Footprint means the influence that a person's or organization's activities have on the environment. Simply understanding it is very useful to us. (Let's take the example of Mr. Brown's footprints.)
Water footprint
|
Food |
Water Footprint |
Mr. Brown's Water Footprint |
|
|
an apple |
70 litres (升) |
breakfast: a hamburger, a cup of coffee lunch: a cup of coffee, a sandwich, an apple dinner: vegetable salad,0.2 kilo of beef |
|
|
a cup of coffee |
140 litres |
||
|
a kilo of beef |
15,500 litres |
||
|
one hamburger |
2,400 litres |
||
|
(Chart Ⅰ) |
(Chart Ⅱ) |
||
Water is the source of life. We use water directly for drinking, cooking and washing, but we also use water indirectly for producing things such as food, paper and cloth. A water footprint tells us how much water is being used. It can help us come up with ways to save water. You can learn about how your daily habits influence your water use through the food you eat, the things you buy and even the energy you use.
Carbon(碳) footprint
|
Carbon Footprint (Each of the following activities adds 1 kilo of CO2) |
Mr. Brown's Carbon Footprint |
|
travel 10 to 12 km by train or bus drive 6 km by car produce 5 plastic bags use your computer for 32 hours |
drive to work 24 km drive to the supermarket 5 km use 5 plastic bags for shopping use his computer for about 8 hours |
|
(Chart Ⅲ) |
(Chart IV) |
A carbon footprint is the total amount of CO2 a person or organization produces. We can use it to understand the influence of personal behavior on global warming (全球变暖). Most people are surprised when they see how much CO2 their activities create. Then they begin to think about changing their daily habits to reduce (减少) their carbon footprints. For example, they can walk instead of using a car.
How to reduce your water footprint and carbon footprint to be greener
Tip 1: Save water and electricity
When you are at home, don't leave the water or lights on when you don't need it.
Tip 2: ▲
Meatless Monday is popular with people who want to eat less meat. The production of meat uses lots of energy and produces lots of CO2.
Tip 3: Buy less
The more we buy, the more we throw away later. Before you buy something, think about whether you really need it.
Everyone plays a role in making a greener Earth. If you know about your footprints well, you can think up more ways to protect the environment.
