CARBON FOOTPRINT : The Climate is changing, why aren’t we?
Say “climate change” and see how most people react. At first, many would just quietly glaze over and would eventually be indifferent towards it. Climate change isn’t just about words, but it’s the biggest threat we are facing at present. One significant way to combat climate change is by reducing your carbon footprint. What is carbon footprint? Just like an actual footprint, it’s a mark you leave upon the environment, not with your ‘shoes’, but with every action that releases carbons. Those are the harmful gases such as CO2 that are pumped out by burning fossil fuels like oil and gas. The more fuel you use, the bigger your footprint will be. The expression “carbon footprint” is often used as a shorthand for the quantity of carbon emitted by an activity or organization. Carbon emissions affect the planet significantly as the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere spur climate change. Although greenhouse gases do occur naturally, human activities contribute a great deal to greenhouse gas emissions. Your carbon footprint – or your impact on the environment – measures the greenhouse gases that you are responsible for creating. The carbon footprint is currently 60% of humanity’s overall ecological footprint and is the most rapidly growing component. It’s further shocking that humanity’s carbon footprint has increased 11-fold since 1961.
Carbon footprints are different from a country’s reported per capita emissions. Rather than the greenhouse emissions associated with production, carbon footprints focus on the greenhouse emissions associated with consumption.So your carbon footprint measures the environmental impact your lifestyle has. You may think that while driving your car, the only garbage released comes from the engine, but NO! Consider the carbons that are admitted just to get fuel into the tank, from the energy needed to extract the oil from underground, the pollution caused by transportation, and refinement to the final delivery to your local petrol station!
Is there a Solution?
Yes! You can start the process of reducing carbon emissions by calculating your carbon footprints. Once you know your carbon footprint, and what part of your lifestyle contributes the most to it, you can then find ways to reduce your impact. Switching to renewables, buying energy-efficient electrical appliances, relying on locally available resources than depending on the ones that are shipped from overseas are fairly quick and easy to implement steps that can reduce your carbon footprints. We can tackle this problem only if we act now. On an individual level, we must get into the habit of recycling and avoiding the wastage of resources. Also, we must plant trees as a single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime. Always remember, the change begins with you because if you don’t act, then who will? It is impossible to undo the damage, but it’s possible to stop further harm!