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How can i reduce my ecological footprint essay
How can we lessen our dependence on fossil fuels
Ecological footprint
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The planet earth is forever changing and evolving. It is true the Earth’s resources are quickly running out as humans senselessly destroy natural ecosystems for personal benefits. The planet we have lived on all our lives has been depleted day after day in order to keep up with the population demands. But it iss time to say enough to the endless destruction and begin the reconstruction of Earth’s bountiful properties. The documentary, ‘No Impact Man’, demonstrated that living without non-essential products can be done. Although it was quite difficult at times for Colin Beavan and his wife, Michelle, to go without some of their most desired treats for an entire year, but they proved it possible. Their goal was to leave no impact on the earth …show more content…
My estimated greenhouse gas emissions were calculated to be somewhere near 16 tons of 〖CO〗_2 produced on a yearly basis. This is while living in a dorm room on campus as the University of South Florida and imputing results including that I live in a 2-4 unit apartment building with only minor control over my ability to heat and cool efficiently. Also, I partake in recycling and composting sometimes, mostly when it’s convenient, and I don’t sort my waste very well. Due to my financial situation I indicated I don’t use any energy star appliances although I make sure to power them on only while in use. I have no control over the types of lighting installed in my dorm room or several other factors increasing my carbon output including insulation, the air condition efficiency, or the heating and cooling of water efficiently. I do have the capability to reduce my use and eliminate much of my 〖CO〗_2 output. While my estimated greenhouse gas emission levels were below the U.S national average of 27 tons, I still find my results to be unacceptable. After all the world average per person was 5.5 tons. With the information I learned about how to live responsibly and my plans for change I will strive to reduce this number to 10 tons or less. The process of calculating my Carbon Footprint has been an eye opening experience. Never have I consider how much my daily activities impacted the environment but with the information below I will make changes in order to preserve my home on Mother Earth. Following the completion of the Green Living Quiz, I realized there was far more that I could do to preserve the planet. It seemed it would make it harder and it would be rather expensive to do my part, but then I realized there are ways around costly measures such as simply reducing my use of modern technologies and limiting my use of non-renewable resources as much as
Pollan even agrees that becoming friendlier to the environment may seem like a bit too much. Scientists may even show that it could even be too late to save the planet from the climate change. One NASA climate scientist, James Hansen, began warning about global warming 20 years ago. According to Hansen, the amount of carbon we are emitting is going to change the world as we know it. Scientists have seen the climate change affect the world on a grander scale as of today and we are seeing ice caps melt at both poles. The sunlight that used to reflect off of the ice back into space is now being absorbed into the soil and creating a warmer environment. This is causing global warming to occur faster than most scientists predicted. There are ways to possibly slow down the carbon footprint each person is leaving on the world. By growing a garden and even making some of your own food can lessen the carbon footprint each person
As time passes, our population continues to increase and multiply; yet, on the other hand, our planet’s resources continue to decrease and deplete. As our population flourishes, human beings also increase their demands and clamor for the Earth’s natural products, yet are unable to sacrifice their surplus of the said resources. Garret Hardin’s work highlighted the reality that humans fail to remember that the Earth is finite and its resources are limited. Hardin’s article revealed that people are unable to fathom that we indeed have a moral obligation to our community and our natural habitat — that we are not our planet’s conquerors but its protectors. We fail to acknowledge and accept that we only have one Earth and that we must protect and treasure it at all costs. Despite all our attempts at annihilating the planet, the Earth will still be unrelenting — it will still continue to be present and powerful. Human beings must recognize that we need this planet more than it needs us and if we persist on being egocentric and covetous, in the end it is us who will
One starting point to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that you release is to find your carbon footprint. The carbon
With every passing year, human beings are emitting more and greenhouse gases than the previous year. The world right now is at a stage where there is no time to look back and wait for things to happen on its own. We should try everything possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that enough opportunities are made available for future generation and there is scope for sustainable development by proper utilization and not by exploitation. The poorest of all should have hope for a better future.
In terms of home energy, twenty-four tons are produced largely due to my dorm. My dorm room accounts for twenty-one tons on its own. However, due to my reluctance to control the usage of air conditioning, three tons are produced this way as well. Efficient lighting reduces half a ton of emissions. In the driving and flying category, I produce zero tons due to no flights in the past year and I do not own a vehicle. Although occasionally eating organic food removes close to a ton of emissions, I create five tons of emissions solely by my meat consumption. I remove one fifth of my waste by recycling but still manage to create almost a full ton of emissions in trash creation. In comparison to the average American’s carbon emissions (twenty-seven tons), I produce thirty tons. This is terrible on my behalf because I am a culprit in the issue of environmental impact. The world average for carbon emissions ranges around five and a half tons. I create nearly six times more than the average human worldwide. This is embarrassing and I will look to reduce my carbon footprint. I find it interesting that I produce more than the average American, despite not using forms of transportation. The reduction of air conditioning, even by a few degrees, is beneficial to the environment and energy usage. However, due to living in a shared environment, my suitemates are likely against this decision. In my
Other things we can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is by using less heat and air conditioning. Some experts say that by just reducing the heat by 2 degrees in the winter and higher in the summer, it can save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. By reducing, reusing and recycling half of household waste, we can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. There are things a person can do without even thinking about that can help the cause of climate change, such as replacing your lightbulbs, driving less, driving smart, buying energy-efficient products, using less hot water, planting trees and encouraging others to conserve.
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, we have been using fossil fuels to power our lives, and factories. Little did we know that our miracle energy producer was destroying our planet. The burning of fossil fuels produces a byproduct called carbon dioxide. This natural occurring gas does not harm the planet in any way when released in small quantities, but at the rate we have released it, there is nowhere for it to go so it becomes trapped in the atmosphere. When the gas becomes trapped in the atmosphere, it creates a “Green House” effect. This effect causes the surface temperature to rise, which has adverse effects on the planet. A number of bills to regulate carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have been proposed and even accepted,
The ecosystems around the world are vital aspects of our everyday lives. Without the many resources and materials we harvest or use, life as we know it would be drastically different. In modern society, money is prioritized over essential benefits from nature. Due to this unfortunate truth, the stability of the environment has decreased on a global scale. Several of these issues include pollution, destruction of habitats, and causing species to go extinct due to events such as overfishing. Another human-caused problem is deforestation, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest.
One way to “go green” is to use mass transit or ride a bicycle more often as cars are one of the main culprits in carbon dioxide emissions. By leaving the car in park and taking a bus or riding a bike just once a week can significantly cut down on emissions from American’s cars. Other ways to “go green” include planting trees and stopping deforestation. Trees absorb the carbon dioxide that causes global warming, but thousands of trees are harvested every day all across the country. According to “Solutions,” “Taken together, tropical deforestation and emissions from agriculture represent nearly 30% or the world’s heat-trapping emissions.” In this quote, the writer explains that nearly one-third of the carbon dioxide is from deforestation combined with agricultural emissions. Americans need to reverse this problem; Americans should cut down on deforestation and plant more trees! Another way to “go green” is to spread the word. One single American cannot reverse global warming. All Americans must take up the calling to stop global warming in America. Americans must spread the word to not only their fellow Americans, but also to the rest of the world. To lead in a global effort to stop global warming, Americans must “go green” to prevent the catastrophic consequences of global
The country’s average for carbon footprint is 91.43 global acres. My personal carbon footprint is 42.71 global acres. The country’s average carbon footprint is nearly double of mine. My carbon footprint is smaller than I expected. The country’s average for food footprint is 65.74 global acres. My personal food footprint is 52.59 global acres. I have a garden, as well as compost, which may have contributed to my lower number. The country’s average for housing footprint is 31.58 global acres. My personal housing footprint is 28.18 global acres. I live with three other people, which contrib...
Whether construction companies are mowing down rainforests to make room for their new 5-star hotel or a child is plucking dandelions off the ground to make a flower crown, we are using Earth’s resources to our benefit.
One of the most compelling and difficult environmental problems society is facing today is climate change. People do not realize how much the environment has changed for the worse in the last ten years, until they are told that the last two decades of the 20th century have been the hottest in the last 400 years, according to climate studies (Conserve Energy Future). Today the carbon dioxide levels have reached 396.81 parts per million (ppm). “Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also increased over the last 100 years-- from about 300 ppm to 370 ppm. Interestingly, the majority of these additions have occurred in the last 50 years, when temperature increases have been slowest” (geocraft). There are no known solutions yet to reverse these effects in the environment, however there are many things people can do to prevent it from increasing. By implementing a carbon tax the government can tax corporations on how much carbon they emit into the atmosphere. With the extra money from the tax, scientist can invest in alternative ways to reduce how much carbon is emitted. Reducing climate change is going to take years and so nothing is going to get fixed anytime soon, but meanwhile we can use that extra money to begin cleaning up the atmosphere. There are many ways to explain climate change, some say its due to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, others say it is the burning of the fossils fuels, some even say it’s the greenhouse gases. All of these sayings mean the exact same thing, no matter how one says it. I believe there are more convenient ways to solve climate change; and if the government would to implement a carbon tax on companies they will then be forced to re-evaluate all the carbon they emit to the environment and red...
An article by Food and Agriculture of the United Nations stated that “roughly one-third of the food produced in the world (1.3 billion tons) for human consumption every year gets wasted.” In the articles “America is saving tons of food, thanks to a student volunteer's great idea” by The Washington Post, “Opinion: Ending world hunger by stopping food waste in the fields” by Bjorn Lomborg, Project Syndicate, and “Would you eat food made with ‘trash?’” by Emily Matchar, the authors introduce different ways society can annul food waste worldwide. Although others may disagree, it is clear that there are many ways to excise food waste worldwide such as using a food tracker app, increasing the efficiency of food production, and practicing food conversion.
“We are consuming the Earth’s natural resources beyond its sustainable capacity of renewal” said by Herman Daly, Beyond Growth, Boston 1996, 61[1] .
The way I live compared to a few classmates of mine, I have the most impact on the earth. As well as compared to my whole class I would say that I change the environment more than an average person would. For example my total footprint according to the ecological footprint quiz I took is about 28 acres. With the results that it had given me I suspect that my actions of using a lot of services and the way I use my transportation, are the most impactful way I affect the earth. The reason my mobility on the quiz is one of the highest percentages from the categories is because I drive a good amount, and on top of that I have truck that does not get good gas mileage which in results give off more emissions to pollute the air. I was not surprised with my ecological footprint because I knew I impacted my environment greatly, but did not know the exact or estimated amount. In comparison to my classmates I also was not surprised that we all affected the earth greater than an average person because I knew that I did, so it led me to think that there were people who in similar amount affect the