Carbon Footprint - How big is yours?

Is yours like an elephant or a mouse? A kangaroo or a koala? There’s a lot of talk in these environmentally-aware days about carbon footprints, but many of us don’t really know how big our personal carbon footprint is – or what it really means for the future of the planet. So here’s our straightforward user’s guide to carbon footprints.

What’s all the fuss?
Most things we do in life either directly or indirectly produce emissions of carbon dioxide, from buying clothes to driving a car to heating our homes. The problem with carbon dioxide is that it absorbs some of the sun’s heat that would otherwise bounce back into space, so warming the planet. The warmer Earth becomes, the greater the consequences: drought, unpredictable weather and melting of glaciers are among them.

What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is a way of showing an individual’s impact on the environment, measured by the amount of greenhouse gases – or units of carbon dioxide - produced by their lifestyle.
A typical carbon footprint will include things like transport, food, holidays, utilities, leisure and recreation, but also less obvious emissions of carbon dioxide such as your individual share of public services and those of the banks or building societies you use.

Is all carbon the same?
Not quite. Carbon emissions are either direct or indirect. Direct, or primary, emissions are those released straight into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, for instance by cars and planes. Your household energy consumption is also included in this, particularly if you burn gas.
Indirect, or secondary, emissions are made up from everything else. Think about the carbon emissions produced by the factories that make all the things you buy, then the carbon produced in packaging, transporting and even marketing the product – it all adds up.

How is a carbon footprint calculated?
Carbon footprint calculators are available online. They require you to enter information about your household, transport, holidays and other factors, then work out what your individual carbon footprint is. Try http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk

How big is too big?
The carbon footprint of the average person in the UK is around 10-12 tonnes each year. There are a couple of ways of putting this in context. First of all, the government aims to reduce our overall carbon footprint by 60% by 2050. This would mean reducing your carbon footprint to about 4-6 tonnes. Secondly, consider that the average individual carbon footprint in developing countries, which are predicted to suffer some of the worst effects of global warming, is a fraction of this.

OK, how can I reduce it?
There are very simple things you can do. Everyone has heard the one about turning the thermostat down by one degree, right? Others include: driving an economical car and using public transport where possible; switching off lights that don’t need to be on, waving goodbye to the ‘stand-by’ mode on appliances and only filling the kettle with as much water as you need; generally favouring locally grown food over that which has flown long-haul;  buying second-hand and discovering the wonders of modern charity shops. Making changes to your energy use, in particular, can save you a lot of money as well as carbon. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk for ideas.

Can’t I just offset my carbon emissions?
Carbon offsetting means buying carbon reductions from a third-party to reduce your carbon footprint. If you offset with a reputable company, it is a cheap, effective way of reducing your carbon footprint. Companies such as Climate Care (www.climatecare.org) invest in projects that reduce pollution, for instance through wind turbines, tree-planting or distributing efficient cooking stoves in Africa.

What do I tell the kids?
Direct them to http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/specials/climate_change