Measure Your Impact on Our Climate Today

by darkkest24 in Activism, September 3, 2009

Have you ever calculated your carbon footprint? You can use a carbon footprint calculator to measure your impact on our climate. It can estimate how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases you create each year. After the calculation, I found out that I released 6.28 ton of carbon dioxide last year, i.e. my carbon footprint will take 16 trees over 40 years to absorb.

Many people know that fossil fuels are not renewable and the global warming issue is becoming serious nowadays. But how many of you really do something in order to fight against the change? At school, students switch on their air-conditioners to a chilling temperature. Some students may leave their rooms without turning off the lights or air-conditioners only for their own convenience and comfort. Do you know that the crude oil will run out within our generation and you may face the consequences of your actions in the immediate future?

Then how can we reduce our impact on the environment? If every one of us takes action to lead a eco-friendly lifestyle, it is not difficult to solve the problem. Whether at school, in the home or at work, we all have a part to play. We can take the following steps to shrink our carbon footprint:

TVs, air-conditioners and computers left on standby burn energy. Turn things off when not in use. An average family can save up to 100kg of CO 2 per year by choosing OFF.
Switch to compact fluorescent lights. Compact fluorescent lights use about a third the energy of conventional light bulbs.
Turn up your air conditioning thermostat – each degree equals a 3-10 percent reduction in electricity. Air conditioning consumes about 30 percent of Hong Kong’s total electricity-and this number doubles in the summer.
When using your washing machine, make sure that they are are fully loaded.
Help your refrigerator to stay cool by placing it in cool spot. Allow hot food to come to room temperature before putting it in the fridge.