What does carbon footprint and environmental footprint even mean?
by Becky Showalter
The words “Carbon Footprint” and “Environmental Footprint” are thrown around almost interchangeably these days in news articles and discussions, but what do they actually mean and how do they relate to each one of us? Bottom line, they are slightly different ways to frame how lightly (or heavily) we are living on our island planet, on God’s creation . . . read on to understand a bit more!
Environmental footprints and carbon footprints are linked but subtly different. Environmental footprint, also known as Ecological footprint, is a way of expressing how much of the earth’s biocapacity (expressed in surface area) is required for our lifestyles – the portion of the environment (i.e. land) needed to produce the goods and services we use, and to absorb our waste. Basically, if everyone lived like you, how much of the planet’s surface would be needed to sustain that lifestyle? Our goal, of course, should be that when the global population is added up, the area needed to sustain us should be equal to, or less than, ONE planet (since we don’t have another!).
Carbon footprint is a more direct calculation – how much heat trapping gas does our lifestyle create? This is mostly related to how much fossil fuel is burned to support our lifestyles – driving, food production, transporting of goods, movement and heating of water, energy production, construction of roads, building, infrastructure, etc. To a lesser degree, it is also be related to how we dispose of waste (composting or not).
Both footprint types are important, and in both measurements, North Americans, not surprisingly, have larger footprints than is sustainable. On the Environmental Footprint front, globally, we have moved from needing “ONE” planet to sustain us is 1969 to needing 1.7 planets to sustain us in 2018 – definitely the wrong direction! From a carbon footprint standpoint, the United States produces 17 tons of CO2 per capita as compared to Mexico at 3.6 tons, the UK at 7.8 tons, China at 6.6 tons and Kenya at 0.5 tons.
Truthfully, only a portion of either footprints are in our direct control. However, as Christians and responsible citizens of this world, we should continue to always look for ways to be better stewards. Are there ways we can be more aware? Are there things we can do? The answer is a definite yes! Look for the blog next week where we discuss some ideas of what we CAN do!
Nativity is working on calculating our Carbon Footprint! Calculate your own Carbon Footprint. Knowledge is power!