Reducing your carbon footprint

Part B: Analysis of Your Carbon Footprint and Identification of Ways to Reduce Your Impact My own behavior breakdown US average behavior breakdown

Home energy 66% Home and energy 36. 8 %
Driving and flying 18. 6%Driving and flying 43. 5 %
Recycling and waste 3. 9 %Recycling and waste 4. 4 %
1) My calculated (estimated) emissions are 30 tons of CO2eq/year which is above the US national average of 27 tons per person. To get these results, I calculated quite a number of variables shown above and my results indicate that I am three tones above the US national average. My home and energy rates are above average and they account for 66%, the highest against the national average of 36. 8 %. However, I am doing good in driving and flying areas where my rate is only 18. 6 % compared to the national average of 43. 5% of the same. In other areas such as recycling and waste, I am within the national average which is not that bad.
2) As indicated above, my CO2 emissions are above the average of Americans mainly in home energy where they stand at 66%. There are different measures that I can take in order to reduce CO2 emissions at home. For instance, I need to resort to methods such as using solar power for heating purposes of water. I also need to make sure that I switch off all electrical gadgets that are not in use at a particular moment. I also need to seriously take into consideration elements such as recycling of waste products. The other important step that I can take is to avoid using fossil fuels for energy at home for different purposes such as heating water. These fossil fuels emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and these emissions negatively impact on the environment and climate at large. Instead of resorting to artificial cooling systems is homes such as air conditioning, I can resort to open windows during the day for fresh air since this helps to reduce the quantity of CO2 emissions into the environment. There are CO2 gases that are emitted into the atmosphere during the air conditioning process.
3) The emissions of the average American are way above that of the world average mainly as a result of industrial activity. America is a heavily industrialized country and a lot of fossil fuels are used as energy in the industries. America also has a large population of automobiles that use fossil fuels as their major source of power. Combustible fuels such as oil, petrol kerosene among others produce large volumes of carbon dioxide when they are used for different industrial purposes. Excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmospheres is detrimental since it leads to global warming (Waugh, 196). This entails that excessive heat is trapped in the atmosphere and this condition can lead to climate change. Perennial droughts and floods are likely to be experienced in different parts of the globe and these all impact negatively on the welfare of the people in different places.
Works cited
The Nature Conservancy. . 2015. Web. 24
February 2015.
Waugh, David. Principles of Physical Geography. Prentice Hall: NY, 1996. Print.