Carbon Footprint

The calculator itself was very thorough in what it asked for to determine the carbon footprint of my household. It was a little difficult when asked if we could change certain utilities within our home since we live in an apartment and are restricted from changing most things, but in my mind I said yes. Was it accurate? I had to guestimate the transportation portion of the calculator to the best of my abilities, but I believe it is pretty accurate. If anything, the miles traveled per week is wrong.

At work we do not recycle anything other than cardboard(which I am a little surprised with how much we use paper) and that is something that was not on this calculator. The fact that we do not recycle our paper at work nor turn off all of the lights(which we have no control over) would have to be my two things that would make my footprint higher. Two thing that might make my carbon footprint lower would have to be my lightbulbs used within the household and our recent purchase in new blinds. Yes, there was a question that asked about lightbulbs, however most of our lightbulbs are energy efficient already. Also, our purchase in new blinds that block out more sunlight should help reduce the use of our air conditioner.

I do not think that it is possible to meet the challenge of reducing our carbon footprint(USA) by 80%. However, I believe it is possible to reduce it by at least 50%. Assuming there is a time set in place that this challenge is to be met by, with the introduction of newer and less-costly energy-efficient technology(vehicles, appliances, mobile devices, renewable energy, etc.) I can see a future where the U.S. Average carbon footprint could be cut from 33,261 CO2 emissions to 16,630. As for me currently, I do not think I could do that. However, if I were to do that, I would have to give up driving unless absolutely necessary, investing in an energy-efficient household, and taking action at work to recycle paper, light bulbs, and plastics.

For my carbon footprint, I am satisfied where it is right now. I am below the national average, and I will start trying to travel to nearby places by foot or bicycle.