What’s the carbon cycle? The carbon cycle is a cycle where carbon travels in various forms through nature. Some parts of the carbon cycle are human and animal organic waste, burning of fossil fuels, and deforestation. Global carbon parts per million (PPM) represent how much carbon is in our atmosphere. Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted because of the consumption of fossil fuels by a person, group, or country. CO2 emissions in tonnes (tons) represent how much carbon you emit yearly. I used footprintcalculator.org to estimate my carbon emissions throughout one year based on what type of home I live in, what I eat, how I travel and a few more factors. My CO2 emissions in tonnes per year are 11.1 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The number of Earths needed to sustain my lifestyle is 4.3 Planet Earths. Tree seedlings represent how many trees you would need to plant to offset the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. My number of tree seedlings is 167 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. This means I would need to plant 167 trees in order to offset my carbon emissions to the atmosphere (according to the EPA). An overshoot day a predicted day in the future when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a specific year outpaces what Earth can reproduce in that year. My overshoot day is March 25. According to overshootday.org, the average United States citizen overshoot day is March 15 while the average United Kingdom citizen’s overshoot day is May 8. My overshoot day is a little less sustainable compared to the average United States citizen’s overshoot day. The average United Kingdom citizen’s overshoot day is far more unsustainable compared to the average United State citizen’s overshoot day. In chapter 7 of the book Raising Elijah, the author, Sandra Steingraber’s made 3 suggestions on reducing carbon emissions. They were planting a garden to increase vegetation, mowing lawns without using fossil fuels, and drying clothes using evaporation from the Sun instead of using dryer machines. I agree with her ideas because they are ways to be sustainable in your daily life and towards the environment. I think an average American can reduce their carbon emissions by recycling and reusing. “By buying used products and reselling or recycling items you no longer use, you can reduce your carbon footprint from the “provision of goods.”-https://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/ One way we could absorb more existing CO2 is by not only planting more plants but by using a cement alternative called “Ferrock”. Ferrock absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as it dries. This concrete alternative is more sustainable for the environment. A new technology used by carbonengineering.com that could make a difference towards our carbon emissions is a direct
air capture of carbon(DAC) using a four-step process to capture and store carbon dioxide from atmospheric air. (See Visual)
Right now we are approximately around 411.75 carbon ppm. Last year around this time we were at 408.32 carbon parts per million. It may not seem like much of an increase but in reality, it really is. If we continue this trend, our global carbon parts per million will continue to rise and Earth will have many problems and issues as the outcome. In conclusion to my action plan, I believe that reducing our carbon footprints play a very big role in our lives and the lives of the future generations of this planet. If we don’t get a jump on sustaining the environment the Earth might not be “healthy” for people to live on. We need to take action in reducing our carbon emissions to our atmosphere so we can continue to live on this planet in the future.
Works Cited “About Direct Air Capture Technology - Carbon Engineering.” Carbon Engineering, 2009, www.carbonengineering.com/about-dac/. “Earth’s CO2 Home Page.” CO2.Earth, 2012, www.co2.earth/. “How Many Planets Does It Take to Sustain Your Lifestyle?” Footprintcalculator.Org, 2019, www.footprintcalculator.org/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019 “Country Overshoot Days 2018.” Earth Overshoot Day, 2018, www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/. “Tech Launch Arizona-Ferrock.” UANews, 2019, www.uanews.arizona.edu/file/tech-launch-arizonaferrock-0.