Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact that our activities have on the environment, and in particular on climate change. There are many people out there willing to reduce their carbon footprint and help make this world a better place to live in. So whether that just means find the best electricity rates in houston, for example, walk instead of driving short distances, unplug unused devices or use organic produce, there are many things that people can do that will help make this journey a lot easier.
It relates to the number of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating, and transportation, etc., which all contribute to global warming. With this being said, as people are trying to be more energy-efficient and reducing their carbon footprint, it is important to remember that companies like Pennywise Power exist if you are looking to lower your energy bills. You may even be able to save money in the process too! Every step helps in making this planet a better place. You can make small changes to your lifestyle, such as using a reusable water bottle and recycling, or you can make bigger changes to your lifestyle. This could be significantly reducing your meat intake or getting new windows from companies like Graceland Windows and Doors to conserve energy from your home.
The carbon footprint is, therefore, a measurement of all greenhouse gases we produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent. It can be measured at a variety of levels, for individuals, products, events, organizations and countries. The emissions measured are emissions from activities that we have direct control over, i.e. the electricity and fuel that we use, and indirect emissions from the life cycle of products that we use. We can use carbon emissions software to measure them, as our carbon footprints are therefore essentially influenced by all the choices we make in our homes, offices, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away.
Cayman Islands Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
The UK is party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. To meet its obligations under this it must report on all UK Greenhouse Gas emissions annually. The Cayman Islands had the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol extended to it through the UK in March 2007, and provides information for Greenhouse Gas emissions reporting, so data for the Cayman Islands can be included in the UK total emissions figure submitted to the UNFCCC.
The Department of Environment collects data on electricity generation and fuel consumption, to forward to Aether Consulting in the UK, which uses the raw data to calculate equivalent greenhouse gas emissions produced, based on assumed emissions factors for the electricity generated by CUC and fuel used in road transport. Data is also collected and submitted on solvent use, waste management, mobile machinery, aircraft and air transport, shipping and agriculture and forestry.
The results from AEA show that by far the most significant greenhouse gas produced by the Cayman Islands is carbon dioxide (CO2), with amounts of other greenhouse gases produced, e.g. methane and sulphur dioxide, being small in comparison. According to their analysis, in 2007 the Cayman Islands emitted 726,000 tonnes of CO2. The biggest contributor to this figure is the power sector, which was responsible for 65% of the total CO2 emissions from 2007. At 2014, this figure remained relatively static at approximately 714,000 tonnes of CO2.
The graph below Greenhouse Gas Emissions by sector (1990 to 2014)
The graph below shows Greenhouse Gas Emissions by gas (1990 to 2014) Source: Aether, 11 Feb 2016
