Climate Change and Carbon Emissions - Choose Your Path
Did you know a typical human in the United States generates about 6 tons of carbon per year? To offset this amount of carbon, it takes about 30 adult trees to do regular photosynthesis. This exercise is going to look at your decisions and whether you are at, above, or below that average carbon production. These choices and this balance will be the basis for your research project for this course.
To represent your carbon emissions in this exercise, a beaker of liquid carbon dioxide is used. If you can make choices to get below the threshold, you are contributing to the reduction of carbon on the planet and working to slow global climate change and warming. If you make choices that put you above that average, you are generating more carbon than your producers can handle and contributing to climate change.
Instructions
Work through this presentationLinks to an external site. by selecting and reading about all choices presented and then choose your path. Note your choices and their consequences as you work. Answer the following questions:
- What 3 choices did you make in the activity? (location (NORFOLK, VA), transportation (BIKE, WALK, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, diet (HALF AND HALF, SOME FARMERS MARKET DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS FOR ALL PRODUCE, BUT BUY MEATS, PANTRY ITEMS, AND DRY GOODS AT THE LOCAL BIG BOX STORE)
- Why did you make those choices?
- Did you stay below the carbon emissions threshold?
This exercise is the basis for your PowerPoint presentation in the lab portion of Environmental Biology. Each week, you will complete a portion of the research and writing for this presentation. In week 4, you will turn in your completed draft.
Norfolk, Virginia is an old city built on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of several rivers that feed into the Atlantic Ocean. This city is built on the edges of the Great Dismal Swamp and has a temperate to tropical climate. It experiences wet, cold winters and wet, warm summers. It regularly experiences ocean-driven storms, is subject to flooding, and requires climate control year-round. Norfolk is home to a United States naval base which accounts for a huge part of its economy. It also has a large agricultural and fishing presence in the surrounding towns due to the rich soil and plentiful marshlands. This city is experiencing the effects of climate change in the nearly year-round tidal flooding that increasingly floods the downtown areas. This is an urban choice where gentrification is happening and many new urban homes are being built and sold for dramatically elevated prices. Most folks dwell in the city in apartments or townhomes that allow them to walk to their work, play, school, and supplies trips. There is a network of city buses in Norfolk that help with communal transportation. Folks living in Norfolk without a car will be limited on the supplies they can acquire and may be forced to shop in big box stores if they are not well-off enough to drive to the outskirts of the county to shop at the small farm stands that can be found there. There is bountiful fishing in the inlets that pepper the area and it is possible to live mostly off the land but only with real effort and consideration in choice making. The real challenge to living in Norfolk where carbon emissions are concerned is in the generation of coal-fired electricity. There are huge coal shipping yards in nearby Newport News and most of the energy generated in this area is “dirty” energy. This and transportation make Norfolk, VA a middle of the road choice for your carbon footprint.
(Low travel impact) Walk, bike, public transit within 10 mile radius - No or minimal miles per gallon but only possible if you live/work/play in a 5 mile region or a city with public transportation. This is the greenest choice for transportation but comes with some big limitations. A person may not be able to afford to live where they work, they may drive for a living, or they may be disabled in a way that doesn’t make this transportation mode practical. While a focus on walking and biking is a great idea, it may not work for everyone.
50/50 option. During summer months, buys all produce at local farmer’s market but buys all meat, dry goods, and pantry foods at the local big box store. This choice is for a person who cares about the environment but may not have the funds or the time to spend living in a completely carbon neutral way. They recycle consistently but often purchase convenience foods and other items in individual packaging which contributes to waste in landfills and oceans. This choice is a practical one and likely to actually reduce grocery bills but still requires time and effort to adhere to.