How can I reduce my carbon food-print?

There are many easy ways to reduce your carbon food-print, and still enjoy a tasty meal. While it may seem difficult, following these simple guidelines can help drastically shrink your carbon food-print. o Eat locally-produced foods A major aspect of a food's carbon food-print is based on how far it travels to get to your dish; some foods that are not grown or produced in California have a long way to travel to reach that plate. Try paying attention to where your food was grown, and always pick the choice grown closest to home. Or to make it even less complicated, local farmer's markets usually provide only local foods, so the choice is easy. o The less packaging and processing, the better The snacks we munch on, the foods we mindlessly purchase as a quick fix to hunger on the way to class, and the fast foods we eat on the go, all have significant carbon emissions that we rarely consider. The amount of packaging, processing, freezing, and transporting that goes into juice boxes, cereal bars, chip bags, and fast food containers is astonishing. Next time you're looking for a quick snack, grab a local seasonal fruit or a handful of peanuts, instead. o Minimize your waste Try to buy only the amount of food that you can finish; if you can't, make sure to save it for a meal of leftovers the next day. It takes an enormous amount of energy to produce these foods, and by throwing them away you are wasting all of that energy. Plus, if the trashed meal ends up in a landfill it will only contribute more to global warming by releasing methane gas. o Cut down on your consumption of animal products Meat and dairy are high in carbon emissions because of the significant quantity of methane these large animals produce, which is 23 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. Livestock production causes 18% of the world's greenhouse gases. However, if you do decide to buy animal products on occasion, stick to chicken or eggs. o Learn to cook eco-friendly Only boil as much water as you need--for every cup of water boiled, 25 cups of carbon dioxide are emitted Covering your pans can also reduce the amount of energy needed to heat the contents by as much as 90%.

Turn things off when not in use (lights, television, DVD player, Wi Fi, computers etc. Turn down the heating slightly (try just 1 to 2 degrees C). Just 1 degree will help reduce your heating bill by about 8%. Turn down the water heating setting (just 2 degrees will make a significant saving)

 Check the central heating timer setting - remember there is no point heating the house after you have left for school Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will save you water, electricity, and washing powder Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need Do your weekly shopping in a single trip Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it

Carbon footprint projects are an excellent way to research and present important environmental topics and bring environmental awareness to your school or community. A carbon footprint is the measure of emitted carbon caused by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by an individual, household or business. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that builds in our atmosphere, trapping heat around our planet. Carbon dioxide is released through combustion of fossil fuels, such as the exhaust of an engine, burning of coal in a power plant, or burning other organic materials. Other less common gases that contribute to an increased carbon footprint are nitrous oxide and methane.

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What Are Some Carbon Footprint Activities? Science Projects on Carbon Footprints

1. Calculate Carbon Footprint

Calculate your carbon footprint and compare it to the carbon footprint of people in other countries. Complete the Carbon Footprint Calculator at nature.org. This calculator will ask short multiple-choice questions to calculate your or your household's carbon footprint, and compare it to other footprints around the world. Use this tool to calculate your classroom's or school's total carbon footprint. Present your data on a backboard display or PowerPoint presentation, detailing the definition of a carbon footprint, your school's carbon footprint, another country's carbon footprint, and how to reduce a carbon footprint.

Calculate Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Carbon dioxide is commonly released into our atmosphere through vehicle exhaust. Carbon dioxide is released into our atmosphere by burning fossil fuels from automobiles, airplanes, boats and other vehicles. These types of emissions are called production emissions. Calculate total emissions used by you, your school or your classroom per day by using the Carbon Dioxide Emissions Calculator at carbonify.com. Present your results with a PowerPoint presentation, public service announcement or backboard display.

Carbon Footprint Education Project

Recycling and reducing the use of manufactured goods reduces our carbon footprint. The manufacturing of items releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere because factories emit greenhouse gases through the processes of manufacturing, shipping and selling goods. Reducing the purchase of items reduces the need for companies to manufacture them, therefore reducing the carbon footprint over time. Execute a survey asking others which items they use most often. You may choose to give people a variety of items, such as a checklist, to choose from. Compile your survey data and research what the carbon footprints of the most popular items are. Present your findings, and educate others about the importance of reducing and reusing items to reduce their carbon footprint.

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Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

It takes only a few simple steps to easily green your daily routine and make good eco behavior into a habit!

A
Act now. Make the decision to become more aware of issues related to food waste. Adopt as many eco-friendly lifestyle choices as you can and make them habits for WED! Add it up. Our impact is exponential when the global chorus sings together.

B
Buy locally! Flying food across continents increases global transportation emissions. Bring a cloth bag to do all your grocery shopping. A reusable bag will last for years and only needs to be used 5 times to have a lower environmental impact than a plastic bag. Bring a mug with you whenever you go for take-out beverages, so you avoid using paper cups.

C
Consume locally. You will help reduce the demand for cutting down forests in foreign countries to meet export demands. Choose naturally grown foods. They have less of an environmental impact and are much healthier. Compost your organic food waste.

D
Dont buy more food than you really need. Discover an alternative to using traditional wrapping paper for holidays and birthday gifts.

E
Engage in an environmental activity, like school or neighborhood beautification or tree planting. Eat organic and locally grown foods and help reduce the clearing of forests for agricultural land. Educate your friends on how individual actions can have an exponential impact and motivate action for WED.

F
Form a group of peers or colleagues to oversee the food waste at your school, neighborhood or workplace. Form a tree-planting group with family and friends and commit to planting and maintaining these trees together.

G
Green your office: print double-sided, turn off monitors, start an office recycling program.

Grow an organic garden and your own delicious food. Give seedlings as birthday gifts. Go electronic for bills and payments: at home, in the office, at the bank etc.

H
Host a World Environment Day celebration. Have a vegan (no animal products) dinner party!

I
Identify the nature that surrounds you take note of the beautiful plants and animals that you may not always appreciate. Learn about the amazing ecosystem services they provide. Improve the insulation of your home it will really help your energy consumptionand your monthly bills!

J
Join a local environmental or conservation group. You can team up with those around you and make a real difference for your community. Jog outside and save the energy you would have used on the treadmill!

K
Kick the habit! Dont print unless its absolutely necessary. And when you do print always print doublesided! Keep your cup! When traveling on airplanes, ask to reuse your plastic cup.

L
Learn more about the environment impact of food production. Did you know that it takes 1,000 litres of water to produce 1 litre of milk?

M
More food in your pantry increases the risk of food going bad before you consume. Mobilize your networks! Message your friends about WED facebook, twitter, orkut, SMS, text, phone, email it doesnt matter how, just get the word out!

N
Notify your friends on how their action against food waste could have a huge impact. Even if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world.

O
Optimize the use of your washing machine use the cold-wash option and significantly save energy and reduce your daily carbon emissions. Offset your travel whenever possible most airlines provide an option to offset your travel when you book your tickets. Opt for public transport whenever possible. Order small food portions first. Better to add on than waste.

P
Plan in advance. Know what you will need before you go grocery shopping so not to end up buying more food than what will be consumed in your household. Pile up! Lay the grounds for a compost pile and start sorting your garbage.

Q
Quantify how much money you could save each cold winter if you lowered the temperature inside your home by 2 degrees Celsius. It could reduce your energy consumption by 14 percent!!!

R
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Register a WED activity at www.unep.org/wed!

S
Sacrifice something small each month eat locally grown vegetables instead of imported vegetables; do without steak as cattle ranching is high impact!; carpool with co-workers; take your bike to work etc. Save! Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes). Support and motivate companies that use certified materials and operate in ways that are environmentally responsible. Switch your light bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs. You will see substantial savings on energy bills!

T
Tell your friends about the enormous amounts of food waste we are creating. A third of global food production is either wasted or lost. Think before you buy food. What is the environmental impact of your choice?

Think outside of the bottle! Bottled water costs 1900 times more than tap water Tweet about #WED and spread food waste tips to the world!

U
Understand your options. Learn about the small ways you, as an individual, can make a positive impact on the environment. Use rainwater for your indoor plants they love it, and youll save water at the same time.

V
Visit the WED website regularly and see how you can get involved!

W
Waste not food! 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.

X
X-plore the World Environment Day website. Find out more about food waste.

Y
You can make a difference individual actions, when multiplied, can make an exponential difference to the planet!

Z
Zip around town on your bike, on public transport, or walk to a restaurant near you. Its cheaper!

The 2013 World Environment Day theme is Think.Eat.Save. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost. This volume of waste is more than the total net production of Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. Approximately 98% of the worlds hungry live in developing nations. Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this years theme Think.Eat.Save encourages you to reduce your foodprint. The idea is for you to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices you make and empower you to make informed decisions.

While the planet is struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain its 7 billion people (growing to 9 billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts. In fact, global food production uses 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change. Making informed decision means, for example, that you purposefully select foods that have less of an environmental impact, such as organic foods that do not use chemicals in the production process. Choosing to buy locally can also mean that foods are not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions