United Methodist Women’s Carbon Footprint Toolkit
What is a “carbon footprint”?
Several different chemical compounds contribute to global warming and climate change. Some, like water vapor, are important for helping to regulate the temperature of the earth and making our planet livable. However, human-induced climate change is attributed to our production of these greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons. As we go about our daily lives, our actions produce these greenhouse gases directly and indirectly.
An individual’s annual carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are attributable to our actions in one year. This “footprint” includes greenhouse gas emissions from certain types of fuels that we burn to heat our home or power a vehicle, those created from producing the goods and services that we use, from power plants that generate electricity, and from landfills where our trash gets sent, among other things. (Footprints also can be measured for businesses, nonprofits, buildings, etc.).
What can I do: