Directions: Compute your carbon footprint, a measure of your personal contribution to the addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. You will need to know something about your electric/heating bills, miles you drive, flights you’ve taken, etc… If you are not sure of a specific answer, make your best guess.
http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm (Links to an external site.)
Move through the tabs at the top of your calculator. These tabs include: getting started, home energy, driving and flying, food and diet and recycling and waste and results.
At the top of your reflection, please write your “total greenhouse emissions” in metric tons as on the right hand side of your screen when you are finished moving through the tabs. How much CO2 do you emit a year?
Then answer the following two questions. These two questions deal with actual proposed solutions to offset our carbon emissions.
The first question asks you to buy offsets on your own without being forced (using your moral compass). Almost like donating on your own freewill to an organization to offset your emissions.
The second question deals with a federal or local tax that would be mandatory. Yes there have been actual proposals for carbon emissions as we speak.
Your answers to these two questions combined (including the subparts) should be at least a page typed.
1. Consider purchasing carbon offsets on your own. Carbon offsets are a system where your carbon emissions would be neutralized by sequestration of carbon elsewhere. You can offset your emissions by donating money each year to an organization that plants trees or other organizations that offset your emissions. How much would your total cost be if offsets cost $40/ton CO2? Would you be willing to pay that?
2. Imagine instead that a federal carbon emissions tax was implemented.
Considering your average footprint, if the carbon tax is set at $100 per ton of CO2, would such a tax change your carbon emitting behavior (compute the total cost)? How about $10/ton and $1000/ton? What ways (if any) would you try to reduce your carbon emissions? Will your carbon emissions increase in the future? Does this seem like a good way to change behavior and would it make a significant difference with respect to global warming? Give examples as to taxes such as a Sin tax that have been implemented and succeeded or not succeeded and how can the carbon tax be considered a sin tax?
