Carbon Footprint~ YIKES

[Faith Seymour]

I think I am very conservative in my use of energy, gas, and oil. In my familyof four, we do a lot of walking and bicycling. It is very important to me to take care of the earth. I desire very strongly to get to the point that I use zero emissions. I know that if I do not work on reaching that zero emissions level, it could be detrimental to my future grandchildren. The rise in the ocean and increase in global warming will disrupt Earth’s natural way of sustaining itself. So in the past 2 years my family and I have upgraded all of our appliances with top rated energy efficient machines. I drive less than 11,000 miles per year. We do most of our vacationing locally – California is BEAUTIFUL!! And we love snorkeling in Laguna. 
I checked the carbon calculators smugly because I assumed I would be close to zero if not in the negative compared to other Californians or US citizens. The first calculator was the one from the US Forest Svcs. It said I only used 1.95 metic tons of carbon/yr. I was pleased as it confirmed what I believed; however it asked very few questions and that was disappointing because it only calculated for a little of my actual useage. The next calculator was the Nature Conservancy’s. It was a lot more comprehensive and put me at 9.6 metric tons. THAT IS WAY TOO MUCH!!! Of course I noticed according to their calculations the avg. US citizen leaves a 27 metric ton footprint per year. So I was still satisfied being in the lower third of the nation. The third site, British Petroleum put me at 9.1 metric tons/yr. Again that is horrible.
This got me thinking, I think that I am really conservative…and if 27metric tons.yr. is the average, that means there are some who are at least 3 times that. What can I do about them??? I can join the Nature Conservancy’s Campaign for a Sustainable Planet. I can help get the message out there. Also this year my husband and I are trying to buy a new car for him. He was looking at a Jeep, but maybe we should do more research about off road hybrids.

[Christi Hartt]

I too was shocked at the level in which I emit CO2. I feel pretty eco conscious, but my average was higher than it should have been and I am truly ashamed. I say I care about this planet, but it sure showed me that I need to care quite a bit more. It also made me aware that there are so many more aspects to saving the planet than turning off lights so that I have cheaper bills. Since this project, it is not about me anylonger, it is about doing my part to turn this whole "Global Warming" thing around. I applaud you for your averages being so low. It seems like such an enormous task and you make it sound so easy. I suppose once you get yourself used to doing things differently for the sake of the planet, it becomes second nature to help it survive.

[Aaron D'Amico]

Faith
I strongly agree with you that taking care of the earth is very important. Reaching zero emissions should be the goal for everybody in the world. We have both drive relatively the same amount of miles per year. I think that it is great that yo do what ever you can do reduce your emission levels and keep them closest to zero. All of your calculations are lower than what I calculated for myself but I also try to do what ever I can to conserve energy, keep my emission levels down, and I recycle as much as I can.