Summer, the perfect time for change

Summer, the perfect time for change.

I have a confession to make. I work at a green store, I recycle, I compost, I shop at farmer’s markets and eat organic food as often as possible, but… my carbon footprint is nowhere near as low as it should be. After using an online calculator I found out that I emit about 21 tons of greenhouse gases ever year. The average American household of 4 emits about 27 tons, so while I am under the average I am not very proud of my accomplishments. You know what the world average is? 5.5 tons! Yes, I emit 14.5 more tons of greenhouse gases a year than the average world citizen, which is almost triple. So, what is a carbon footprint you ask? And how can someone who is already taking the right steps increase her earth-friendly ways without sacrificing some of life’s luxuries? I’ll tell you.

A carbon footprint essentially measures the impact our actions have on the environment. It takes into account what we consume as individuals including how we travel, where we travel to, what we eat, what we buy, where we buy it and what we throw away. The footprint measures our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as other greenhouse gases we produce just by living our lives the way we do. We create greenhouse gases from the production of an item, such as a car, from its lifespan, driving a car, until its destruction, once we let the car sit rusting away in an empty lot.

Greenhouse gases are the environment’s kryptonite. Some of these toxins include; carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, etc. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble pronouncing many of those and just like the doctor tells you not to eat anything you can’t pronounce, the earth doesn’t want to eat anything it can’t pronounce.

Now, what can I do to lower my carbon footprint? I need to make the same simple choices that you can make every day. I will tell you how to easily change six areas of your life, keeping in mind the most basic principles of going green: reduce, reuse, recycle.

It is June 1, 2009, my goal is to get my footprint down to 17.5 by September 1, 2009. Three months. Let’s go.

To calculate your carbon footprint visit The Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the Carbon Footprint Calculator. It asks you simple questions and calculates your results, also providing you with tips on how to decrease your carbon emissions.

Find your footprint, set a goal, and let’s have a greener summer.

-Emma

*Thanks to www.treehugger.com for providing more information about carbon footprints.