Carbon footprint
Our carbon footprint determines how much carbon we emit though our lifestyles. Most actions in our lives that involve consumption – whether it’s eating a sandwich, catching the bus, putting on the TV – result in the emission of carbon from the use of fossil fuels. Oil is used to produce fertilisers, to mill cereals, to manufacture products, to produce plastic of all kinds and as fuel for transport and power. As oil is used, so the carbon from prehistoric forests and organic matter, laid down and compressed over millennia to produce our oil reserves, is released into the atmosphere.
Measuring the amount of carbon released can be done in three ways:
- As carbon (C) – measured in tonnes
- As carbon dioxide (CO2) – measured in tonnes
- As carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2 e) – measured in tonnes (this includes not just carbon dioxide but other greenhouse gases as well).
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Wikipedia Definitions
Time for change Helpful definitions and explanations
Carbon footprint of nations Very useful tool providing an analysis of the make up of any country's carbon emissions