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Your carbon imprint
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Superintendents are environmental stewards on the job. How about extending that ethic to the home front?
In a commercial shown on television in recent months, a number of men and women on the street fumble to answer the question, “What size is your carbon footprint?” This question leads to another: “What is a carbon footprint?” Viewers who study their commercials know by now that a carbon footprint is, according to man-on-the-street Frank, “the affect that my living has on the earth, in terms of the products I consume.”
Just about every aspect of our daily lives produces carbon emissions. Each resident of the United States has a hefty footprint, ranging on average about 10 tons of carbon dioxide per year for home use and automobile and plane travel. Adding goods and services increases the total to 20 to 23 tons of carbon dioxide annually for each American, roughly seven times the size of the average Asian or African footprint and about five times the world average. In contrast, the carbon footprint of someone from the United Kingdom is roughly 11 tons, half the size of the American carbon footprint. Still, the folks in the U.K. are not above reproach. According to the Sierra Club, the planet can compensate for only nine pounds of carbon dioxide per person per day, a mere 1.6 tons per year.
How big is your carbon footprint? A few Web sites offer comprehensive questionnaires for determining your carbon footprint and include detailed questions about your home insulation and whether you use energy-efficient light bulbs (www.bp.com/carbonfootprint) or how much you purchase in goods, services and health care each year (http://bie.berkeley.edu/climatefootprint.swf).
Several Web sites offer calculators for estimating your individual carbon footprint, using information such as your ZIP code, the type of car you drive, your gas and electric bill, the type of home you live in and how far you travel by air (www.carbonfootprint.com, www.conservation.org, www.terrapass.com, www.carboncounter.org). Many of these sites also encourage you to assuage your guilt over the massive amount of carbon your activities produce by donating to save a rain forest or support clean energy. Eco Business Links (www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_car
bon_reduction.htm) provides a list of businesses that sell carbon offsets and a price comparison of their products.
So Americans are big consumers and energy hogs, which you probably already knew. What can you do about it? There are some easy — and some not so easy — ways to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that you are responsible for. Decrease the amount of natural gas and electricity you use at home by using a programmable timer for central heating and cooling and use energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. Unplug your iPod and your cell phone once they’ve finished charging, and turn off the lights when you leave a room. Drive an energy-efficient car, drive fewer miles and keep your vehicle in top condition to save money and lessen your impact on the environment.
Better yet, ride a bike.
Avoid buying fruits and vegetables grown in greenhouses, and buy locally grown produce at the farmer’s market. Drink wine and beer produced in your state or region and buy clothing and other goods that are not shipped long distances. Avoid buying products with excessive packaging. Recycle paper, metals and plastics, and buy products made from recycled material.
Nearly everyone in this country can make several small changes to lighten his or her carbon footprint and protect the environment. We should all be environmental stewards.
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