What's your carbon footprint?

While on the subject of global warming I thought I would calculate my carbon footprint to see how much damage I am personally causing. And I was shocked !!! No. Make that SHOCKED !!! Actually more like *** S-H-O-C-K-E-D ***. And ashamed.

Brace yourself.

This is what I am leaving our kids. 11.47 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide every year !!! Yup. You read that right - 11.47 tonnes of CO2 dumped into the atmosphere every year. And that is only me !!

Here are a few facts :
1. The average footprint for people in India is 1.20 tonnes a year.
2. The average for industrial nations is 11 tonnes.
3. The average worldwide carbon footprint is 4 tonnes.
4. The worldwise target to combat climate change is 2 tonnes.

In 1750, at the onset of the Industrial Revolution there was approximately 280 parts per million by volume of CO2 in the earths atmosphere. Today it is 384 ppm. And half of these emissions have occured since 1975. And it is estimated to go up to 550ppm by 2050. That would lead to a 3 degree Celcius rise is global average temperature.

So how much is my 11.47 tonnes of CO2 contributing in terms of ppm ? Let me put it this way :
Assume I lead the exact same life style as long as I live. And assume I live another 50 years. And assume another 1 crore people live my exact life style. By the time we die we would have contributed to a 3ppm rise in CO2 levels !!!

Now the scary part :
The population of India (estimated) in July 2008 is 1,14,79,95,904 !! Thats 114 crore people.
The population of China (estimated) in July 2008 is 1,33,00,44,544 !! Thats 133 crore people.
All these 2,47,80,40,448 people are aspiring to lead "better" lives. And "better" lives leave a larger carbon footprint.
And we need to find just 1 crore peole from these who lead lives similar to mine to add 3ppm in the next 50 years. Or 66 crore people to add 200ppm !!

And now the even scarier part : I have not taken into account emissions from industry and agriculture.

But there must be a silver lining among all this gloom, right? Right. Most of us reading this blog will not be alive to see the full extent of the damage we're causing. But we will experience the change. Slowly and steadily. And with each step things will get worse.

So, whats your carbon footprint?

Global warming decoded

"When the oceans are warmed up, they release CO2, just like you would if you heated up an open bottle of Sprite. It bubbles out the carbon dioxide gas. That is what oceans do. They bubble out the CO2 and that warms the atmosphere, and then that warms the oceans more and they release more CO2. In addition, when it gets warmer, the ice melts, which means the ice reflects less sunlight, which in turn causes more sunlight to be absorbed, which causes even more warming."
- Nate Lewis, Energy Chemist in the book Hot, Flat & Crowded by Thomas L Friedman.

Now if you're not already thinking 'What the...?' then now is a good time to start. Go figure out how you are contributing to ruining our planet. And then go and think of ways to reduce that effect. One step at a time.