My Definition of Carbon Footprint

From Economics 101: Every decision we make in life has a cost.

1. Take a drink of soda? The cost can be calories.


2. Try a new shampoo? The cost can be disatisfaction, or a real expense in price change.


3. Ride a bicycle? Increased exhaustion.

These are just examples of how every decision we make daily has a cost.

I mention this because this the thinking necessary to understand the concept of a Carbon Footprint.

I've read some pretty complicated definitions of Carbon Footprint, but many seem to make the eyes cross before even getting to the end. SO many people throw the term around. I have come across more than a few people that admit they really can't define what it means. I'm going to break it down in the way that I understand Carbon Footprint to work.

A Carbon Footprint is the affect of every decision we make in regards to the environment. What is the cost to the environment for transportation, home heating, our choice of groceries, etc?

Break it down a bit more....

There are two types of Carbon Footprint: Primary and Secondary

Primary is a direct cost to the environment: Driving a vehicle with a combustion engine emits exhaust to the atmosphere causing an increase in greenhouse gas.

Secondary is an indirect cost to the environment: When buying imported groceries, the additional transport requirement increases greenhouse gas.

Every choice we make, be it the regular 'paper or plastic', has a cost to our environment. To make a difference, people have to learn to look at the cost of decisions made every day. The difficulty is there are so many choices we have always taken for granted.

It is going to take time, but I believe knowledge is power. And with knowledge, understanding our habits can make changing our daily choises easier.