Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gases’

How big is your carbon footprint?

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Your carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse-gas emissions you produce in your everyday life. Your total carbon footprint is divided into two parts: your primary footprint, which is the emissions you directly cause (by using the stove, driving your car, running up an electricity bill, and so on), and your secondary footprint is made up of the indirect emissions which are a result of your lifestyle choices (eating at restaurants, going to the movies, buying a lot of clothes or electronic devices, etc.).

There are plenty of websites that can calculate your (primary and/or secondary) carbon footprint for you, but you have to provide some details first. For whatever period of time you want to measure (a month, six months, a year) you have to know your energy bills (gas, electricity, coal, propane, etc.), the number of miles you’ve traveled in your car and by public transport, and any airplane flights you may have taken. This information all contributes to your primary footprint. The secondary footprint is more approximate and requires you to input data like how often you eat at restaurants, how often you buy new clothes, and whether/how much you recycle. Once you know the value of your carbon footprint, you can see all the different factors that contribute to it and look for places where you can cut back.

And You Thought Swine Flu Was Bad…

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

A new study explains in no uncertain terms that climate change will have very serious consequences for the future of human health.

  • The public health implications of rising sea levels and shrinking Arctic ice are vast and include malnutrition caused by droughts, disease carried by mosquitos, and severe asthma from increased air pollution.
  • The study, released by the Trust for America’s Health, states that these threats will be dramatically reduced if the federal government prioritizes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
  • One way to prepare for the onslaught of issues that will face urban areas is to plant more trees in cities, as they both clean and cool the air.

Facts & Figures

  • Heat waves are expected to worsen in cities where the lack of plant life makes for “urban heat islands.”
  • Warmer weather allows insects like mosquitos to migrate northward, expanding their territory and their ability to spread diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
  • Increased heat supports air pollution by contributing to smog, causing increased respiratory illnesses in humans.

Best Quote

“Some of the most personal effects of climate change are going to be health-related ones. We should want the government doing as much as possible now to prevent these effects, or minimize them when they occur.” – Jeff Levi, Executive Director of the Trust for America’s Health

Greenhouse Gases are…

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Greenhouse gases are thought to be a major culprit in global warming. Gases including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and even water vapor, trap heat from the sun and make the Earth warmer – just like glass in a greenhouse traps heat and makes the air inside warmer. These gases exist naturally in the atmosphere, but human activities have increased their concentrations and subsequent air warming to a level that could potentially have disastrous climactic effects.

Mayors Take Climate Change Into Their Own Hands

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

What do you do when your state’s ski resorts are firing their employees due to lack of snow, and the federal government doesn’t seem to care?

  • On Friday, Greg Nickels, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced that 1,000 mayors around the country had signed on to an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their cities in keeping with the Kyoto protocols, an international agreement designed to combat global warming.
  • With most of the nation’s population and economy concentrated in cities, mayors felt it was their duty to step in to reduce emissions where the federal government fell short. The U.S. government has not yet signed on to the Kyoto protocols.
  • In addition to reducing emissions in their own cities, the group of mayors also lobbies Congress for grants and funding for greenhouse-gas-reducing projects, and advocates for a nationwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 7% of the 1990 level by 2012.

Facts & Figures

  • The city of Cleveland has converted to 25% renewable energy.
  • Boston has increased its use of solar power by 300%
  • Los Angeles met the 7% Kyoto target for emissions reduction four years early in 2008; Seattle reduced its 1990-level emissions by 8% three years earlier than that, in 2005.

Best Quote

“I am signing up because this is too important an issue for us to stand on the sideline. This is not a group without diversity, it’s not a group that agrees on everything, but it is a group that is completely united and committed to this one issue.” – Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa, AZ