Environmental Science.Assignment 2
Environmental Science – Week 2 Assignment
1. Week 2 Assignment - Your Ecological Footprint
In this assignment, you will calculate your household’s yearly carbon footprint.
Background
We use energy in everyday activities, from turning on the lights to driving to school. Most of that energy is derived from burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of GHG emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product. A household’s carbon footprint varies depending on factors such as home size, types of vehicles used, and household members’ eating and purchasing patterns.
We care about our carbon footprint because GHGs absorb energy and trap heat in our atmosphere. We need some amount of GHGs in our atmosphere to survive, but too great an amount and too rapid an increase can have devastating effects on our environment, our health, and the economy.
The current consumption of fossil fuel releases more than 25 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. If current trends continue, atmospheric CO2 will triple by the end of the century—levels not seen for more than 40 million years.
By measuring our carbon footprint, we can learn how we are contributing to this rise in atmospheric CO2 and how we might use energy more efficiently. After calculating your data, you will draw observations about your household’s carbon footprint, including identifying ways you can work to reduce it.
Begin Work on Your Lab
To begin work on your lab, access:
· Your Ecological Footprint Instructions [DOCX] . See Below
· Your Ecological Footprint Template [DOCX] . See Below
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Your Ecological Footprint Instructions
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Instructions |
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Go to the CoolClimate Network website’s CoolClimate Calculator under Tools.
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Get Started · Fill in your ZIP code and other basic personal information into the carbon footprint calculator. · Click NEXT.
Note: You will not be asked to share personal information with others as part of this lab.
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Travel · Enter into the carbon footprint travel calculator the number of miles driven per year for each household vehicle. · Enter into the carbon footprint travel calculator the miles per gallon for each vehicle. · Note: If you are unsure about this, go to Find and Compare Cars on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Economy site. · You’ll be asked to enter your car’s year, make, and model. · Select the column that best describes the type of driving each vehicle is primarily used for—highway, city, or combined. · Enter into the carbon footprint travel calculator the number of miles per year you and your family travel on public transportation or by air. · Only include leisure travel in these miles. Do not include business miles traveled via public transportation or air. · Look at the graph to the right of the carbon calculator. You can see which subcategory made the greatest contribution to the total carbon emissions for travel. Mouse over each subcategory to view the tons of CO2/year emitted. · Add the totals for each subcategory. This total equals the GHG emissions from your household’s total travel in tons of CO2/year. · Enter this figure in Column 1 on Your Ecological Footprint Template. · Click NEXT.
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Home · Enter your annual electricity, natural gas, heating oil, or other fuel use in this section. · Note: You will be able to locate this information on your utility bills. · Under "electricity," you will be asked for the percent purchased from a clean-energy program. Leave this value at zero unless you know you are enrolled in a utility program that allows customers to pay more for renewable energy. · Enter your home’s square footage under the “Living space area.” · Under “Water Usage,” move the dial to the number that is closest to the number of people in your household. · Adjust the dial upward or downward if you think your household uses more or less water compared to other similar households. For example, if you have a large lawn or if everyone takes long showers, then move the dial above average. If you consciously use less water, then move the dial somewhat lower than average. · Add the totals for each subcategory. This figure equals the total housing emissions in tons of CO2/year. · Enter this amount in Column 2 on Your Ecological Footprint Template. · Click NEXT.
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Food · In this section and the next one, “Shopping,” you will calculate secondary sources of CO2 emissions. Producing and transporting our food, clothes, and other supplies require a great deal of energy and produce high emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. · Note: Use your best judgment to fill out the Food section. For example, if your family eats a lot of meat compared to other families you know, adjust the meat dial upward from the average. Do the same for the other categories. · Add the totals for each subcategory. This figure equals the total food GHG emissions in tons of CO2/year. · Enter this figure in Column 3 on Your Ecological Footprint Template. · Click NEXT.
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Shopping · Once again, use your best judgment when completing this section. If you think your family buys a lot less or a lot more than other families you know, adjust the dials accordingly. · Add the totals for each subcategory. This figure equals the total shopping GHG emissions in tons of CO2/year. · Enter this information in Column 4 of Your Ecological Footprint Template.
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Your Ecological Footprint · Add up the four columns (travel, home, food, and shopping) and enter that number in the total footprint in tons of CO2/year on Your Ecological Footprint Template. · Click NEXT.
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Take Action Scroll down and examine different ways you can reduce your ecological footprint.
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Answer the related questions on the Your Ecological Footprint Template. |
References
CoolClimate Network. No date. CoolClimate Calculator. https://coolclimate.org/calculator
U.S. Department of Energy. No date. Find and Compare Cars. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.shtml