Carbon Dioxide: The New Pollutant?

What’s your carbon footprint? This is the latest, hot topic in the environmental arena, and everyone seems to be jumping on the band wagon. There are even calculators out on the web to help you determine you personal footprint, and provide tips for reducing it. Here’s just a couple that I found when I Googled:

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

And these were just the first three to pop up in a web search!

So, what’s my carbon footprint? One site calculated it at 3.9 tons per year; another estimated it at 12.32 tons per year, but they included ‘secondary’ carbon emissions based on my lifestyle; still another estimated my footprint at 100 tons per year (which is still, according to the calculator, below the US national average).

The disparities in the calculations are a result of differences in what is counted (primary versus secondary carbon emissions) and what assumptions are used in the calculations. Luckily, most do compare your footprint to the US National average (based on their calculations), so you can at least get a relative idea.

So what? In the end, all of these sites were going for the same thing – we all need to ‘reduce our carbon footprint’ – or in common vernacular, we should all try to PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT. What a novel concept!

In my mind, all this talk is less about carbon dioxide as a pollutant, and more about putting a new spin on a continuing struggle to protect this wonderful, amazing, living, breathing planet we live on.

In keeping with the green message – here are some tips on reducing your carbon footprint:

· Buy ENERGYSTAR appliances and products (http://www.energystar.gov/),
· Walk or ride a bike instead of driving (not only is it good for the environment – it’s good for YOU),
· Reduce, reuse, recycle (remember this tag line?)
· Use recycled products,
· Buy food with little/no packaging (this means giving up some of the convenience food, folks!),
· Buy/drive fuel-efficient vehicles (anyone else out there disgusted with the SUV commercials that tout 20 MPG as wonderful?)
· Turn the lights off, turn the heat down, and don’t waste water (OK, perhaps that last one isn’t so much about your carbon footprint;),
· Buy local foods whenever possible – not only is the quality generally better, but the food wasn’t trucked half way around the globe. And beware organic labels – check where they were PRODUCED!

So, what do you do to reduce your carbon footprint? Please share!