What's My Carbon Footprint?

by Dr. Ken Pollock

According to the UK Carbon Trust a carbon footprint is "the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product".

Whenever you use energy created from fossil fuels such as oil or coal, you're generating carbon emissions, which increases the level of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. Your carbon footprint is created by day-to-day corporate and personal activities such as driving, flying, heating or cooling your home or business and using electrical appliances.

Even the products you purchase can contribute to your carbon footprint because of the energy that was required to create and transport them. There are many products available to help you reduce your carbon footprint, and in many cases reduce your costs, such as recycled products, efficient light bulbs, solar energy and more.

Determining your “carbon footprint” means to measure the amount of greenhouse gases that you are adding into the atmosphere. The term was coined from carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is the main contributor to climate change.

When you offset your personal carbon emissions, you are doing your much-needed part in helping to put an end to global warming and climate change. In addition to making the world a better place, you just might also score a few popularity points with your friends and family.

You can offset your personal carbon emissions through a reputable firm like EcoAid or others who use those offsets to invest in green projects that create efficient energy such as wind power , solar power, farm power, plant trees, and more. Make sure the firm you purchase your carbon credits/offsets from is a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange or the European Climate Exchange, the only third party verified sources of carbon credits.

To take an active role in neutralizing your carbon emissions today use an individual carbon calculator to determine your carbon footprint. You might be surprised how much carbon we create every day, and hopefully learn a little about where you can make some positive changes.

We’re all concerned about the air we breathe, the water we drink and the environmental legacy we leave behind for our children and grandchildren. As we all become more aware of how our behavior affects the environment around us, it’s important to proactively engage in ways to reduce our individual, business and institutional carbon footprints.

Buying carbon credits, which result in the funding of “green projects”, making fewer trips to the store, running the dishwater at night, supporting “green businesses”, teaching our children environmental responsibility and simply turning off the lights when we’re not in the room can all make a difference in the world in which we live.

About the Author:

Dr. Ken Pollock is EcoAid’s Chief Executive Officer, sets the strategy for the company. www.ecoaidnow.com. Read more of his articles at www.buycarboncreditsandoffsets.com. In addition, he will be launching http://carbon-school.com in the near future to provide the training and tools for individuals, businesses and institutions. He has a PhD in Chemical Engineering.

Your Ecological Footprint: More Than CO2

Typical Earthship, an autonomous home using earth-filled tires.  It's own thermal mass is used to regulate temperature.

The term carbon footprint has been growing in popularity over the past several years, primarily due to the heightened awareness of climate change. A carbon footprint consists of the net greenhouse gases emitted by an entity, individual, organization or nation. Personal carbon calculators define a carbon footprint as the net carbon dioxide attributable to an individual over a one year period. Since there are many different greenhouse gases, the specific gas(es) must be converted to tonnes or kilograms of equivalent carbon dioxide.

Very often, the term carbon footprint is confused with another term called ecological footprint. Carbon footprint only considers net greenhouse gases emitted, whereas ecological footprint is much more encompassing. The ecological footprint is a calculation of productive land and water required by an individual, both in terms of usage and also to absorb wastes that the individual produces. A carbon footprint is specified in tonnes or kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. An ecological footprint is expressed in terms of global hectares. An ecological footprint is broken into four consumption categories: carbon, goods and services, housing and food. The carbon category includes transportation and home energy use.
 
An ecological footprint can also be broken down by ecosystem types or biomes. These consist of forestland, pasture land, cropland and marine fisheries. In addition to consumption categories, waste must also be considered. Scientists have calculated the average per capita ecological footprint to be approximately 23.5 global hectares. On a renewable basis there are only 15.7 global hectares available meaning that we are collectively overshooting the Earth's ecological capacity by almost 50%.

There are several ways of reducing both an individual's carbon footprint and ecological footprint. One significant but controversial way is to shift from a meat to a vegetarian diet. According to a recent study, it was determined that a vegetarian diet was more environmentally friendly than a meat diet. It requires approximately 0.18 global hectares per person while a meat diet (high fat) requires almost five times as much, or 0.85 global hectares per person per year. There are many contributing factors for the meat diet, including deforestation and energy required for processing / transportation. And don't forget cow flatulence. Scientists have estimated that the meat consumption life cycle contributes 18% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. More emissions results in larger effect on the climate.

Another method of reducing one's ecological footprint is to buy local fresh food from farmers markets and preferably organically produced. It is important to eliminate transportation and refrigeration costs as much as possible. Organic foods eliminate the environmental impact of pesticides (including transportation and packaging). Farmers markets generally incorporate less packaging materials and food is fresh with no refrigeration or electricity requirements. More environmentally friendly all around.

When purchasing a new house there are many green initiatives that should be considered. Take advantage on the house orientation towards the sun for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Consider rooftop gardens and soil-less turf on outside walls as was showcased by the Beijing Olympic exhibition hall. Passive solar heating, water efficient fixtures, sustainable building materials and other green design features should be incorporated where possible.

It is estimated that households can reduce their water footprint by 60% just by adopting more conservative water usage. To further reduce your carbon footprint beyond what has already been suggested, try changing your driving habits; avoid excessive acceleration/deceleration, drive with your lights off if possible, turn off the air conditioner. And don't forget to take mass transit at every opportunity.

This article was originally published in EzineArticles with the title Carbon Footprint Versus Ecological Footprint.   Author Steve Auger.