Blogs
Ecological Footprint Calculator
1. What part of your ecological footprint most surprised you?
I was surprised that 65% of my total ecological footprint was my carbon footprint.
2. How did your footprint compare to your city’s average and your country’s average?
Los Altos' average household emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents is equal to 72.8 metric tons. My personal carbon dioxide emissions is about 8.1 metric tons of the city's carbon dioxide equivalents emissions total per year. Assuming four people a household, my personal carbon dioxide emissions is about one half of a single person.
3. Find a location with a smaller carbon footprint from yours, within your own country if possible. What is different about this community from your own? What can you learn from this?
Los Angeles' average person has a smaller carbon footprint than mine. Assuming four people a household, the average person in Los Angeles releases emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents is equal to 6.6 metric tons. This location is releases 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents less than my emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents. There is a lot more public transportation there than my community. I learned that these transportation methods hold more people than personal cars for 1 to 2 people each.
4. What parts of your footprint do you feel is possible to reduce? What parts don’t?
I feel like my carbon footprint has to be reduced. But I don’t think that my percentage of grazing lands need to be reduced.
5. Read this article about large companies, individual actions, and climate change: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/just-90-companies-are-blame-most-climate-change-carbon-accountant-says. What do you think are the limits and possibilities in affecting climate change by the reduction of individual footprints?
A possibility of affecting climate change by the reduction of the individual footprints includes slowing down the rising sea levels. The added amount of reduction may slow or completely stop global warming. This is a possibility in saving the world.
Water Footprint Calculator
1. Where you surprised by how much water you consumed?
I was surprised that 116 m^3 of my total of 629 m^3 of water consumed was in the other section.
2. How did your footprint compare to your country’s and the world's average? (You will need to research this.)
My water footprint was about half of the world’s average water footprint
3. What parts of your footprint do you feel is possible to reduce? What parts don’t?
I feel like the amount of dairy I consume can be possible to reduce but I feel that reducing the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed don’t need to be reduced.
4. Do some research on a water-based conflict in your country. Which communities have access to water, which ones don’t, and who controls the resource use?
Most of the big cities of the United States has access to clean water including New York City and Chicago. There are many cities including Ranger, Texas and Flint, Michigan that have lead poisoning in their water that is lethal to many people. The government of the United States and state governments controls the resource use of water.
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2 Comment(s)
Hi Kesha, my name is Abedeh and I'm serving as a mentor through this project. Thanks for the blog. I just wanted to bring your attention to this matter that, in Q3 of water footprint calculator, you may see other parts of your footprint such as car wash, plant watering, etc. which possibly can be reduced.
Hi Kesha, thanks for your post. My name's Summer and I'm one of your mentors for COP 23. What do you think the "other" was in your water consumption? Is that miscellaneous things, like leaving the water on while brushing teeth or is it just random other things?
Abedeh Gholidoust
Sep 22, 2017