Dealing with inconvenient truths

Take a minute and ask yourself: How big is my carbon footprint?
Not many will admit to the damage they’ve done, but in some way, shape or form all of us have contributed to the global warming situation we are living through.

It’s no secret that carbon dioxide is accumulating in our environment, and although some will debate the issue, countless statistics point to the contribution this has to global warming.

Results from a study in April’s edition of Environmental Science Technology show that China and the U.S. are the world’s leading CO2 emission producers. They also lead the way in energy consumption.

Carbon dioxide from fossil fuels makes up the majority of gas emissions in the U.S., according to the 2010 Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. This accounts for approximately 85 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the study.
Researchers and scientists have jumped in on ways to decrease carbon dioxide in our environment.

Scientist Mark Hodges is testing a theory that could potentially create mass reforestation by using tree bombs. In Hodges’ documentary, titled “Raining Forests,” he describes a container filled with seeds or seedlings of the local species that would be dropped in an appropriate location, disburse seeds and eventually lead to full forests. Hodges is in the testing phases of designing a universal delivery mechanism for this distribution.

Global Research Technologies is creating an artificial tree, which could potentially absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The tree is really a tower filled with different materials, including alkaline resin that reacts with acidic carbon dioxide and holds it in place.
According to Billy Gridley from Global Research Technologies, in a 24-hour period one artificial tree is estimated to harvest about one ton of carbon dioxide.

Unfortunately, the tree is set to be ready for distribution in two or three years and will cost about $150 per ton.
But what can you do locally? If everyone did just put in a little effort each day to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted, we could make a difference.

Follow some of the tips below to get started: • If you live a couple of blocks away from a grocery store or any other store, walk the distance. According to the EPA, on average the total annual pollution emitted by a passenger car was estimated to be 11,450 pounds of carbon dioxide in 2000. By walking to places you’ll not only begin reducing the size of your carbon footprint, but work off those extra calories you tacked on with dessert. • If you have a backyard or patio, plant a tree. Trees provide shade in the summer months and take up some of the carbon dioxide in the air. According to the U.S. Forest Service, if 50 million trees were planted, they would consume about 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually in California. If it can take up that much over there, just imagine what it could do here! To find out exactly how much carbon dioxide a tree you plant consumes, use the Center for Urban Forest Research Tree Carbon Calculator at www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/topics/urban-forests. • If you have a dead tree in your backyard, chop it down and plant new ones to replace it. According to the U.S. Forest Service, once a tree dies or is cut down, it starts to decompose and returns stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don’t want that! But don’t throw away the tree remains. Use them as mulch to provide protection and nutrition, retain moisture, decrease erosion and diminish weed growth and seed germination for your plants and new trees. • If you don’t have anywhere to plant a tree, get large planting pots and fill them with native plants. They’ll provide color to your balcony or inside your home. Planting native plants will also conserve water. According to the EPA, native plants also help you save time and money by reducing the amount of fertilizers, pesticides and lawn maintenance equipment needed.
What else can you do? Recycle everything. Recycling plastics has the added benefits of decreasing the amount of plastics in our landfills and reducing the amount of natural resources needed to create virgin plastic.
You know all of those notebooks filled with notes from classes you had three years ago or handouts you’ve been meaning to throw away, but haven’t? Well, according to the EPA, about 85 million tons of paper and paperboard are used each year in the United States. The agency states that the average American uses the same amount of paper and wood products per year that would be produced from a 100-foot-tall Douglass-fir tree.

Using recycled products also reduces the amount of natural resources used to create virgin products. The best part of this is that there are so many recycled items produced and available to purchase in stores. It’s not something only certain stores sell. You can find recycled items even at Wal-Mart.

Recycled items can be made into all sorts of things we use every day. For example, recycled paper can be made into egg cartons, paper towels, tissue, toilet paper, notebooks, phonebooks, paper bags, stamps and so much more. Imagine how many recycled items we could make from just one semester’s worth of notebooks and handouts, or even one year’s worth of Daily Lobos!