Hello and Welcome to The Sustainable Souls Project June Post.
The Sustainable Souls Project is a monthly artist collaboration inspired
by sustainability issues, concerns, ideas, and thoughts. Each month,
we will pick a sustainability topic and create awareness through art,
using the monthly theme as inspiration. Projects may include art-journaling, mixed media, assemblage and more. The idea is to create awareness around Sustainability through art, one paint stroke at a time! We hope to educate, entertain, and share pretty things for both humans and the earth.
June's theme is an interesting concept, Carbon Footprint. What is your Carbon Footprint? Let's start with a definition.
Where did the concept of your Carbon Footprint come from?
The carbon footprint concept took hold at a 1979 U.S. Senate energy
committee discussion about the “environmental footprint” of government
operations in Yosemite National Park. Tom Rawls, chief environmental
officer for Green Mountain, is largely credited with the first quoted
use of “carbon footprint” in a Seattle Times article, “Carbon Count:
Forests Enlisted in Global Warming War,” published November 18, 2000.
From there, the term gained wider use through a 2005 British Petroleum
advertising campaign.
While a host of greenhouse gases cause climate change, scientists
identify carbon dioxide as the largest source. The U.S. Energy
Information Administration found that carbon dioxide emissions from
burning fossil fuels accounted for 82 percent of the greenhouse gas
released in 2006. Power plants, factories and transportation generate
the majority of fossil fuel usage. Personally, the way your travel, the
electricity you use, the products you buy and the food you eat all
contribute to your carbon emissions.
The main way to reduce your carbon footprint is to decrease your energy
consumption. For travel, use public transportation or low-emission
vehicles. Insulate your home, use energy-efficient products and reuse or
recycle as much as possible. You can also compensate for the effects of
your carbon footprint through carbon offsetting. The Nature Conservancy
and other organizations provide carbon offset programs that invest
donations toward protecting land and planting trees, both proven ways to
reduce greenhouse gases.
(source livestrong.com)
On average, U.S. household food consumption emits 8.1 metric tons of CO2e each year. The production of food accounts for 83% of emissions, while its transportation accounts for 11%.
The emissions associated with food production consist mainly of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2), which result primarily from agricultural practices.
Meat products have larger carbon footprints per calorie than grain or
vegetable products because of the inefficient transformation of plant
energy to animal energy.
Ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats produced 164 million metric tons (mmt) in CO2e of methane in the U.S. in 2014 through enteric fermentation (digestion).
Eating all locally grown food for one year could save the GHG
equivalent of driving 1,000 miles, while eating a vegetarian meal one
day a week could save the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles.
A vegetarian diet greatly reduces an individual’s carbon footprint,
but switching between different types of meat can have a major impact as
well. For example, replacing all beef consumption with chicken for one
year leads to an annual carbon footprint reduction of 882 pounds CO2e.
Organic food typically requires 30-50% less energy during production
but requires one-third more hours of human labor compared to typical
farming practices, making it more expensive
Iinterested in what your Carbon Footprint is and where you can reduce it? There are many Carbon Footprint calulators on-line, but here a FREE carbon footprint calculator from nature.org.
We asked the Sustainable Souls to
create, using this theme as an inspiration point and as a point to share
what Carbon Footprint means to them. I think you will
be amazed at how
each artist interpreted the theme and how they shared their message.
Let's see how 'Carbon Footprint' was transformed into art.
In addition this month, we have a very special Guest Artist who is a fellow
Sustainable Soul, Deb Weiers. I fell in love with Deb's 'human' art and thought she would be a perfect guest to join us this month. We are happy and thrilled that she is joining us this month!
Aren't they fabulous?
I'd like to say a special THANK YOU to our Guest Artist. We
appreciate you taking the time to create with us this month and for
embracing the importance of Sustainability.
What an incredible collection of art! I personally love the unique
characteristics of each piece and what Carbon Footprint means to each
person.
Thank you to each and every artist who took time to create with us this month.
Want to know what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint? Here's a short video that shows easy ways to make an impact.
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