|
Donnie Dann's
Conservation Alerts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Donnie Dann's Conservation Alerts
donniebird@yahoo.com
Your Carbon Footprint
Volume 13 Number 3 July, 2009
On April 17th 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that carbon dioxide and several other gases are pollutants that must be regulated. In a 133 page explanation they said that the underlying science was ‘compelling and overwhelming’. Earlier they proposed a rule that would require a broad range of industries to track and report their greenhouse gas emissions. 321 companies in the S.& P. 500 already track their carbon emissions and most work to reduce them. A variety of other institutions including cities such as Chicago, Highland Park, and Evanston, and universities: Chicago, California (Berkeley), Stanford and Harvard all have sustainability coordinators or their equivalent, one of whose primary functions is to measure and find ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
Should it be different for individuals? Have you ever wondered what your own carbon footprint is and what more can you do to reduce it? It is defined as the measure of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2, that are produced by burning fossil fuels through our daily activities. Why this is so important? During the past 150 years of the industrial age, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. As greenhouse gas levels increase, heat is trapped in earth’s atmosphere which significantly changes our climate. The EPA’s report said the consequences would likely include rising sea levels, an acceleration of species extinctions, changing length of seasons, increased flooding in some areas but droughts in others, and more frequent heat waves and severe storms.
There are so many little things all of us can do to reduce our personal carbon footprints:
- When away from home for an extended period of time besides turning down your thermostats, lower the settings on your hot water heater(s)
- Planting a single tree will save a ton of C02 over its lifetime
- All those electrical and electronic appliances with conventional plug-ins typically draw current even when they’re not on. Where possible cluster them on a power strip and turn the strip off when they’re not in use
- The soft conventional toilet paper requires the destruction of millions of acres of virgin forests. Try using a recycled toilet tissue as it will feel only slightly different and of a quality found in most public buildings
- Use frozen food as little as possible as it uses 10 times more energy to produce than fresh food
- Better insulating walls and ceilings, caulking and weather stripping, and replacing leaky windows can save over 25% of your home heating bill and 3,700 pounds of C02 a year. Check out Consumer Federation of America to learn more
The following links from the Nature Conservancy, Carbon Footprint, Ltd, Conservation International (there are others) give you a measuring tool whereby you can calculate your own actual greenhouse gas emissions.
Please take one of the surveys and consider changes you can make in your in your own life to reduce your carbon footprint
This Newsletter may be excerpted, reproduced or circulated without limitation. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
