Carbon FootprintWhat is a carbon footprint?How can you reduce yours?

By: Becca Brownhttp://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the

atmosphere that is caused by people, companies, etc.

A carbon footprint helps to show how much impact humans and their

activities have on the earth.

What contributes to carbon footprints?-Burning fossil fuels from vehicles, factories, etc.

-Use of electricity-Production of food

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What activities contribute to carbon footprints?

Burning fossil fuels:-Car emissions

-Use of electricity-Heating and Cooling

-Public transportation -Production of food

A Carbon Footprint is made up of two parts…

• Primary Footprint: the primary footprint is the measurement of carbon dioxide emissions that humans can control directly. The carbon dioxide emissions come from burning fossil fuels from cars, planes, factories, etc.

• Secondary Footprint: the secondary footprint is a measurement of carbon dioxide emissions in which humans have an indirect control over. The carbon dioxide emissions come from the production of products.

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Steps to reducing your carbon footprint…

At home:-Turn the thermostat down two degrees in

the winter and up two degrees in the summer.(this would help to save two thousand pounds of carbon dioxide a year)

-Replace light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.

-Unplug any chargers that you may have: iPod chargers, cell phone chargers, etc.

-Weatherize your home: double-pane windows. This could help save about ten thousand pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

-Drive a vehicle that runs on alternative fuels. Or try car pooling.

-Recyclehttp://guestofaguest.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/carbon.jpg

Steps to reducing your carbon footprint…

• In a business:– Unplug/turn off any machines and

appliances that are not being used.– If traveling far distances, instead of flying,

take a train.– If there are company cars, they should be

vehicles that use alternative fuels.– Reduce the amount of paperwork that is

printed.» If printing documents that require

more than one page, print on both sides of the paper rather than using only one side.

– Recycle

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Bibliography…• "Carbon footprint - Encyclopedia of Earth." Encyclopedia of Earth. 31 May 2009

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Carbon_footprint

• "Carbon Footprint - What Is A Carbon Footprint?." Carbon Footprint - Home of Carbon Management. 27 May 2009 http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html

• "Reducing Your Carbon Footprint - ABC News." Online news, breaking news, feature stories and more - ABC News. 29 May 2009 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=2049304&page=2

• "Reducing Carbon Footprint, Reduce Carbon Footprint, How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint." Green Student U. 29 May 2009 http://www.greenstudentu.com/encyclopedia/carbon_footprint/reduce_footprint

• "What is a carbon footprint - definition | Time for change." Time for change | For whom enough is too little - nothing is ever enough. 27 May 2009 http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition