Carbon Footprints: What they are, How to Measure them, and what Efforts May Be Taken to Decrease Them

Authors

  • Dr. Ashutosh Pathak

Abstract

The total amount of greenhouse gases produced from any locality, area, population, factory, installation or unit to directly or indirectly support human activities, are usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide CO2 (eCO2) and is called as the Carbon footprint. Though all the greenhouse gases are measured while measuring the carbon footprints, they are converted to their Carbon Dioxide equivalent while presenting the final result of emissions. Because to anthropogenic activity, the quantity of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere has grown at a rapid rate over the years, resulting in a major increase in the earth's temperature, creating the dreaded global warming. CO2 e (e=Greenhouse gas equivalent to CO2) is the unit of measurement for carbon footprint. Measuring the carbon emissions from any source can be done by using the conversion factors given by different reliable institutions.  The conversion factors of fuels like diesel, petrol, LPG, fuel wood, electricity are used to find the amount of emissions. Assessing the amount of emissions is extremely important to understand the environmental implications from the emissions from the device, factory, household or activity. Having quantified the emissions, the important source of emission can be identified and area of emission reductions and increasing efficiencies can be prioritised. This provides the opportunity for environmental efficiencies and cost reductions. It is also very important to reduce the emissions by making changes at personal, political and technological levels. A number of steps and measures are discussed in this research paper that are critical in reducing the carbon footprint. The study is very important with the objective to calculate, measure and analyze the carbon footprints of any household with respect to energy consumption. To ignite concerns on energy saving and environmental protection while enjoying the modernized way of life

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Published

2019-04-30

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Section

Articles