The project
Using fossil fuels and electric appliances creates carbon emissions. Using refrigeration agents produces carbonized waste gases. Certain industries like small scale industries do open-air combustion activities. Combustion creates carbon monoxide that is absorbed by the atmosphere causing it harm.
Resources required
An excel sheet to track your carbon emissions, online carbon footprint calculator, electronic calculator.
Instructions
1) Check how much electricity you have consumed
Review your electricity bill. If you do not know how to figure out the stats of your electricity consumption, check with your local electricity supply company on how to read and understand it.
Check the kilowatt usage in hours. Fill this number in an online carbon footprint calculator.
2) Check your gasoline expenses
Gasoline cripples the environment with heavy emissions that come from exhausts of vehicles. That is why go-green initiatives stress upon the usage of public transport or hybrid vehicles to commute. Check your gasoline expenditure in a month. Enter your car’s make, model, and the volume of gasoline consumed in the online carbon footprint calculator.
3) Air travel creates tremendous carbon footprint
Airplanes consume humungous amounts of fossil fuel. But it cannot be helped, because without it airplanes would not fly! But one thing that can be helped is to reduce your airline travel. Check how many times in a month or year you took an aero plane to travel.
4) Review your daily eating consumption
Buying imported ingredients or food creates carbon footprint. Buying locally grown vegetables, fruits or general food does not. Calculate which categories of food you eat fall in the former category.
5) Download a carbon footprint calculator
This is actually the first thing you should do. There are various types of carbon footprint calculators. Download one from the internet. Use one that is applicable to you. You may want to calculate the carbon footprint for your house, or for your firm. Both of them have separate carbon footprint calculators.
To get more assistance on this contact your local environment control board or agency. They will be able to give you more guidance on this. They may have a very good carbon footprint calculator with them.
Things to watch out for
Walk to work or use the bicycle to reduce your carbon footprint. When you drive, do not accelerate suddenly and brake randomly. Use lighting and electric appliances that consume less electric energy. Make small adjustments to your lifestyle to create a positive change to the world around you.
