Carbon Footprints

Question 1

what are carbon footprints?

Answer 1

measures of the amount of carbon dioxide released over the full life cycle of something e.g. a service, event or product

Question 2

what are some ways to reduce carbon footprints?

Answer 2

-renewable energy sources or nuclear energy could be used instead of fossil fuels
-using more efficient processes could conserve energy and reduce waste
-governments could tax companies or people based in the amount of greenhouse gases they emit e.g. taxing cars based on the amount of CO2 they emit over a set distance would encourage people to buy more fuel efficient ones-
-technology can be used to capture CO2 produced by fossil fuels before its released into the atmosphere to be stored deep underground in cracks in the rocks such as oil wells

Question 3

why is making carbon footprint reductions so difficult?

Answer 3

-governments are worried that making these changes may will impact economic growth of communities especially in developing countries
-there is a lot of work to be done on technology that results in lower carbon emission
-it is hard to make international agreements as many countries do not want to sacrifice economic development if they think others wont do the same