Molly's Carbon Footprint
| School/Organization: |
The San Francisco School
San Francisco, California
USA |
| Grade Level: |
Middle |
| Group Size: |
1 |
| Project Scope: |
Average |
| Hours Spent on Project: |
2 |
| Category: |
Air, Education and Public Awareness
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For five weeks, I took different environmental actions, from turning off electronics when they are not in use, to even planting flowers to reduce the amount carbon dioxide in the air. This was the plan I made to see how I could decrease my carbon footprint. I kept track of these actions each week in a log. I observed how my relationship with my family changed, what I enjoyed about my actions, what I disliked about my actions, and what was challenging about my actions. Before I even started my actions for the 5 week course, I calculated my carbon footprint. Then, at the end of the 5 weeks, I once again calculated my carbon footprint and saw how it decreased. This was an experiment to show how the little things we change in our everyday lives can help reduce our carbon footprint.
How Your Group's Environmental Ethic Changed
Our group's environmental ethic is that if you want to help stop global warming, you have to be the one to take action in your everyday life, because with little changes we are able to reduce the carbon we let out in our atmosphere. We also believe you should be educated about the causes and effects of global warming, and for this to happen, we must raise awareness about the subject.
What We Wish We Had Known Before We Started.
I wish we had known how easy it is to reduce our carbon footprint. This is because if I knew about the simple ways to help reduce my carbon footprint, I would have been more aware of the things I could easily do to help our earth. Therefore I would have already been reducing my carbon footprint by making some slight adjustments in my everyday life.
How We Made A Difference
We made a difference by being educated about global warming and our carbon footprint. Once we were educated and this project took place, we were able to help educate others (family members) which is the first step for them to start taking action. I believe that after this project, many of the families like mine continued the adjustments we made in our lives to help reduce our carbon footprint. This will make a difference for the rest of my life without having to remind myself to turn off electronics, or to use a drying rack to dry my clothes.
Who Or What Has Shaped Environmental Thinking In Your Culture Or Country?
John Muir
Next Steps
Continue my actions and encourage my family to do the same.