Hello, my name is Laura, and I am from the USA. I calculated my carbon footprint and although I predicted that I would be close to the average person in my area, my carbon footprint was well above average. These were my results:

You: Your Region:
Transportation: 22392 kg 6387 kg
Home: 8606 kg 9385 kg
Food: 2044 kg 5551 kg
Purchases: 548 kg 2977 kg

The main contributor to my high carbon footprint is my transportation since I travel at least 14,400 miles per year for plane rides alone. My car rides total up to about 2100 miles of traveling per year. A way to reduce my amount of CO2 emissions is to carpool with other people. Since I travel so much on planes, I was curious as to why so much carbon dioxide was released, so I did a little research. First of all, a plane engine sucks in air very quickly. Only 15%of that air is actually carried through the engine; the other 85% is released back into the air and may not be completely clean. This could contribute to the high amounts of CO2 emitted from airplanes. The 15% of the air that goes through the engine is heated to high levels and then that air is passed through many different turbines. The air released from airplanes contains large amounts of CO2 and now I realize how much planes can pollute the air, but they are necessary when traveling long distances or over oceans.

An article from Boeing informed me that “Air transport contributes 2 percent of human-produced CO2 emissions and this could reach 3 percent by 2050.” This may not seem like a big deal but it really is. Boeing has produced some jet planes that are 70% more fuel efficient than earlier planes, so these may be a better option when taking my next flight; however, this airline may not be going to my destination and it may be more expensive.

It is important for everyone to examine their carbon footprint so that they can see what they might need to cut back on to make the world a healthier place to live in.

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX7w2iEqmCc
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/environment/

Hi! My name is Julia and I live in Texas. Now, one thing that everyone has in common is a hatred of traffic jams. One way to reduce traffic is by carpooling! Also, the gas that is burned every day in driving places is a subsequent factor in our nation’s carbon footprint. Usually, all the seats in your car aren’t taken up, right? Well, carpool with a friend! Not to mention all the gas money one could save, one could also help our environment! Every school day, I carpool with my sister to school! After my soccer practice, I carpool home with a friend! Do you carpool?

Hellow everyone! My name is Kang Choi. I am a 8th grader from Dominican International School. Now I’m living in Taipei, Taiwan, and I took a carbon footprint test. According to the result of the test, my carbon footprint was slightly lower than my country’s carbon footprint. I could see that my carbon footprtint was high beacause of my use of transportatins and amount of electricity that I used. Even I lived in Taiwan for three years, I still don’t know how to go to a place with public transportaitions, such as bus and MRT, because I’m still having a hard tiome with reading Chinese. So, I had to use texies or my father’s car to go. However, I often ride on the car to go to school at moring, even the distance between my house and school takes only fifteen minutes. Also, when our family go to near superamrkets, we bring the car to carry a lot of things that we buy. I learned that traveling a short distance with own transportations, like cars, causes producing great amount of the carbon footprint. So I think its better to use the public transportations which burn less amount of carbon, and carry many people at one time, for traveling not so far distance, but it will give more effect on reducuing the carbon if we use those transportations for a long distance travel.

Hellow everyone! My name is Kang Choi. I am a 8th grader from Dominican International School. Now I’m living in Taipei, Taiwan, and I took a carbon footprint test. According to the result of the test, my carbon footprint was slightly lower than my country’s carbon footprint. I could see that my carbon footprtint was high beacause of my use of transportatins and amount of electricity that I used. Even I lived in Taiwan for three years, I still don’t know how to go to a place with public transportaitions, such as bus and MRT, because I’m still having a hard tiome with reading Chinese. So, I had to use texies or my father’s car to go. However, I often ride on the car to go to school at moring, even the distance between my house and school takes only fifteen minutes. Also, when our family go to near superamrkets, we bring the car to carry a lot of things that we buy. I learned that traveling a short distance with own transportations, like cars, causes producing great amount of the carbon footprint. So I think its better to use the public transportations which burn less amount of carbon, and carry many people at one time, for traveling not so far distance, but it will give more effect on reducuing the carbon if we use those transportations for a long distance travel.

Deforestation is a worldwide issue that results in about 140,000 square meters of forest being cut down every minute, which means that there are approximately 2.8 square kilometers of forest being cleared out while I’m typing this post. This is caused by loggers and farmers cutting down trees to gain farmlands and produce wood and paper products.
Deforestation has many bad influences to the environment. The most severe impact is the loss of animal habitats of millions of species. Secondly, it causes forest soils to dry out and became deserts since the canopy of the forest is destroyed. The third effect of deforestation is that it speeds up the rate of global warming. Since trees are essential for absorb greenhouse gases which caused global warming, as trees are removed, the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere increases and will result in speeding up of global warming.
There are some ways to solve deforestation, such as recycling, and planting new trees after cutting out some. These are some simple and efficient resolutions, so why not do it? After all, we are all in the same boat.

This November, climate change scientist Bill McKibben and 350.org are hitting the road to build the movement that will change the math of the climate crisis. Check the schedule to see if you can go to learn about the program.

Hello from Anchorage, Alaska. My Climate Science class for 14-17 year old students is working on making the projected effects of climate change a little more emotive by composing speculative fictional stories set in the not too distant future. After that project, we’ll be ready and motivated to begin thinking about carbon footprints and policy options to mitigate climate change. An international student-centered discussion would be a wonderful opportunity for these students.

I believe climate change is real. Let’s look at the Ica Age for example. Back then, pollution from humans wasn’t an issue. The Earth was much, much colder than it is now; weather conditions were extreme. However, the Earth warmed, and that is how the Earth got back to this warmer state. The Earth has had natural periods of heat and coldness. Right now, we are entering a warmer stage. I think the Earth is just going through another climate change. I am not going to act like humans have had no effect on our planet. We have contributed to this warm change through pollution. I think we are to blame for the hole in the Ozone layer because we have not taken care of our home as we should. Earth naturally changes overtime, we should accept climate change as a natural process, but still be aware of how we affect this.

Hi! I’m David G. I’m from Mexico, I study 1st grade of junior high at Instituto Vanguardia. I calculated my footprint last weekend and I make 8537 kg of CO2 per year! If I may, i think that I make a lot of CO2 ‘cause I use a lot the transportation as my home necesities and food. Well, I could use less the heat. I live in the desert zone. Do you wanna know how much CO2 do you produce every single year? You can know by clicking at the website below. Bye.

Hi, my name is Jamie and I live in Texas. Deforestation is a worldwide problem that results in thousands of square miles of forest being cut down each year. This process has many negative effects on the environment.

First, cutting down trees contributes to global warming. The shade from trees helps to keep the surrounding air at a controlled temperature. Removing these trees will take away the forest’s most effective cooling mechanism, so temperatures will rise. Also, trees and other plants in forests take in carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases. If we cut down the plants in the forest, we will have nothing to absorb the extra carbon dioxide. Since the carbon dioxide will have nowhere to go, it will move into the atmosphere and damage it.

Second, deforestation strips animals and plants of their homes. Removing the trees not only gives the existing flora and fauna less space in which to live and find food, but it also exposes the exotic animal species to illegal poachers. If we continue deforestation at the current rate, we might find many animal species going extinct as a result of poaching.

There are several ways to help put an end to deforestation. An example is to only buy products (e.g. paper) that come from recycled or sustainable materials. This would keep thousands of trees from being unnecessarily cut down. Another idea is to form tree plantations. Tree plantations are responsible for planting a new tree for every tree that is cut down as a result of deforestation. If we increase the number of tree plantations in the world, it might be possible to balance the negative effects of deforestation. These are just a couple of the ways we can protect our forests; what others can you think of?