1. Carbon Footprint

2. The story so far
The Carbon Cycle
Graphing CO2
Alternative energies

3. 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

6. Before 1960?

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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

10. How the US Compares

11. Brainstorm
What are some ways that you cause carbon to be released every day?

12. 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

13. 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.

14. Spending 1$
In our current energy system it is very difficult to spend a dollar without it adding to your carbon footprint

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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)

21. A bottle of water Most emissions come from packaging and transport
80 g CO2 just from the plastic

22. 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

23. A Burger

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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)

29. Using a cell phone
1 minute cell-to-cell phone call has the same carbon footprint as an apple =

30. 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

31. 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

32. Brainstorm
What are some ways you could reduce your carbon footprint?