Environmental Science: Carbon Footprint Audit and Reduction Plan
Measure everyday emissions and create a realistic plan to reduce them
Environmental Science: Carbon Footprint Audit and Reduction Plan
Measure everyday emissions and create a realistic plan to reduce them
Environmental Science - Grade 6-8
- 1
Define carbon footprint in your own words. Include at least two examples of activities that can add to a person's carbon footprint.
Think about energy use, transportation, food, and things people buy.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, caused by a person, household, product, or activity. Examples include driving a gasoline car, using electricity from fossil fuels, heating a home, buying new products, and eating foods that require a lot of energy to produce. - 2
Sort each activity into the best category: riding in a car, charging a phone, eating beef tacos, throwing away leftover food, buying a new backpack. Categories: Transportation, Home Energy, Food, Waste, Goods.
Riding in a car belongs in Transportation. Charging a phone belongs in Home Energy. Eating beef tacos belongs in Food. Throwing away leftover food belongs in Waste. Buying a new backpack belongs in Goods. - 3
Maya rides in a gasoline car 12 miles to school and 12 miles home each school day. If the car produces about 0.4 kilograms of CO2 per mile, how many kilograms of CO2 are produced from her school travel in one day?
Find the round-trip distance first, then multiply by the emissions per mile.
Maya travels 24 miles in one day because 12 + 12 = 24. The emissions are 24 x 0.4 = 9.6 kilograms of CO2, so her school travel produces about 9.6 kilograms of CO2 in one day. - 4
A student records these weekly transportation emissions: car rides, 42 kg CO2; bus rides, 8 kg CO2; walking and biking, 0 kg CO2. What is the student's total weekly transportation footprint?
The total weekly transportation footprint is 42 + 8 + 0 = 50 kilograms of CO2. - 5
A family uses 180 kilowatt-hours of electricity in one month. If each kilowatt-hour produces about 0.45 kilograms of CO2, estimate the family's monthly electricity emissions.
Multiply the electricity used by the emissions per kilowatt-hour.
The family's monthly electricity emissions are 180 x 0.45 = 81 kilograms of CO2. - 6
Look at this home energy audit list: lights left on in empty rooms, thermostat set very high in winter, unplugged phone charger, full dishwasher run once per day. Choose two items that could reduce emissions if changed, and explain how.
Lights left on in empty rooms could be changed by turning them off, which would reduce electricity use. A thermostat set very high in winter could be lowered a little, which would reduce the energy needed for heating. The unplugged phone charger is already a good habit because it is not using extra electricity. - 7
A cafeteria throws away 15 kilograms of food waste each day. Students start a program that reduces food waste by 40 percent. How many kilograms of food waste are saved each day?
Change 40 percent to 0.40 before multiplying.
The food waste saved each day is 40 percent of 15 kilograms. Since 0.40 x 15 = 6, the program saves 6 kilograms of food waste each day. - 8
Rank these lunches from likely lowest carbon footprint to likely highest carbon footprint: vegetable soup with bread, chicken sandwich, beef burger. Explain your ranking.
In general, plant-based foods often have lower emissions than meat, and beef is often higher than chicken.
A likely ranking from lowest to highest carbon footprint is vegetable soup with bread, chicken sandwich, and beef burger. Plant-based meals usually have lower emissions, chicken often has medium emissions, and beef usually has higher emissions because raising cattle requires more land, feed, and energy and produces methane. - 9
The circle graph shows one student's daily carbon footprint by category: transportation 50 percent, food 25 percent, home energy 15 percent, waste 10 percent. Which category should the student examine first for the biggest possible reduction, and why?
The student should examine transportation first because it is the largest category at 50 percent of the daily carbon footprint. Reducing the largest category can often make the biggest difference. - 10
A student wants to reduce car travel. List three lower-emission transportation choices that could work for some trips.
Three lower-emission transportation choices are walking, biking, and taking a bus or train. Carpooling can also reduce emissions per person when walking, biking, or public transportation are not possible. - 11
Jamal's weekly carbon footprint is estimated at 120 kilograms of CO2. His goal is to reduce it by 15 percent. How many kilograms of CO2 does he need to cut each week, and what will his new weekly footprint be?
Find 15 percent of 120, then subtract that amount from the original footprint.
Jamal needs to cut 15 percent of 120 kilograms. Since 0.15 x 120 = 18, he needs to cut 18 kilograms of CO2 each week. His new weekly footprint will be 120 - 18 = 102 kilograms of CO2. - 12
Choose the stronger reduction plan and explain why. Plan A: Turn off bedroom lights once this week. Plan B: Turn off lights whenever leaving a room and use daylight when possible for the next month.
Plan B is stronger because it is specific, repeated, and lasts for a month. Plan A is helpful but only happens once, so it would probably reduce much less electricity use. - 13
Create one SMART goal for reducing a carbon footprint. The goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.
Include what action you will take, how often you will do it, and how long you will continue it.
One SMART goal is: For the next four weeks, I will bike or walk to soccer practice two times each week instead of getting a car ride. This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, related to reducing transportation emissions, and has a clear time period. - 14
A class compares two reduction actions. Action 1 saves 3 kg CO2 per week and is very easy. Action 2 saves 12 kg CO2 per week but requires family permission and planning. Explain how a student could decide which action to try first.
A student could compare both impact and difficulty. Action 1 may be a good first step because it is easy and builds a habit. Action 2 saves more CO2, so the student could plan for it by talking with family members and choosing days when it is realistic. - 15
Write a short carbon footprint reduction plan for one week. Include one action for transportation, one action for home energy, one action for food or waste, and how you will track your progress.
Make the plan realistic for a middle school student and include a tracking method such as a checklist, calendar, or table.
A strong one-week plan includes actions from different categories and a way to track them. For example, I will walk or carpool for two short trips, turn off lights and electronics when not in use each day, pack leftovers for lunch once to reduce food waste, and record each completed action on a checklist.