This blog was originally based on a course ran by Professor Nick Gray of the Trinity Centre for the Environment at Trinity College Dublin who also wrote a textbook for the module Facing up to global warming: What is going on and what you can do about it. Now working as an independent consultant, Nick continues to work in the area of environmental sustainability and looking at ways of making a difference without recriminations or guilt. Saving the planet is all about living sustainably.


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Living sustainably through understanding your carbon footprint

Why focus on sustainable living? The answer is simple; us humans consume too much of the planet’s resources and perform various inconsiderate activities which harm our planet i.e. emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; creating an immense hole in the ozone layer, changing water levels, changing the climate etc. our lifestyles have a significant impact on our earth and soon enough it will no longer be able to support, for a lot of us but not all, our extravagant way of living. We only have one planet yet we are living like there are many. It is up to us, the current generation, to change these careless habits and live in a sustainable manner which ensures the preservation of the earth for future generations.
How can we change?
Through understanding our CO2 emissions and by calculating our carbon footprint. Our carbon footprint being the total of our CO2 emissions produced from the way we live our lives. Each individual has a carbon footprint and by understanding the size of your footprint you can begin to make changes to your living habits. Calculating our carbon footprint will help us understand where the biggest amounts of our CO2 emissions are coming from and recognise ways to use alternative modes of transport, energy consumption and to change how we shop for and cook food and how we dispose waste etc. Little changes adopted by everyone will make a difference to the maintenance of our planet.
To calculate your carbon footprint and to begin your contribution towards combating negative changes to our planet, visit: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
Rachel McAllister

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