Your carbon footprint is a representation of the effect you, your family or school,
have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases you produce
(measured in units of carbon dioxide). Many of your actions generate carbon
emissions, which contribute to accelerating global warming and climate change. By
measuring your carbon footprint through such tools as the The Global Warming
Wheel Card from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, you can get a better
sense of what your individual impact is and which parts of your lifestyle deserve
the greatest attention. Armed with such information you can more readily take
effective action to shrink your carbon footprint, thereby minimizing your personal
impact on the climate.
For example, when you drive a car, each gallon of gasoline you burn produces carbon
in the form of carbon dioxide. Depending on the fuel efficiency of your vehicle and
the miles traveled, a gasoline-powered car can easily generate its own weight in
carbon dioxide each year. The average American is responsible for about 20 tons
of carbon dioxide emissions each year, a far greater per capita number than that
of any other industrialized country. In fact, the US, with less than 5% of the
world's population, accounts for more than 20% of the world's total greenhouse
gas emissions. You can reduce your carbon footprint by driving a more efficient
car, or driving less. You can also plant trees or help preserve forests to offset
your emissions, since trees are a sink for carbon.
The carbon footprint calculator estimates CO2 emissions for energy use and
transportation, and for organizations paper use, because these types of activities
are responsible for a significant percentage of U.S. emissions, and are measurable
based on readily available information. Your total carbon footprint would account
for the energy used to produce all the products and services you consume, as well
as all your other activities, and would be substantially larger. Home energy use and
transportation represent approximately 40% of all U.S. emissions, so for an
average person the emissions from these two activities would have to be multiplied
by 2.5 to determine the person's total carbon footprint.
Ecological Footprint
There are many other ways to visualize our individual and overall human impact on
the environment. Some environmental and government groups feature a broader
concept than the carbon footprint -- the ecological footprint, which is an estimate
of how much land and water is needed to produce all the resources an individual
consumes, and dispose of all the waste and pollution he or she generates. Because
of increasing population and levels of consumption and pollution, human beings are
leaving bigger and bigger ecological footprints - at a rate that is increasingly
harmful to the planet.
For example, Redefining Progress estimates that the typical American uses 25
acres to support his or her lifestyle, almost five times more than is sustainable.
This non-profit group provides tools to calculate your own ecological footprint, and
links to many other such calculators. More information on ecological footprints is
provided by Sustainable USA and the British group, Best Foot Forward.
SafeClimate typically quotes greenhouse gas units in terms of carbon dioxide (1lb
carbon dioxide = 0.2729 lbs of carbon), as well as converting other greenhouse
gases into units of carbon dioxide based on their relative global warming potentials.
This standardized approach simplifies things and makes for easier and more
meaningful comparisons.
GOAL: Students understand their contributions to
greenhouse gas emissions by collecting and
analyzing their home energy use.
OBJECTIVES: Students will…
Build a personal emissions calculator
Gather information on their daily habits
Evaluate their daily habits
Determine their personal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions
MATERIALS (Determine by class size):
Copies of "What Is A Carbon Footprint?"
Copies of Personal Emissions Calculator – Student Sheet
Copies of wheel pieces
Glue sticks
Scissors
Brads or paper fasteners
Optional: Highlighters in a variety of colors
Optional: Calculators
Optional: Copies of Ecological Footprints of Nations (1999 Data)
ALIGNMENT TO NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS:
9 Unifying Concepts and Processes (K-12)
• Consistency, change, and measure
9 Science as Inquiry, Content Standard A (9-12):
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry
9 Life Science, Content Standard C (9-12):
• Interdependence of organisms
• Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
• Behavior of organisms
9 Earth and Space Science, Content Standard D (9-12):
• Energy in the earth system
9 Science in Personal and Social Perspective, Content Standard F (9-12):
• Personal and community health
• Environmental quality
• Science and technology in local, national, and global changes
PROCEDURE:
1. Pass out "What Is A Carbon Footprint" to each student. Allow them time to
read while you pass out other materials.
2. Review the information on "What Is A Carbon Footprint".
3. Pass out the Personal Emissions Calculator – Student Sheet, wheel pieces, glue
sticks, scissors, and brads to each student.
4. Have them follow the directions on the student sheet to create their personal
emissions calculator.
5. Allow students time to build the wheel and calculate their personal emissions.
6. Ask each student to share their personal emission total and write their totals as a
list on the board.
7. Pass out calculators or have students do addition manually to determine the class
average emission total.
8. Compare this to the national average listed on the wheel they created and to the
averages of other countries using the "Ecological Footprints of Nations "(1999
Data) .
9. Now have students use the “What Can I Do” side of the wheel to determine
different ways they can help reduce emissions.
OPTIONAL HOMEWORK: Each student should write a commitment statement outlining
how he or she will help reduce emissions.
EXTENSION: Students can use Monthly Electricity Use - Common Household
Appliances to identify exactly where they expend the most energy.
*Adapted from Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands”
PERSONAL EMISSIONS CALCULATOR - STUDENT GRID
SECTION 1: Complete the grid below. You will have to use your family’s electric
bill, natural gas bill, and an adult’s input on car use. You should be able to
guesstimate the waste disposal section. Remember that it is important to be
honest when completing this grid. You will be assessed on the accuracy of your
information. If you cannot find some of the information, your teacher can help
you.
HOME HEATING TRAVEL WASTE ELECTRICITY USE
DISPOSAL
In the box below, In the box In the box below, In the box below, write
write how much below, write write how many how much money your
money your family roughly how items your family family spends on
spends on natural many miles your recycles (for electricity on average
gas or fuel gas on family puts on example, plastics, each month (check your
average each their car(s) on aluminum, etc.). electricity bill).
month. average per
week.
SECTION 2: After you make your personal emissions calculator, fill in the pounds of CO2 your
family emits each year (this will be the number in the small box of your personal emissions
calculator). Add the first four numbers to calculate your total emissions.
HOME HEATING
ELECTRICITY USE
WASTE DISPOSAL
TRANSPORTATION
TOTAL EMISSIONS
*Adapted from Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands”
PERSONAL EMISSIONS CALCULATOR - STUDENT SHEET
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut out the two large circles & two large rectangular pieces.
2. Cut out the two little rectangular windows on each of the large rectangular pieces.
3. Put glue on the backs of both circles and put them together to make the “wheel” of the wheel
card, making sure that you align them so that the four labels that run along the outside of each
circle (Waste Disposal, Home Heating, Electricity Use, and Transportation) line up with the
corresponding labels on the other side. The Waste Disposal label on one side should line up with
the Waste Disposal label on the other side, and so on.
4. Lay the rectangular piece entitled “What Can You Do?” upside-down on the table with the larger
of the two cutouts closer to you. If you lift up the edge of the rectangular piece and see the
words “Global-Warming—What Can You Do?” right side up, you’ve done it correctly.
5. Put the glued-together wheel on top of the rectangular piece, with the side that has all the
questions (such as “On average, how much does your household spend on electricity each
month?”) facing up.
6. Lay the other rectangular piece entitled “What’s Your Score?” on top of the wheel, with the
smaller of the two cutouts closer to you.
7. Find the “belly button” on the pasted-together wheel and the two large rectangular pieces.
Push a paper fastener (“brad”) through the “belly button” to hold all the pieces together.
8. Glue the large rectangular pieces in all four corners just enough to hold the rectangles
together but allowing the wheel to turn freely.
9. Highlight each line inside the windows in a different color to make it easier to read.
10. Using the information from your grid, calculate your personal emissions and fill in the last line
on your grid worksheet.
11. Work with the class to figure your class emission average.
12. Use the “What Can You Do” side of the card to determine how you can help reduce emissions.
*Adapted from Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands”
PERSONAL EMISSIONS
MONTHLY ELECTRICITY USE COMMON HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
(HEATING AND LIGHTING NOT INCLUDED)
APPLIANCE PEAK POWER APPROXIMATE MY HOME USE
(W) MONTHLY USE (ESTIMATE)
KWH
Blender 350 1
Broiler 1450 8
Coffee maker 900 10
Clothes dryer 5000 83
5 load per week
Dish Washer 1200 120
hot water not incl.
Electric Blanket 180 12
Food freezer (15ft)3 340 90 (manual defrost)
Food freezer (15ft)3 450 150 (auto defrost)
Electric Food Disposal 450 3
"garbarator"
Electric Frying Pan 1200 15
Electric Hand Iron 1000 12
Microwave Oven 1400 16
Radio/CD/Stereo 110 9
Electric Range 180 70
Self-cleaning unit (on range) 4000 4
Refrigerator with freezer 330 60 (manual defrost)
Refrigerator with freezer 600 140 (auto defrost)
Toaster 1200 5
TV (bw solid state) 55 10
TV (color solid state) 200 36
Vacuum Cleaner 630 4
Washer (hot water not incl.) 500 8
Water bed (heater) 370 150
Water heater 4500 400
TOTAL (kWh)
Conversion Chart - kWh to CO2 TOTAL (CO2) (kg)
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS OF NATIONS (1999 DATA)
(in global acres per capita)
COUNTRY POPULATION (IN ECOLOGICAL CURRENT ECOLOGICAL
MILLIONS) FOOTPRINT CAPACITY DEFICIT
(PER PERSON) (PER (IF NEGATIVE)
PERSON)
WORLD 6,210.1 6.0 4.7 (-1.3)
Argentina 37.9 7.5 16.5 9.0
Australia 19.7 18.7 36.1 17.4
Austria 8.1 11.7 6.9 (-4.8)
Bangladesh 134.0 1.3 0.7 (-0.6)
Brazil 174.5 5.9 14.9 9.0
Canada 31.2 21.8 35.2 13.3
Chile 15.6 7.7 10.5 (-2.8)
China 1,284.2 3.8 2.6 (-1.2)
Denmark 5.4 16.2 8.0 (-8.2)
Egypt 66.2 3.7 1.9 (-1.8)
Finland 5.2 20.8 21.3 0.5
France 59.3 13.0 7.1 (-5.9)
Germany 82.2 11.6 4.3 (-7.3)
India 1,053.4 1.9 1.7 (-0.2)
Indonesia 217.3 2.8 4.5 1.7
Italy 57.7 9.5 2.9 (-6.6)
Japan 127.2 11.8 1.7 (-10.0)
Korea Republic 48.1 8.2 1.8 (-6.4)
Malaysia 24.4 7.8 8.4 0.6
Mexico 100.8 6.2 4.2 (-2.1)
Netherlands 16.1 11.9 2.0 (-9.9)
Norway 4.6 19.6 14.7 (-4.9)
Pakistan 144.8 1.6 1.0 (-0.6)
Philippines 78.3 2.9 1.4 (-1.5)
Poland 38.6 9.1 4.0 (-5.1)
Russia 144.2 11.1 12.0 0.9
South Africa 44.2 10.7 6.0 (-4.7)
Spain 39.5 11.5 4.4 (-7.1)
Sweden 8.9 16.6 18.1 1.5
Switzerland 7.3 10.2 4.5 (-5.7)
Thailand 61.7 3.8 3.4 (-0.4)
Turkey 67.2 4.9 3.0 (-1.8)
United Kingdom 60.2 13.2 4.1 (-9.1)
United States 288.3 24.0 13.0 (-10.9)
