What is a Carbon Footprint? by kim

The term “carbon footprint” has become a very trendy and recognizable phrase in the last few years. Indeed a big incentive for installing or considering solar power for your home is the prospect of reducing your carbon footprint, so we thought discussing what exactly a carbon footprint is and what it actually measures might be useful. While we’re at it, we’ll also suggest a few steps you can take to reduce your personal carbon footprint (don’t worry we won’t just tell you to go solar.)

A carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gas emissions we individually produce. It’s expressed most commonly in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.

Carbon footprints are 50% of humanity’s overall ecological footprint and, as we all know, carbon and other greenhouse gases are the main culprits of climate change. The United States is numero uno when it comes to excessive carbon footprints, both in terms of total CO2 emissions and per capita emissions. So as Americans, we’re not treading lightly! We are actually stomping, (for a long time unapologetically) with elephant sized feet on our beautiful, vulnerable earth.

So now that you are hopefully sufficiently motivated to reduce your footprint, lets see what kinds of activities in our daily lives contribute to GHG emissions.

carbon-foot-print-pie-chart

Your carbon footprint consists of a primary and secondary footprint. Your primary footprint is a measure of your direct emissions of green house gases (GHGs), including transportation and domestic energy use. Transportation, including automobiles, public transit, and air travel, account for appr. 29% of total US GHG emissions. Another very important part of your carbon footprint is domestic energy use, including cooling/heating, lighting, electrical appliances, etc.

Your secondary footprint is a measure of indirect GHG emissions from the whole life cycle of products we use. This includes the food we eat, the clothes we buy, the products we consume and throw away, and the list goes on. The way to reduce your secondary footprint is to reduce your consumption (stop buying so much stuff!) or make choices to buy sustainable produces with smaller footprints.

Here’s a list of things you can do to make your home and your life more energy efficient and sustainable:

Use reusable water bottles.
Buy items with less packaging.
Buy locally grown foods.
Eat less meat.
Buy second-hand.
Stop junk mail.
Donate old electronics to charity.
Take public transportation.
Ride your bike and walk.
Inflate your tires.
Lower your thermostat.
Unplug seldom-used appliances.
Switch to Energy Star or other energy efficient appliances.
Check your insulation levels.
Teleconference instead of flying.
Plant native trees.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Buy renewable energy (Go Solar!)

Regarding this last tip, electricity generation produces 40% of carbon emissions in the US. If you decide to go solar, you can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint: Each solar kilowatt hour (kWh) offsets more than a pound of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Otherwise stated, by installing a 4kw PV system, the average size for a California household, you can reduce your carbon emissions equal to driving more than 12,000 miles in an average passenger car, or equal to the amount of C02 absorbed by ~1 acre of trees.

Another way to reduce your carbon footprint is by offsetting your carbon emissions. When you buy a carbon offset, you fund projects that reduce emissions, such as by restoring forests, updating power plants and factories or increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and transportation. So there are lots of ways for you to begin reducing your imprint on earth.