warm up a modern car is to drive it. Idling hurts engines, wastes gas, and contributes to global warming and pollution.
Food
- Increase your plant consumption. More land has to be put into agricultural production to produce meat than to produce plant products. Because the methane they belch is 23 times more effective at retaining heat than CO2, domestic animals contribute more to global warming than all human transportation combined. [1
- Buy local products. Buy goods that were produced locally rather than transported across long distances.
- Buy food at your local health food or natural food store. Most food in these stores is more expensive, but the bulk bins and bulk spices are often cheaper than grocery store equivalents and use less packaging. Bring your own reusable jars, bags or other containers.
- Be particular about the fish you eat. Many fish are over harvested or their capture has negative impacts on ocean ecosystems. In addition, some species of seafood pose health risks due to heavy metals and toxins that have built up in their systems. Choose seafood that is both sustainable and healthy.
- Vegetarian cookbooks are a great place to begin exploring meat-free options such as textured vegetable protein.
