The Significance of Carbon Footprint Reduction on Individuals and Industry
print“We are being advised to reduce our carbon footprint. Discuss the significance of this for the individual and for industry”
When talking about climate change, footprint is a metaphor for the total impact that something has and carbon is shorthand for all the different greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming (1). The term carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for things like electricity, heating and transportation. A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint and the secondary footprint. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas, they are all non-renewable and currently running out. Some estimates suggest that if we continue to use them at the rate we are currently doing there could be approximately just 45 years’ worth of oil, 70 years’ worth of gas and 250 years’ worth of coal left in the ground (2). Another gas which is contributing to global warming is methane, this is derived from the bacterial breakdown of organic matter in swamps and in cattle, and it is currently increasing at a rate of approximately 1% per year (3). This is why we are being encouraged to start reducing our carbon emissions sooner rather than later. Although fossil fuels are incredibly useful they do present some major problems, the burning of the fuels produces carbon dioxide. As well as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and the burning of vegetation has contributed to an increase in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Plants require CO2 to carry out the process of photosynthesis however there needs to be a balance between the global rate of photosynthesis and the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere, at the minute the balance
When talking about climate change, footprint is a metaphor for the total impact that something has and carbon is shorthand for all the different greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming (1). The term carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for things like electricity, heating and transportation. A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint and the secondary footprint. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas, they are all non-renewable and currently running out. Some estimates suggest that if we continue to use them at the rate we are currently doing there could be approximately just 45 years’ worth of oil, 70 years’ worth of gas and 250 years’ worth of coal left in the ground (2). Another gas which is contributing to global warming is methane, this is derived from the bacterial breakdown of organic matter in swamps and in cattle, and it is currently increasing at a rate of approximately 1% per year (3). This is why we are being encouraged to start reducing our carbon emissions sooner rather than later. Although fossil fuels are incredibly useful they do present some major problems, the burning of the fuels produces carbon dioxide. As well as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and the burning of vegetation has contributed to an increase in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Plants require CO2 to carry out the process of photosynthesis however there needs to be a balance between the global rate of photosynthesis and the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere, at the minute the balance