Ecological Footprint
Change the World
About the Footprint
1- Briefly explain the concept of an ecological footprint.
The footprint makes carbon dioxide as well as other pollution, personal.
2- State 5 factors affecting ecological footprint calculations in the simulation you used.
Home energy, driving, flying, food and diet, recycling, and waste
3- Compare you carbon footprint to the national and world averages.
My carbon average is less that the national footprint. Although, my carbon footprint is more than the world average.
4- How would your carbon footprint change if you lived in the Massachusetts scenario described above? Why do you think the results vary?
My carbon level would be less because there are more people living in one area, closer together.
5- Explain which factors have the biggest effect on your carbon footprint.
Driving because almost every person uses a car or automobile to travel from place to place.
Continued..
6- Write about the process of using the carbon footprint calculator to identify three activities you could do to reduce your emissions of green house gases.
Me, personally, could unplug my extension cords that I use daily for all my electronics. I could also cut off extra, unneeded, lights around my house. Also I could check all my windows, to make sure there are no cracks to where any air could go out which can waste electricity.
7- Identify one pro and one con of making each of the changes you could implement.
Changing my light bulbs from ordinary light bulbs to the more energy efficient ones could help my family save money on energy bills in the long run, but the upfront cost for the light bulbs is a little more expensive.
8- What would the short term effect of these changes have on you life?
Monthly energy bills would be less and could save me more money every year.
9- What would the long term effect of these changes have on the environment?
Using these light bulbs means using less energy, which means less fossil fuels being burned to provide the light bulb with less energy.
10- What fact about climate change surprised you the most, and why?
Climate change can even affect our food supply. This affects many people around the world and can cause food loss that can in turn cause starvation and death.