The Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint refers to the amount of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual or an organization.
It is measured by undertaking a GHG emissions assessment.
The footprint analogy could be thought of as being the Gases that remain in the atmosphere. Just like a footprint in the sand.
It would not be possible for us to exist without having produced a certain amount of Greenhouse Gases, but our busy and fuel consuming lifestyles produce higher levels than ever before.
The highest levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are produced by burning Fossil Fuels such as Natural Gas and Crude Oil. Half of the worlds man made CO2 emissions come from producing electricity.
The Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste.
Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how much of the Earth (or how many planet Earths) it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle.
For 2005, humanity’s total ecological footprint was estimated at 1.3 planet Earths.
In other words, humanity uses ecological services 1.3 times faster than Earth can renew them.
Every year, this number is recalculated – with a three year lag due to the time it takes for the UN to collect and publish all the underlying statistics.
Source of information
Wikipedia
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By using our planet’s free natural resources such as Solar Energy we can reduce our Carbon Footprint. This is not a futuristic notion. The future is now! We can each make our own contribution by reducing our own CO2 output.
Read about Solar Myths.
Solar Survey
To find out how to request a free Solar Survey for your home you can send an email from here. Thanks for reading.
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