Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
Were you surprised to learn about the size of your carbon footprint? In the U.S., the average person releases 27 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.
It is clear that global climate change is a big problem—but each person can still make a difference. Every time a person makes an effort to reduce his or her carbon footprint and focus on energy conservationenergy conservation, less carbon dioxide is put into the air—and that helps to lessen the impact of global climate change.
Making energy conservation a priority can help to reduce your carbon footprint.
What can you personally do to shrink your carbon footprint? Your first challenge in this lesson is to develop a personal conservation commitment .
Explore the following resources to get started. Take notes in the "Reducing Your Carbon Footprint" graphic organizer on page 5 of your Engineering Portfolio.
> Understanding Efficiency
(from The National Academies)
> What You Can Do At Home
(from the United States Environmental Protection Agency)
> Green Tips: Save Power
(from National Geographic Kids)
Teacher Note
Ask students to turn to page 5 of their Engineering Portfolios. After they have explored the websites, ask them to share their research and create a class list of strategies to reduce students' carbon footprint. Students should be able to refer to the class list as they complete the next activity.
Essential Questions
- How does our use of energy impact the environment?
- How can people reduce their impact on the environment?
STEM Career
Connection
Meet
industrial engineer
Michele Stuart.
Many companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprints by using less energy or recycling more waste. Industrial engineers can help.
