Carbon Footprint
The green house effect was discovered by Fourier in 1827. Green house gasses insulate our atmosphere from the coldness of space, without them the temperature on earth would be -15 degrees. Records show that global temperature is closely linked to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Over the past 100 years the amount of carbon dioxide has increased and the global temperature is also increasing. Reducing the amount of insulating gasses we put into the atmosphere is key to reducing the impacts of climate change. The climate will still warm over the next 100 years but it will stop the warming spiraling out of control.
There are several other greenhouse gasses but scientists have worked out their relative effectiveness as insulators compared to CO2 . A carbon footprint describes a person’s, product’s or organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions. There are many carbon footprint tools available, ranging from the detailed and time consuming, to those which use assumptions based on lifestyle which provide an estimate.
Why work out our personal Carbon Foot Print?
Scientists and governments agree we need to cut emissions; a carbon foot print can help us answer some important questions
- How much is enough?
- What is fair for all the world citizens?
- What are the high impacts areas of my lifestyle?
- What is the easiest, or most cost effective way for me to reduce my impact?
