Jaden, Calgary, Canada: My Carbon Footprint

Environment   Nov 8, 2020 by Jaden Tomaszewski

My family of 3 lives in a 4 bedroom house, which is space we don't necessarily need. Because it is at our fingertips, we use a dishwasher to clean our dishes and a laundry machine to wash and dry our clothes. We also run the heat a lot during winter months because of the freezing temperatures. As well, I could definitely work harder to turn the lights off when they aren't being used. In my province most everyone has access to things in their home that largely increase our carbon footprint, and we don't always think about their effects on the environment because we have never had to live any different. 

 As much as we can, we try to buy organic foods and foods with less packaging which is one of the reasons food is  significantly lower than the average in my province when talking about its contribution to my carbon footprint. 

My family as a whole does not buy new things very often as we try to get the most use out of the things we buy as possible. One thing I do have more of than I need is clothes and I need to work on only buying things I really need.

Transportation for me is huge. I live a distance away from my school that is too far to walk or ride my bike so I drive myself every day. As well, I play soccer 5 times a week and my training centre is all the way across the city,  about a 45 minute drive, which adds a lot to my footprint. Although my car gets pretty good fuel efficiency, I could work harder at finding alternative methods of transportation, such as carpooling, public transportation, etc. 

I thought my carbon footprint would be close to that of other people where I live, so was surprised to discover that mine is higher than the average. My carbon footprint being so high really reflects the privilege a lot of people in my province have. The average footprint in my province is just about 5 times higher than the average worldwide, and that tells me how fortunate I am to have things I would consider a necessity at my fingertips and easily accessible at any time.  

Seeing the difference in carbon footprints around the world really made me think about how, in such a technologically advanced society where I live, we can not find a better way to achieve everyday tasks that could be more environmentally friendly. 

I still find it hard to believe the significant difference between carbon footprints where I live and different parts of the world. I would like to learn more about what differences we have in our every day lives and how we adapt to those differences. 

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