Most people might ask “what is a carbon footprint?” or “why is it important?”, and the answers can be quite simple. The actions we take each day can either effect the environment positively, or negatively. As a community, our goal should be to increase the well-being of the environment, but sometimes it is not that easy. The carbon footprint, which dictates the amount of carbon emissions, depends on us to decrease the amount of carbon that is being emitted into the atmosphere. If interventions are developed to create an eco-friendlier life, then carbon footprints can drastically reduce.
There is a list of factors that contribute to the emission of carbon such as forms of transportation, energy use, and food choices. These factors can vary from individual to individual, but all factors should be considered to successfully reduce the amount of carbon. “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that emissions from fossil fuels are the dominant cause of global warming. In 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry” (Fossil Fuels). The percentage of carbon emissions by fossil fuel is high because the environment is not considered when people take short drives to the grocery store or to a friend’s house. Many utilities such as a washer and dryer, A/C, and lighting are used consistently, which also leads to a higher amount of CO2 emissions.
When relating to carbon footprints, spatial differences are diverse. The size of a carbon footprint can vary depending on location, population size, income, etc. If someone lives in an isolated location, their carbon footprint is larger because they need to travel farther. On the other hand, if someone resides in a busy city, they have easier accessibility and could walk or ride a bike to wherever they need to go. On the downside, the city may have a larger population which correlates to more food consumption and more energy use, and therefore more carbon emission.
After researching how important carbon footprints are and how impactful it is, more people, myself included, should make steps towards reducing the amount of carbon emissions to obtain a healthier environment, and a healthier community. Rather than focusing on what is easier for us, we should focus on what is better for the environment. If more individuals acted with selflessness, more people would use other forms of transportation, such as bikes or walking, for their tasks so less carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. Not only does transportation have a big contribution in carbon footprints, but the use of home energy and waste does too. We can reduce the amount of carbon emissions at home by improving our usual tasks and gravitate towards eco-friendly actions. These individual actions include using energy efficient utilities and lighting, washing clothes in cold water and drying clothes on a clothesline, walking or riding a bike, reducing meat consumption, and recycling. If more households make these small but very impactful changes, then the community’s overall carbon footprint can be reduced. Organizations can be developed to educate communities on how to build a better carbon footprint, and therefore coming up with interventions to reduce the overall amount of carbon emissions. These collective actions can result in mandatory recycling in the community, fundraisers to raise money for eco-friendly models for utilities in public places throughout the community, or interventions that result in more sidewalks throughout the community so more people can use bikes for transportation.
If individual and collective actions are made, it will benefit communities, the country, and the world. Although it may seem that making minimal changes will not make a difference in the environment, it is important to remember that the smallest actions can have the biggest impact. If communities come together and supports interventions to make the environment a healthier and happier place, voices will be heard and the amount of carbon in the atmosphere will decline significantly. Go green!
Reference
“Fossil Fuels and Climate Change: The Facts.” ClientEarth. ClientEarthCommunications.
Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-
updates/stories/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/.