What is your Carbon Footprint?

This is the last Action Project of the Fuel class for STEAM. This unit focused on chemical reactions, carbon emissions, and inequalities. This unit was very short compared to the other two but still enough time to learn everything we needed to get to. When working on the chemical reactions we talked about how certain molecules reacted to from something else. The main molecules we worked with were oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water (H2O). Since the unit was only a couple weeks long there was not much time for Field Experiences so the only one that we had was going to a water cooling facility in downtown Chicago. Here we learned about how this plant cools down water for nearby buildings by using ice. I thought this FE was really cool and it was interesting to hear about the projects that they did and how they got them done. A lot of their work when connecting their water to the buildings involves large pipes underground which can be a difficulty when in a busy city. One of their projects required piping to go underneath the river which might be more difficult than under some roads. The purpose of this action project was to create a whitepaper focusing on carbon emissions. The whitepaper is down below.

As the world continues to run while people go about their daily lives, the earth is gradually getting warmer. We spend every day eating, using our electronics, and throwing out whatever we don’t want or like. All of these contribute to our warming climate. The earth is good at being able to contain heat and the oceans can store a lot of that heat which causes melting ice and rising sea levels. When we use our cars or throw away our lunch from work yesterday we are creating carbon emissions. These levels of CO2 have become pretty high with the help of increased  manufacturing and high end production that uses a large amount of energy to function. The climate has been steadily getting warmer and this year was the warmest January since 1880. Within the world population that is giving these problems life, there are groups trying to make a difference and change our emission levels. Unfortunately it is very hard to even make a dent in it. A stable goal for CO2 levels is 350 ppm. This March we are at about 415 ppm. 

South Sudan has been facing many conflicts about energy and their reliance on fossil fuels is not helping. South Sudan has the lowest energy consumption rate in Africa and additionally, the highest cost of producing energy. Most of the energy that is provided to the capital city, Juba, is through diesel powered generators. There has been a suggestion to transition to renewable energy sources and slight action has been made. 

With the use of footprintcalculator.org I was able to calculate my carbon emissions over the course of a year. This was based on what I was eating, how I am living, and my traveling. In the end I came out with 5.5 metric tons of carbon emissions which is about 2 earths. According to the EPA that is about 91 trees grown for 10 years just to balance the emissions. There are multiple solutions to reduce your carbon footprint and these are the three I came up with.

1. We can emit less CO2 by not using my car. If I were to not use a car for a year then I could remove around 4.7 tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. 
2. To fully reduce my emissions I would have to not use 12.7 barrels of crude oil. 
3. I could emit less CO2 if I completely switched all of my energy needs to renewable sources. I currently have 50% of my energy coming from wind power but if I were to get 100% of my energy from wind or solar my emissions would be completely reduced. The time length of this project is unknown based on the production levels of the sources. 

By making all of these changes the CO2 levels can be significantly reduced if there are large amounts of people pitching in. However there are difficulties to achieving and addressing these solutions. It can be hard not to drive a car especially if someone works far from their home. It would not be the best if they rode a bike of course. Some people also do not have access to renewable energy sources and even non-renewable sources as well. 

There are also many collective actions that larger amounts of people can do like in large cities or big neighborhoods. The two that I came up with are as follows. 

1. Making a community garden.  If there is an empty lot in your neighborhood that is close by you should suggest starting a community garden so you can grow flowers and food plants. Other people can join in and grow their own food. By doing this, people do not have to use cars or other motorized vehicles which pollute the air. This can also encourage walking and getting outside which is good.
2. Composting. This one goes hand in hand with the first one. With a large amount of people not wasting their food scraps there can be less of a greenhouse gas release into the atmosphere. Composting can also reduce or even eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers that are bad for the environment and harmful to animals. With composting and a community garden you can lower the amount of emissions made since you are locally growing food and not using motorized vehicles to get there while still being able to have fertilizer for future plants. 

I suggest that community gardens can be a great solution for our CO2 problems. Locally growing food is already a benefit to this problem since you do not have to travel far to get to it and the plants that you grew are not coming to you by car or truck. These foods also do not need to be packaged or wrapped which helps eliminate the uses of plastics. Most community farms have a rainwater collection system which feeds water into each of the growing plots or pods. Having a community garden is also a great way to interact with other people in your neighborhood that you haven’t seen a lot or never met. With multiple community gardens spread across the city, people can have access to growing food and creating less carbon emissions. 

Sources

“Earth's CO2 Home Page.” CO2.Earth.

“Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 12 Oct. 2015.

Tiitmamer, Nhial, and Jok Gai Anai. “Transitioning to Renewable Energy: An Analysis of Energy Situation in Juba, South Sudan.” Africa Portal, The SUDD Institute, 28 Sept. 2018.

I thought this was a nice unit since there was so much to learn in a short amount of time but we still made it work. I enjoyed talking about chemical equations and also looking back on the things we have done in the past units of this course. I hope this can help someone learn about their carbon emissions and see what their levels or footprints are.