Carbon Footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2) that a business, organization, product, household or personal lifestyle produces. A bigger footprint is harder on the planet. The EPA has developed a Household Carbon Footprint Calculator to provide a rough estimate of a household's GHG emissions. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket by trapp heat in the atmosphere making Earth warmer than it would otherwise be.
Reduce, reuse and recycle are ways humans can reduce their carbon footprint and thus their impact on the planet. (Photo: Flickr)
Eating local might not be as important as what you eat
February 24, 2020, 12:47 p.m. by Mary Jo DiLonardo
Reduce the carbon footprint of your food by making smart choices.
Why the big awards shows are going vegetarian
February 5, 2020, 12:46 p.m. by Lindsey Reynolds
Are these noteworthy actions or more Hollywood greenwashing?
Look at the long and winding path your food takes to get to your plate
November 6, 2019, 8:27 a.m. by Mary Jo DiLonardo
Researchers mapped the route food takes from farms to homes.
These are the big cities where carbon emissions are already dropping
October 10, 2019, 1:33 p.m. by Mary Jo DiLonardo
Austin, Athens, Venice and Lisbon are the latest cities to meet global goals.
The huge carbon footprint of cement (and what we can do about it)
June 26, 2019, 2:15 p.m. by Sami Grover
Cement manufacturing contributes 8 percent of global carbon emissions. But what if it could become part of the solution?
Does Amazon Prime have to be so wasteful?
June 24, 2019, 12:34 p.m. by John Platt
Does the ease of free, one-click shipping outweigh the potential environmental costs?
The surprising truth about meal kits
April 23, 2019, 1:57 p.m. by Mary Jo DiLonardo
Researchers compare the carbon footprint of home cooking to kits.
(Un) Happy Earth Overshoot Day
July 31, 2018, 9:52 a.m. by Karl Burkart
It's the day we go into 'nature debt,' utilizing more than the year's supply of water, forest and agricultural resources.
How to reduce your carbon footprint from flying
June 3, 2018, 1:32 p.m. by Josh Lew
If you can't avoid flying, but you can reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint when you do.
Americans are curbing their love affair with beef
March 30, 2017, 1:21 p.m. by Robin Shreeves
Americans are curbing their love affair with beef and the result is a 10 percent reduction in food-related emissions.
How much Arctic sea ice did you melt today?
November 7, 2016, 5:37 a.m. by Michael d'Estries
New study puts a cold, hard number on individual actions.
Can more intensive agriculture cut emissions?
January 13, 2016, 3:22 p.m. by Sami Grover
When you grow more food per acre, it makes room for more forests. At least that's what one group of researchers is proposing.
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10 eye-opening benefits of walking
From your heart to your head, here's why you should lace up your sneakers.
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Self-care matters more in stressful times
From sleeping and eating well to taking deep breaths, self-care is important when times are tough.
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A guide to killing germs the right way
The pros and cons of a variety of germ-busting agents.
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How often do you really need to shower?
Most people think showering once a day is the norm, but there are plenty of people who don't.
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Everything you know about hand-washing is probably wrong
Forget the 'Happy Birthday' song. Get ready to spend way more time washing your hands.
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What is mindfulness?
Defining it can be tricky, but once you have grasped the concept, we've got 5 ways to practice it.
