carbon footprints

• what are carbon footprints?

  the totally amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are emitted over somethings entire lifecycle. the 'something' could be a product (your phone), a service (plane travel) or event an event (a festival)
• what is the benefits of working out the carbon footprints of things?

  • we can have a better idea of how environmentally damaging they are. therefore we are better able to decide wether or not they are worth the cost
  • we can identify the most polluting activities and try to reduce their emissions
• how hard is it to measure carbon footprints?

  really hard (sometimes impossible)
• what would we have to take into account if we tried to measure the carbon footprint of a phone?

  • how all the raw materials were sourced
  • the manufacturing process
  • the totally amount of power it uses over its lifetime
  • how its disposed of
• how can we reduce the harmful carbon emissions?

  use renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels, like:

  • wind
  • solar power
  • nuclear energy

  we can also use more efficient manufacturing processes which:

  • uses less energy in the first place
  • and produces less waste
• why is reducing waste very important?

  waste is often broken down by decomposers which can release methane
• how can governments help reducing carbon emissions?

  • introducing new laws
  • taxing companies based on how many greenhouse gases they emit
• what is carbon capture technology?

  • captures the carbon dioxide formed when we burn fossil fuels before it can escape into the atmosphere
  • it can then be stored deep underground in cracks in the rocks (e.g. old oil wells) where it cant escape into the environment
• why is reducing emissions easier said than done?

  • renewable energy is often much more expensive than fossil fuels
  • our entire economy is based on fossil fuels, therefore its very hard to make the change
  • the governments worry that if they prioritise the environment the whole economy might suffer. this makes international agreements very difficult, because no country wants to agree to anything that might hurt its economy.