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Carbon Footprint
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The story so far The Carbon Cycle Graphing CO2 Alternative energies
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Where does the CO2 from the Carbon Cycle go?
Carbon sink: is a reservoir of carbon that accumulates and stores carbon for an indefinite period. The main sinks are: Absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans Photosynthesis by plants and algae to turn the carbon into plant matter Injection of CO2 emissions deep into geological subsurface
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Before 1960?
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What is a Carbon Footprint?
A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
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The mitigation of carbon footprints through the development of alternative projects, such as solar or wind energy or reforestation, represents one way of reducing a carbon footprint and is often known as Carbon offsetting The main influences on carbon footprints include population, economic output, and energy and carbon intensity of the economy.
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How the US Compares The average American has a carbon footprint of 28 tons CO2/year The global average carbon footprint is ~6 tons CO2/year/person
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How the US Compares
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Brainstorm What are some ways that you cause carbon to be released every day?
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CO2 emissions Google estimates 0.2 g CO2 for the electricity it uses when you enter a search term 0.1g CO2 for 20 seconds of use from an efficient 20 watt laptop Local network and servers would use 0.1 g CO2 Maintenance on the whole system (replacing parts ect.) doubles the above figures Total = 0.8 g CO2
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A web search Searching the web non-stop for a year Does not include
5 tons CO2 Does not include Wearing clothes Keeping warm Burning calories Getting closer to your next need for medical attention Living in a building that needs maintenance Ect.
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Spending 1$ In our current energy system it is very difficult to spend a dollar without it adding to your carbon footprint
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Spending $1 Exception would be spending on something that reduces net emissions Minus 220 kg (485 lbs) CO2 on a well executed rainforest preservation project Minus 2 kg (4.4 lbs) CO2 on solar panels
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Spending $1 In the middle of the spectrum would be spending on groceries 620 g (1.37 lbs) CO2 per $1 Flying is among the worst activities for carbon emissions 10 kg (22 lbs) of CO2 per $1
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10 lbs of trash The average US citizen sends 1,250 lbs of garbage to landfills each year The average US citizen recycles 640 lbs of garbage each year Landfill emissions are produced when the garbage decomposes (methane) Sending metals, glass, plastics and paper to landfills (rather than recycling them) forces new materials to be produced for future products It takes much more energy to make a new product from raw materials than it does to make one from recycled materials
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10 lbs of trash Garden waste Average trash contents
910 g (2 lbs) CO2 Average trash contents 3.1 kg (7 lbs) CO2 Aluminum and copper 41 kg (90 lbs) CO2
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Leaving the lights on Light on continuously for 1 year
Depends on where you are Iceland produces almost all of its electricity from fossil fuel free geothermal and hydroelectric power plants The US produces much more of its electricity from fossil fuels
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Leaving the lights on Low energy bulb 1 year 90 kg (198 lbs) CO2
Assuming US electricity generation Low energy bulb 1 year 90 kg (198 lbs) CO2 100-watt incandescent bulb 500 kg (1,100 lbs)
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A bottle of water Most emissions come from packaging and transport
80 g CO2 just from the plastic
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A bottle of water Locally sourced and using local distribution
110 g CO2 Traveling 600 miles by road 215 g CO2 Bottled water is 1000X more carbon intensive than tap water The world consumes 53 billion gallons of bottled water a year which accounts for 1/6th of a percent of TOTAL world GHG emissions
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A Burger
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The energy that you use to live and move around came from the sun
The energy that you use to live and move around came from the sun. Which is a more efficient way to transfer energy from the sun to you? : 1 and 2 are equal
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A Burger Animal products tend to be more carbon intensive than vegetables and grains because animals consume a lot of energy just to keep themselves warm and move around Converting animal feed into meat and milk is inherently inefficient
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A Burger In addition to being inefficient…
Cows/sheep are ruminants They belch out methane (CH4) Beef/lamb has double the carbon footprint (per kilogram of meet) of pork Excessive demand for meat provides an incentive for deforestation to provide more grazing land
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A Burger Beef cheeseburger Veggie Burger 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) CO2
If you ate nothing but cheeseburgers for a year, your carbon footprint from food alone would be 4.6 tons CO2
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Using a cell phone Depends on how often you use it
Components of footprint Manufacturing of phone 16 kg (35 lbs) CO2 Power over 2 years 6 kg (13 lbs) CO2 Energy required to transmit calls across network 66 kg (146 lbs)
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Using a cell phone 1 minute cell-to-cell phone call has the same carbon footprint as an apple =
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Using a cell phone 1/4th of a percent of global emissions
As of 2009 there were 2.7 billion cell phones in use (almost half the world) Cell phone calls account for about 125 million tons CO2 1/4th of a percent of global emissions Texting is a much lower carbon option
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Using a cell phone A year’s typical usage of just under 2 minutes per day 47 kg (103 lbs) CO2 A year’s usage of 1 hour per day 1,250 kg (2,760 lbs) CO2
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Brainstorm What are some ways you could reduce your carbon footprint?
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