TRENDS, NETWORKS,

AND CRITICAL THINKING

IN THE 21ST CENTURY
 UNIT III
Where Am I in the World
and What Can I Offer?
 Chapter 6
How Much Carbon
Footprint Do I
Make?
 Lesson 2
My Carbon Footprint
 Learning Objectives
• To explain the effects of consumption and production
patterns that contribute to the problem of climate
change
• To explain and illustrate personal contributions that can
actually solve the problem of climate change
• To make a stand on how the consequences of one’s
action affect the lives of others and the environment
• To cite concrete ways on how to reduce
carbon footprint
DIRECTION:
• Answer the questions below in your notebook.
• Share your answers with your seatmate and discuss
them.

1. What is a carbon footprint?

2. Are you responsible for any carbon footprint?
Why? Why not?
3. Which industries are greatly responsible for it?
How?
 Getting Green: Your Carbon Footprint Explained
Allison Perrelli and Janeé Pelletier
We are all hearing a lot about how to reduce our carbon
footprint, but it can be difficult to understand what exactly this
means. Here are a few facts about your carbon footprint and
what you can do to reduce it at home and at the office.

Q: What Is a Carbon Footprint?

Your carbon footprint measures the impact your activities have
on the environment, determined by the amount of greenhouse
gases produced through burning fossil fuels, electricity, heating,
and transportation. The average US household has a carbon
footprint of 16,008 pounds per year.
Q: How Is a Carbon Footprint Calculated?
Your carbon footprint is made up of two parts: primary and
secondary footprints. Your primary footprint is a measure of
direct emissions from burning fossil fuels. This includes your
home gas, oil, and coal use, home electricity, private
transportation, public transport, flights, and food and drink. Your
secondary footprint includes your share of public services,
financial services, recreation and leisure, house buildings and
furnishings, car manufacture and delivery, and clothes and
personal effects.
Several factors affect your footprint: the number of people in
your household, what kind of heat you use in your home, miles
driven per year and fuel efficiency of your automobile, number
and duration of flights, your average monthly electric, gas, and
fuel bill, and recycling habits.
Carbon emission from your home is directly correlated to
everyday energy consumption. One way to reduce your carbon
footprint is to improve energy efficiency. How?
Inside your home:
• When appliances are not in use, turn them off and
unplug them. Even small appliances like cell phone
chargers waste energy when plugged in all day. It is
called ghostelectricity.
• Take shorter, cooler showers and turn off the tap when
brushing your teeth.
• Recycle everything you can.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFL low energy
bulbs, which use just 20% of the energy of a normal light
bulb and last 15 times longer.
• When replacing older appliances, always opt for
appliances that use less power and receive a good
energy rating.
At your office:
• Only print as many copies as absolutely needed. Instead
of having each employee have their own files, create a
central filing system to avoid having to make many
copies of the same documents.
• Use smaller fonts when printing internal documents to
save paper and ink.
• Recycle everything, including ink cartridges and toner.
Ask local suppliers if they can deliver supplies in
reusable bins rather than cardboard boxes.
• Turn off and unplug equipment when not in use.
• Telecommute whenever possible, but make a
commitment to do it at least one day per week.
For your meetings:
• Ask your caterer for biodegradable tableware (plates,
cups, utensils, etc.), or use china and metal silverware.
• Monitor meeting room temperatures. Turn the heat down
a few degrees in winter and up a few degrees in
summer, and encourage attendees to dress in layers.
• Make sure lights and AV equipment in session rooms are
turned off when not in use.
• Ask your AV provider to unplug equipment at night.
• Offer a carbon-offset donation on your registration form;
many companies will plant trees for as little as 50 cents
each.
• Provide materials that are ecofriendly: recyclable, printed
on recycled paper, or go paperless altogether.
Film Showing

DIRECTION:
• Watch the video “What Can You Do about Climate
Change?”
• List down in your notebook the things that can be done
about climate change. Use your notebook.
 40-day Climate Walk Ends on Typhoon Anniversary
Gladys P. Mangiduyos
A 40-day march from Manila to Tacloban—now proceeding
through areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan—is aimed at
encouraging both grassroots and world leaders to confront the
crisis of global climate change by highlighting its effect on
vulnerable countries like the Philippines.
The marchers will cross the San Juanico Bridge toward
Tacloban City on Nov. 8, the anniversary of the Category 5
storm that cut a swath of devastation across the tip of Cebu
and tore through the three large island provinces of Samar,
Leyte, and Bohol.
Naderev “Yeb” Sano, commissioner of the Philippines, Climate
Change Commission and lead negotiator for the country during
the 2013 UN climate summit in Warsaw, Poland, said that after
a year of the severe devastation from the storm, marchers were
not expecting the hopeful atmosphere they found along the
1,000-kilometer (621 mile) trek.
“Today, we have entered the severely hit zone of Typhoon
Haiyan, and we got a rousing welcome,” Sano said in a
telephone interview four days before the end of the march.
“Each of the 36 days are extraordinary days. Each day is
unique, something new is happening, we get to interact to
different people. There are no low moments because of the
uplifting experience to rediscover the Filipino spirit, in every
town, to care for one another.”
The marchers left Manila on Oct. 2, then headed through the
provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Samar, and
Leyte.
They hope the walk will inspire people around the world and
encourage ambitious efforts by world leaders to confront the
climate change.
Sano said the walk was demanding and was taking a physical
toll on the marchers. He was sidelined at one point by an injury
that required him to rest before rejoining the march.
Hospitality from Everyone
The United Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the
National Council of Churches in the Philippines, and other
organizations, along with local governments, have supported
the march.
“The First United Methodist Church in Naga City has sheltered
us and fed us,” said Rommuel Flores, the son of a United
Methodist pastor. Flores, along with Sano and two other
walkers, gave their testimonies during worship.
Sano said marchers were offered a place to stay every night.
“The challenge was which offers we would take because so
many organizations are offering the schools, church, barangay
(village) halls, municipal halls,” he said. While in Basey, the
group slept in tents on a basketball court.
Governor Joey Salceda of the Albay province joined the
marchers from Camarines Sur to Palangue.
Formal programs were held on more than half of the evenings.
The programs consisted of a welcome affair hosted by the local
community, then a series of films, and a speech by Sano
encouraging people to heed the global call to climate action.
Then, one of the walkers would give a testimony. Finally, a
climate disaster resilience tool kit was given to the mayor or
vice mayor.
Climate Toolkits
Resources in the toolkits can help with community planning in
the face of climate change, assist in the protection of
communities from climate disaster risks, and empower local
communities to take control of their development destiny,
according to organizers.
The information also offers assistance on how local
policymakers can draft their own local climate change action
plan, along with a sample plan from Camotes Island.
The island is considered an example of a best-practice triumph
in the midst of climate disaster, since there were no deaths and
only one injury there during Typhoon Haiyan. Officials attributed
that good fortune to the commitment of their political leaders
and the people to efforts to make the island resilient to climate
disasters.
The Power to Rise Up
“We have a song which we sing every day in our walk, ‘Tayo
tayo’ which means ‘Let us rise’ in a march rhythm,” Sano said.
And he is optimistic that people will rise for change.
“If we believe we can do something, if we stay positive in
making a difference, that is the power, and the power of the
crowd to make things happen,” Sano said.
His hope is that people will realize that they have power at the
grassroots level to change things for the better, live sustainably,
and build a culture of caring and accountability.
“We can’t afford to lose this battle for humanity, it is a leap of
faith to do something like this,” Sano said.
Beyond the March
“Many people have asked what happens after the walk,” he
noted.
Beyond serving as an instrument for non-violent protest, the
walk has demonstrated that “solutions are in the hands of
individuals,” Sano said, adding that he hopes everyone will be
encouraged to get involved.
“The destination of our climate walk is not Tacloban City, but
the hearts and minds of people, people in the Philippines and in
the whole world.”
QUESTIONS:

1. Who is Naderev Sano?

2. What was the 40-day walk for?
3. What are the climate tool kits for?
DIRECTION:
• Read the following article.
• Highlight the unfamiliar words.
• List the words and find their meanings using any
dictionary.
• Then answer the questions at the end of the article.
 The Pope as Messenger:
Making Climate Change a Moral Issue
Andrew J. Hoff man and Jenna White
Can Pope Francis spread the idea that protecting nature a
moral issue? – Tony Gentile/Reuters
This summer, Pope Francis plans to release an encyclical letter
in which he will address environmental issues, and very likely
climate change.
His statement will have a profound impact on the public debate.
For one, it will elevate the spiritual, moral, and religious
dimensions of the issue. Calling on people to protect the global
climate because it is sacred, both for its own God-given value
and for the life and dignity of all humankind, not just the affluent
few, will create far more personal commitment than a
government call for action on economic grounds or an activist’s
call on environmental grounds.
Making a case on theological grounds builds on long-standing
arguments in the Catholic catechism that environmental
degradation is a violation of the seventh commandment (Thou
shalt not steal) as it involves theft from future generations and
the poor. Against such a moral backdrop, the very call to “make
the business case to protect the global climate”—a common
tactic to argue for action on climate change—seems rather
absurd. The pope’s statement will shift the tenor of the public
and political conversation in needed ways.
Transcending Political Tribes
But perhaps even more important than the content of the
message is the messenger: the pope.
The public debate over climate change today has been caught
up in the so-called “culture wars.” The debate is less about
carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas models than it is about
opposing values and worldviews. In the United States, those
opposing cultural worldviews map onto our partisan political
system—the majority of liberal Democrats believe in climate
change, the majority of conservative Republicans do not.
People of either party give greater weight to evidence and
arguments that support pre-existing beliefs and expend
disproportionate energy trying to refute views or arguments that
are contrary to those beliefs.
Further, research shows that we have begun to identify
members of our political tribes based on their position on
climate change. We openly consider evidence when it is
accepted or ideally presented by sources that represent our
cultural community, and we dismiss information that is
advocated by sources that represent groups whose values we
reject.
Beyond Catholics
The pope, by contrast, can reach segments that the three
primary messengers on climate change—environmentalists,
democratic politicians, and scientists—cannot.
First, the pope can reach the world’s 1.2 billion Roman
Catholics with an unmatched power to convince and motivate.
Religion, unlike any other institutional force in society, has the
power to directly influence our values and beliefs.
Government regulations can influence behavior, but often
without changing underlying values and motivations. But by
connecting climate change to spiritual and religious values, and
introducing notions of sin, people will have new and more
powerful motivations to act. The pope can make the issue as
personal as Sunday School. Once the pope’s message is out,
Catholics will hear that message reinforced in homilies in their
home parish.
And it would appear that Catholics are a receptive audience.
According to a survey by the Yale Project on Climate
Communication, a solid majority of Catholics (70%) think that
global warming is happening and 48% think it is caused by
humans, compared with only 57% and 35% of non-Catholic
Christians, respectively.
But the pope’s reach extends far beyond his Catholic followers.
A survey by the Pew Research Center found that the pope is
extremely popular with both Catholics and non- Catholics.
Americans are particularly fond of Pope Francis, with more than
three-quarters (78%) giving him positive marks. In Europe,
Catholics and non-Catholics view the pope with very similar
acclaim.
His message will undoubtedly reach beyond the Catholics of
the world, and has the potential to draw attention to the ongoing
efforts of leaders in other denominations, including Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I of the Orthodox Church, nicknamed
the “Green Patriarch.” With the pope taking a stand on climate
change, it could compel other religious leaders to make more
public calls for action.
If the message of climate change is delivered more from the
church, synagogue, mosque or temple, people will internalize it
as a moral issue that compels them to act regardless of the
“business case.” A change in the tenor of the public debate in
America will set the stage for leaders of all faiths to step
forward.
Political Influence
This all leads to potential change within our political system.
The 114th Congress has 138 Catholic Congressman (70 of
whom are Republican) and 26 Catholic Senators (11 of whom
are Republicans). Those 81 Republicans have followed the
party lead in rejecting the scientific consensus on climate
change, not because of the scientific evidence, but rather by
yielding to party politics.
But this may be changing. This past January, 50 Senators,
including 15 Republicans, voted on an amendment that
affirmed that humans contribute to global warming. Other
Republicans have begun to chip away at what former Utah
Governor Jon Huntsman called, the party’s “anti-science”
position that flies in the face of the assessments of over 200
scientific agencies around the world, including the scientific
agencies of every one of the G8 countries.
The pope’s message could give political cover for emerging
Republicans to upend the notion that you cannot be a
conservative and believe in climate change. They could
undertake this conversion as a personal reexamination of their
beliefs or as an answer to a reenergized base.
A recent poll found that two-thirds of Americans said they were
more likely to vote for political candidates who campaigned on
fighting climate change (including 48% of Republicans) and
less likely to vote for candidates who denied the science that
determined that humans caused global warming.
A newly non-partisan dialogue in Congress can lead to action
on multiple fronts. It could hinder repeated threats by the GOP,
and most recently by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, to defund the Environmental Protection Agency’s
climate program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It might
also influence the Supreme Court as it considers the case
against the EPA (six of nine Justices are Roman Catholic). It
may shift the US position on climate change in advance of the
upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on climate
change in Paris. Finally, it may help shift the views of
presidential candidates, such as Marco Rubio, and elevate
climate change on the list of election issues for both parties.
According to a Gallup poll, 61% of Democrats view climate
change as important, compared with only 19% of Republicans,
ranking it dead last on the list of GOP priorities.
In the end, the best possible outcome of the pope’s message
for Americans is a breakdown of the partisan divide over
climate change and a reestablishment of societal trust in our
scientific institutions. On the one side, Democrats may learn a
powerful lesson about the need to go beyond the scientific
arguments on the issue and begin to connect it to people’s
underlying values, which could help motivate action across the
political spectrum.
And Republicans may reexamine their party position on, not
only climate change, but environmental issues in general. To
that point, this past March Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
from South Carolina blamed his party (and Al Gore) for the
stalemate over climate change and concluded:
You know, when it comes to climate change being real, people
of my party are all over the board… I think the Republican Party
has to do some soul searching. Before we can be bipartisan,
we’ve got to figure out where we are as a party… What is the
environmental platform of the Republican Party? I don’t know,
either.
Let’s hope that the pope, in concert with other religious leaders
around the world, can help them figure that out.
QUESTIONS:

1. Why is climate change a moral issue?

2. Why is there a need to connect climate change
to spiritual and religious values?
DIRECTION:
• Prepare a resolution on “Fighting the Climate Change.”
• Write your resolution on a clean sheet of bond paper or
in the box provided in the worktext.
1. Why is there a need to mitigate global
warming?
2. If climate change is irreversible, what else
should be done?