The term “carbon footprint” is slowly gaining traction in countries like India. It basically refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases, including CO2 and methane, that are sent back into the atmosphere by our actions. These actions include your day-to-day activities like driving a car, opening your refrigerator, or even consuming exotic dishes. Why am I talking about this? Well, learning about global warming and what causes it has been one of the main topics in most of our school days. Yet, we fail to act towards containing it. Result: global temperatures are still on the rise and on the verge of crossing the dreaded 2 °C thresholds, which would have a catalyst effect on climate change and transform it into an irreversible problem.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2019 and that today’s levels of atmospheric CO2 are comparable to those of more than three million years ago, resulting in the hottest year yet that we have witnessed in the history of the planet. If this isn’t alarming enough to make you jump out of your seats, don’t worry I can present more use cases to achieve the jump-scare. Allow me to explain further.
Calculating each individual’s carbon footprint is pretty simple, with multiple online calculators available at your disposal. Most of them ask for the amount of energy used within your household regarding cooking and electricity, what mode of transportation you prefer to commute daily, how much waste your household produces, and how sustainably you shop. Once you fill out the details, they reveal the amount of carbon footprint created by your household(in tons).
Again another question arises, do we all release the same amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? No, but the answer to this will get you out of your seat. Hope you are ready for this.
As shown in the above illustration, studies revealed that being rich and the lifestyle that comes along with it might be what needs to be tackled first. Imagine you have rich neighbours who have an extravagant lifestyle and you sit in your patio chair, wondering what would happen if a flood just washed into your streets. Both of you might drown but can you take the majority of the blame on yourself consciously. I hardly doubt it.
The poorest 50% are only responsible for around 10% of the total lifestyle consumption emissions. This is something that never sees the daylight but being ignorant of this issue will only see the end of our beautiful planet. The same disparity is seen from country to country, the below illustration shows precisely that:
This figure explains the per capita lifestyle consumption emissions in G20 countries for which the data is officially available. The disparity between countries and sections of their societies is ridiculous. For example, an average American household generates more than 10x times the same emissions that an average Indian household does. So how do you change this? The realistic answer is, that you can’t do it single-handedly. Only a collective and conscious effort from communities and societies can restrict this. But don’t fret, like I always say, it all starts from home.
The above illustration explains how in the grander scheme of things greenhouse gas emissions play a big part in climate change and if quick actions are taken towards containing it what our future might look like. It only gets better if we act as individuals, be it the rich or the poor.
📝 So what can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
Adopting renewable sources of power is becoming more popular nowadays. Make use of this opportunity to go green, by any means possible. Fix solar panels to generate solar energy if you live in a place which gets a lot of sunlight, harvest rainwater so that your house can become water positive if you receive ample rainfall(by harvesting you generate a lesser footprint than exporting water — either from a central grid or tankers), set up a small turbine to capture wind energy if your land experiences heavy winds, recycle the wastewater that is produced in your house for gardening and flushing, no matter where you are. Recycling used water will reduce the pollution caused due to sewage water and it will reduce the emissions from treatment plants because you are recycling your water and using it to grow plants on your property. These life hacks not only save energy but give you the freedom to use more because they are clean and emission-free.
Better and sustainable personal lifestyle choices have shown to drastically bring down the carbon footprint at a household level. This includes the way you commute to work, what you consume daily, where you buy products/groceries from, how efficiently you use electricity within your house, and how much you recycle. If you own a car, you can get it serviced regularly, drive more efficiently on the roads by not overspeeding or applying the brakes too hard, avoid using air-conditioning if possible, and carpooling as much as possible. Another option to cut down on emissions is to walk/cycle to nearby destinations and to use the green energy-run public transport services available in your city.
Cutting down on red meat, in general, is by far the best way to cut down on your CO2 footprint when it comes to what goes on your plate. According to a study published in 2017 in the journal Environmental Research Letters, red meat can have up to 100 times the environmental impact of plant-based food. Turning vegan has become a global movement for mainly two things — animal cruelty and global warming. I’m not asking you to turn vegan all of a sudden, but making conscious decisions on what diet you follow and if you can cut down on the amount of meat you consume, can go a long way for the planet you live in.
Rising temperatures due to global warming are a serious threat to not only our livelihood but to all living and non-living beings on our beautiful planet. No one will come out and sunbathe when the temperatures are shooting over 50 degrees. Reacting to such a global phenomenon requires a collective and resolute approach. I could always sugarcoat and tell everyone reading this that this is not an imminent issue that we need to face, we still have more time. Sadly, the time is here, if we do not act towards reducing our emissions from this moment on, remember we will leave an inhabitable Earth for our children to live in.
What can happen if you don’t change your ways? Imagine a world for your children where you have heat waves all the time, there are natural calamities no matter where you are, new deserts will emerge in the middle of grasslands and well, we will become the history they learn tomorrow.
Becoming sustainable and encouraging green living is the only way we can survive this horror. Like the image above, while the others perish and become yesterday’s history, you can create a new beginning for your kids and their kids. All it will take is a few nudges in the right direction.
The journey to self-actualization was not an easy one for me, personally, but when it did happen, I realized that all I can do with my time here is speak my mind out and try to change the mentality of a billion others. Don’t let your actions bite you back, there’s still time to change the way you live.
