Here I'll calculate my carbon,waste and water footprint! While also creating ways to reduce my footprint.
Travel - Carbon Dioxide Footprint
From home to work the distance is 1.4 miles. I travel to work 4 days a week. There and back this is 11.2 miles a week.
From home to school the distance is 3.1 miles. I travel to school twice a week. There and back this is 12.4 miles a week.
I travel to HEB once a week, the distance is 2.2 miles from my house. There and back this is 4.4 miles total a week.
I travel to Walmart about three times a week, the distance is .7 miles from my house. There and back this is a total of 4.2 miles a week.
I travel to the gas station about three times a week, the distance is .7 miles from my house. There and back this is a total of 4.2 miles a week.
Once a week I travel about 15 miles going to social outings
In total I travel 51.4 miles a week.
My car's fuel tank can hold 12.4 gallons. On average my car gets 32 mpg. This means on average my car can travel 396.8 miles on a full tank. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration about 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide produces from burning one gallon of gasoline. If i divide my total miles each week by my cars average mile per a gallon (51.4/32) I can figure out my total amount of gallons of gas I use each week. I use about 1.6 gallons of gas each week. 1.6g multiplied by 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide =
31.424 pounds of carbon dioxide I burn each week.
Plastic Waste Footprint:
To calculate my plastic waste footprint I used Omni Calculator - Plastic Footprint Calculator. I will provide the link so you too can check your plastic waste footprint!
Bottles (beverage and condiment), I buy a Gatorade about four times a week, and go through at least one condiment bottle, and one milk cartoon a week. = 6 bottles per a week.
Food wrappers; I buy bags of chips about 5 times a week, 1 pasta box, 2 bags of popcorn, bag of rice, 5 bags of frozen veggies/fruit, 1 bag of cat food, 1 bag of litter. = 15 wrappers per a week.
Shampoo/shower gel/ cosmetic bottles. I go through about two bottles of shampoo and two bottles of conditioner in a 3 month period. One foundation, 2 mascaras, 3 skin care products. = 10 product bottles in a 3 month period.
Toothpaste; I use 2 bottles of tooth paste in a month. = 2 bottles per a month.
Take away plastic box; = 2 per a month
Take away plastic cup = 2 per a month
Straws = 1 straw per a month
Plastic plates = 40 a month
My plastic footprint is 93 1bs a year. Which is 6,976 lbs a lifetime.
Water Footprint
To calculate my water footprint I used a website called Water Footprint Calculator. It asked a variety of questions to calculate how many gallons of water I use each day. I will link it below so you too can figure out your water footprint!
Shower - I take between a 11-15 minute shower everyday. This equals 65 gallons of water each day.
Bathroom sink and kitchen sink - in total each is on for under 5 minutes a day. This equals 40 gallons of water a day.
Dishes - I was dishes once a day. This equals to 20 gallons of water each day.
Laundry - I wash a load each day. This equals 41 gallons of water each day.
Toilet - Because I don't let it mellow. This equals 25 gallons of water each day.
Lawn - I water my garden once every day. It is on the smaller scale. This equals 12 gallons of water a day.
Car washing - I wash my car twice a month through a car wash. This comes down to 2 gallons of water a day.
Driving - I drive a little over 50 miles a week. This equals 2 gallons of water each day.
Electricity - I do not use renewable power, I use utility power. This equals 24 gallons of water each day.
Shopping- I shop a lot. Whether its grocery shopping, small errand shopping, or clothing shopping, its definitely a lot. The website calculate that I use 583 gallons of water each day shopping.
Paper and plastic- I recycle some paper and plastic. So I save 10 gallons of water doing this each day.
Diet - My diet is 100% vegan. This is the best diet when it comes to conserving water. This equals 406 gallons water each day.
Pet food - i go through two bags of cat food each month. This equals to 233 gallons of water each day.
In total I use 1,440 gallons of water each day.
To calculate my yearly contributions each year I need to multiply my weekly carbon foot print by 52 weeks -> 31.424 x 52 = 1,634.084
To calculate my yearly water use I need to multiple my daily water use by 365 days. -> 1,440 x 365 = 525,600
To summarize I produce 1,634.084 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. I contribute 93 pounds of plastic yearly. I use 525,600 pounds of water each year.
Reduction Plan
Travel: I can only reduce my travel a very little bit. I can stop my weekly Walmart and gas station runs, and my weekly outings. If I do this I will save 23.4 miles each week. This means I would drive 28 miles each week. I would use .875 gallons of gas each week. Reducing my carbon dioxide emission to 17.185 daily. (17.185 x 52) = 893.62 pounds of carbon dioxide burned yearly.
Plastic waste: If I stop purchasing my 4 weekly bottles of Gatorade, reduce my food wrappers to 3 a week by reducing my purchase of chip bags and start to bulk shop my rice and pasta, stop the occasional take away plastic cups and boxes to equal zero monthly and completely stop using plastic plates and go from 40 a month to zero = 21.3 pounds of plastic each year.
Water: If I reduce my showers to 5-10 minutes instead of 11-15 minutes, get a low flow shower head, reduce my laundry to 5 times a week instead of one load daily, water my garden twice a week instead of daily watering, reduce my shopping habits, always recycle all paper, plastic, bottles and clothes. This means I would use 1,069 gallons of water each day. (1,069 x 365) = 390,185 gallons of water each year.
What I would save:
Current subtracted by new reduction plan:
Travel: 1,634.084 - 893.62 = 740.464 pounds of carbon dioxide saved each year.
Plastic waste: 93 - 21.3 = 71.7 pounds of plastic saved each year.
Water: 525,600-390,185 = 135,415 gallons of water saved each year
Works cited
“Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).” Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/.
Pamu, Hanna. “Plastic Footprint Calculator.” Omni, Omni Calculator, 16 May 2019, www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/plastic-footprint.
“GRACE's Water Footprint Calculator.” Water Footprint Calculator, www.watercalculator.org/wfc2/q/household/.
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