Tallahassee Community College Carbon Footprint Sociology Essay

IE9: Your lifestylechoices and carbon
footprint
You will earn 12 points for using the online calculator and reporting and commenting
on its results. Only about 50 words are necessary to address the two simple questions
asked below.
Instructions: Building an environmentally sustainable way of life requires each of us
thinking about our everyday habits. In this assignment you’ll go to the website below
and you’ll be asked about what you do each day to eat, get around, be comfortable,
have fun, etc. This website’s calculator will measure your energy use and the resulting
carbon emissions from that consumption of energy. Thinking about our ecological or
carbon “footprint” (like a foot leaves a print on the ground with each step, our actions
leave an “footprint” upon the environment) can make us aware of our personal impact,
and the impact of hundreds of millions like us, have upon problems like climate change
So go to this carbon footprint calculator to find out:
https://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm
Follow the directions at this website to enter your household’s consumer habits – be
sure to do all the tabs (from “Get Started” to “Take Action” near the top of the web
page. After you reach the end of the website’s calculator, turn in:
1) How many tons of carbon your household emits per year, and how this compares to
the average household in your area.
2) What do you learn from the results about your contribution to climate change?
If your results are below average, note that the typical American’s carbon footprint is
twice that of a typical European—who have the same level of wealth as us—and 10
times that of a typical person living in India—who is much poorer than you.
Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (adapted from http://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/)





















GENERAL TIPS
Reduce, reuse and recycle. It has been estimated that 29% of greenhouse gas emissions result from the
“provision of goods,” which means the extraction of resources, manufacturing, transport, and final
disposal of “goods” which include consumer products and packaging, building components, and
passenger vehicles, but excluding food. By buying used products and reselling or recycling items you no
longer use, you dramatically reduce your carbon footprint from the “provision of goods.”
Live simply. Think carefully about the type of activities you do in your spare time. Do they contribute a
large amount carbon emissions? Live simply and find pleasure in non-consumptive activities.
Support clean energy. Advocate and vote for politicians who will take action against climate
change, including supporting energy alternatives to fossil fuels, like wind, solar, hydroelectric
and biomass energy projects (this is perhaps the most important thing you can do).
TRANSPORTATION
Alternatives to driving. If possible, carpool, use public transportation, walk or ride your bike.
Buy a more efficient vehicle, or use your vehicle efficiently and keep it well maintained. Speeding
around wastes gas and money and increases your carbon footprint. Properly inflated tires improve your
gas mileage by up to 3%, and keeping your engine tuned can increase fuel efficiency by up to 40%.
Combine errands to make fewer trips. Remove excess weight from your car.
Alternatives to flying. Since air travel is an intensive use of fossil fuels, fly less frequently, fly shorter
distances, and fly economy class (it’s like carpooling). If you travel for business, increase your use of
video-conferencing tools like Skype and Facetime.
HOUSE AND HOME
Insulate and seal your home. Avoid heating and cooling costs and related emissions by educing drafts
and air leaks with caulk, insulation, and weather stripping. Many states or local governments offer free
programs and incentives to facilitate this.
Appliances. Make energy efficiency a primary consideration when choosing a new furnace, air
conditioning unit, dishwasher, or refrigerator. Products bearing the ENERGY STAR are recognized for
having superior efficiency.
Lighting. Turn off lights you’re not using and when you leave the room. Replace incandescent light bulbs
with compact flourescent or LED ones.
Thermostat. Don’t set it too high or low. Take off or put on clothes rather than turning up the A/C or
heater. Install a programmable thermostat to turn off the heat/air conditioning when you’re not home.
Take shorter showers. A 15 minute hot shower each day can contribute up to a ton of CO2 annually.
Solar. If you can afford it, add solar panels to the roof of your home if you own it.
FOOD AND WATER
Eat locally-produced and organic food. It has been estimated that 13% of CO2 emissions in the U.S.
result from the production and transport of food.
Cut the beef and dairy. It takes a lot of resources to raise cows. Some graze on land that used to be
forest but was cleared for agricultural use, and deforestation is a top contributor to carbon emissions.
Water usage. Lower the amount of energy used to pump, treat, and heat water by washing your car less
often, and make water-efficient choices when purchasing shower heads, faucet heads, toilets,
dishwashers and washing machines.

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