Carbon Footprint

It’s all about self improvement as we approach the new year. Check out this list of 52 (! )simple ways to lower your carbon footprint.   It’s ideal for our readers who are college students. But, there’s plenty of tips that...

Eco-friendly products have flooded the market - which is great to see! Unfortunately, you have to be aware of possible impostors - some supposedly green products have a more damaging carbon footprint than a simpler, non-green branded product. How can you tell if a product is really green or if it's just marketing? This Sincerely Sustainable blog post shows the ANDREA air filter as a green imposter. While the intentions of ANDREA are good - transforming plants into air cleaners - there's a huge carbon footprint from creating this gadget (between sourcing, transportation and creating the manufacture and sale). A better alternative than ANDREA? Mother nature's "houseplant" - A novel concept, and it costs about $197 less than the $200 price tag. Other 'green' marketing scams & questionable companies include:

A glimpse into U2’s collective carbon footprint from Helen Roberts of carbonfootprint.com has sparked controversy among environmentalists. This year alone, the world-renowned band’s tour (from 44 shows) is reportedly emitting the equivalent carbon footprint of a return flight to Mars....

Glancing down a grocery aisle, bottled water looks so tempting. The beautiful graphics of green trees, exotic water from Fiji or France... it looks so healthy. It's easy to be duped by this misleading advertising. Growing up the Philly suburbs, I never bought water. Luckily, our tap was clean and my Dad didn't get the point in buying a typically free product. (Who knew Dad's crazy protest was actually helping the environment? ) The bottled water industry is an environmental termite. When you're drinking a bottle of water, you're consuming approximately 1/2 of that bottle in oil - talk about hurting your Carbon Footprint! Why is bottled water so bad?

Carpools are catching on quite rapidly due to inflated gas prices. Make sure to reach out to others when driving to work, school, and vacations. You'll save gas, reduce your carbon footprint, and have a buddy to ease any road rage or traffic pains.

Over dinner last night, a friend told me that she recently started riding a bike around the city and is really enjoying it. Her new-found love affair with biking caught her off guard because she had always been intimidated by cyclists. Aren't they afraid of getting hit by crazy Philly drivers?!? But her fear has been conquered, "It's like you're in a video game! I can get everywhere in over half the time!" Her experience got me thinking that others who have decided biking as a form of transportation isn't for them may want to reconsider. Here's a few reasons why:

The term "Carbon Footprint" is becoming more common these days. Basically it refers to recognizing that actions you take produce greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxide 'emissions' that impact the environment. For example, if you drive X miles to work each day, you will put Y tons of carbon emissions into the air from your driving. You can calculate an estimate of your carbon footprint on various websites such as CarbonFootprint.com So, how do you reduce your carbon footprint?