There are still many people who have no concept of what a carbon footprint is or how it is produced. The impact we all have on global warming is reflected not only in our personal production of greenhouse gases but in the products we use. This isn’t surprising, it’s just a fact of life that there are many distractions that take place and we take for granted the imprint we are leaving on the world, just by living.

I'll give you a simple personal example of how our energy use is taken for granted. In our house we have multiple digital clocks and they all run 24 hours a day, one in each room - the microwave, the conventional oven, the CD player, the stereo and in each bedroom all has a clock and each one is sucking up passive energy we could be saving, and we don't give it a thought. It’s just one of the assumed “rights” of living in a modern affluent society, we may not use it but we don’t mind paying for it regardless. Some people might be a little bit shocked if they were to find out exactly the level of carbon emissions they are producing per year, not to mention an indication of the cost and how simple it might be to save a few bucks and the environment at the same time.

You Can’t Change What You Don’t Know

The previous heading sums up a whole range of human instincts and precisely describes one of the roadblocks in front of those trying to educate people on the importance of reducing our carbon footprint. It’s only when someone is shown the consequence for the actions of their daily lives that they can begin to grasp the idea that there is a need for change.

It's only when you find out that the yearly average carbon dioxide production for running a car stands at two and a half tonnes that it hits home that there may be a problem. You can then take the challenge to lower next year's number. Suddenly you have a goal – a quantifiable goal – that you can set for yourself and aim for with real purpose. Failing to get a definite number with regard to your carbon footprint means that you will be guessing about the amount of carbon dioxide your produce. It will be impossible to gauge future levels in the effort to produce less.

The fact that we each stand to get a direct benefit in terms of cost to reducing our carbon footprint should have people more than a little interested.You save money! The word will continue to leak out while, hopefully, carbon dioxide doesn’t.