"Carbon Footprint" refers to the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activities and their impact on the environment. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide and includes everything from what we eat to how we travel. For example, when you eat a hamburger the carbon footprint of your meal includes the amount of pollutants produced by the tractor that harvested the grain used to feed the cow and the wheat that made the flour, the bakery that made the bun, and the vehicles used to transport the ingredients to the store or restaurant where you bought it.
The carbon footprint of a typical person consists of the following:
4% Clothing and Personal Items
5% Food and Beverage
6% Air Travel
7% Share of Car Manufacturing
9% Home and Furnishings
12% Electricity
13% Transportation, Public and Private
14% Recreation
15% Gas, Oil and Coal
15% Share of Public Services & Financial Services
As you may notice, many of the largest categories consist of modern innovations which include indoor climate control, electronics, and travel. In recent years there has been a large increase in public awareness of environmentally products and lifestyles, such as buying local, eating organic, and recycling. While these efforts are an important part of improving the environment, you can see that their impact is felt in a relatively small portion of the entire footprint.
A carbon footprint can also be described in two parts:
1. Primary footprint - direct emissions of carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuels such as gas and coal, including energy and transportation.
2. Secondary footprint - indirect emissions of carbon dioxide resulting from the entire lifecycle of the products we use, from manufacturing to their eventual breakdown and disposal/recycling.
You can use your own household's utility bills to get a personalized estimate of your actual carbon footprint by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency's website:
Higher numbers mean a large footprint, lower numbers mean your footprint is smaller and therefore has less impact on the environment.
