In my last article on “How To Go Green” we talked about what it meant. So lets look a the next leg in going green, what is a carbon footprint? A carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas produced directly or indirect by individuals, organizations, events or products. Once you know the size of your personnel carbon footprint, you can reduce it.
With all that said is there tangible evidence that the warming of the earth is a non-recurring event, or is this the only time it has occurred or perhaps it is part of a large cycle? Having looked at a large amount of articles, I found that most of the research leads back to a few oceanographers’ studies and the study of the ice pack. Good information indeed, but something kept nagging me. So I looked up the age of the earth, the best guess is around 4.54 billion years.
If I take this figure and divide it by the ice pack age, 680K we get about .01 percent. This .01 percent is the sample we are using as evidence the earth is getting warmer based on the amounts of C02 found in the ice pack. The recorded temperature data is even smaller at .00004 percent.
Does not seem like very compiling evidence, but evidence all the same. Does it mean I should ignore this evidence, No! On the contrary, we use smaller samples everyday to tell us air quality, percent of cancer cells, counts of red blood cells and even samples as small as parts per million of air borne poison that can kill us.
After looking at the numerical data the reactions vary from,” The sky is falling,” to the other extreme “Who cares, it doesn’t effect me!” Both are a little extreme. The effects technology has had on this problem in my lifetime have been very positive. For one technology has greatly reduced out demand for electricity. One of the new products to reduced energy is the compact fluorescent lamps, originally developed in the 1920’s. In February 2007, Australia enacted a law that will ban most sales of incandescent light bulbs by 2010, followed by Finland, Canada, and the UK by 2012. Why? The average reduction in energy over incandescent bulbs is usually around 50% percent, with the compact fluorescent lamps lasting 6-7 years longer and producing a similar lighting effect.
With the development of the liquid crystal display (LCD) this has further reduced the demands for new power plants. It is very difficult to purchase a CRT monitor for your computer today and in fact, the sales of LCD TV in the 4Q of 2007 surpassed CRT units in worldwide sales. So, if you have a working CRT Monitor or TV still using a tube replace it and then take a look at your electric bill. My electric bill has dropped 20%, not the cost mind you but the amount of energy I used. The single biggest use of energy in your home is the refrigerator; if your refrigerator is over 10 years old, you are wasting money. Go down to your local Home Depot and check it out. The consumption tag is inside most refrigerators. Take that information down with you and compare it to the cheapest floor model, you will be surprised. I did this and it has helped to reduce my household carbon footprint.
So now, you know a little more about going green and some of the products that can reduce you carbon footprint. There are many other ways to reduce your footprint, which may include a new car with increased mileage or how about a pre-heater for your water heater or solar panels that will run electrical appliances. Some other new products include home insulation, new roof material, reduced heat loss windows, better doors, and the list goes on. But, before you run out and spend all your money saving energy check out your local and federal tax incentives. Some will help your defer or offset the cost of these new technologies.
What is your personnel carbon footprint? To see check out the carbon footprint calculator and see what your carbon footprint is today. With this information, you can change your carbon footprint, reduce your energy bills, and provide for future generations to come.
I hope this is some help in how to go green.
Michael
