Name:

FDSCI 203 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Carbon Footprint
Exercise 1 – Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

The concept of a carbon footprint is based on the idea that many of our activities and
products release carbon that was formerly stored in carbon sinks (coal, oil, natural gas,
biomass). This large amount of carbon is then released into the atmosphere through the
process of combustion and in the creation of many consumer products. We often don’t
think much about the amount of carbon that our activities are producing. To calculate
your carbon footprint go to www.carbonfootprint.com, and select the Home Calculator
under the Calculators link and follow the instructions. You may not know exact amounts
for some of the categories, but estimate as best you can. When you have filled out the
calculator page, submit it and it will return your individual carbon footprint. Record that
value below.

My individual carbon footprint: 16 tons CO2/year

How many pounds of CO2 is that? 32000 pounds of CO2

(There are 2205 pounds in one ton)

How does your own carbon footprint compare to the US average? About the same

Exercise 2 – Reviewing Carbon Footprint Results

Review the results of your carbon footprint.

What category ranked the highest? __________electricty________________

What was the amount of CO2? ____________964____________

The United States has roughly 220 million cars for 300 million people. That equates to
approximately 73% of all Americans owning a car. China currently has 32 million cars
for 1.3 billion people. If China suddenly had the same amount of car ownership as
America how many cars would they have?

_______1.7 billion_______________ cars

Assume that each car is highly efficient (40 mpg) and only driven 5000 miles/yr. How
much CO2 would each car produce?

________10_______________ tons of CO2

How many tons of CO2 would all of those cars in China produce? _____17 billion
tons_____________