During the first week of the action plan
I woke up earlier than expected in a bid to avoid the peaks hours on my way back home from work as well as going to the University. I also used the same approach during the weekends to enable me to achieve my aspiration of maintaining a low carbon footprint. Avoiding the peak hours on the major roads and streets was one of the strategic tactics identified that could support the achievement of the action plan. Peak hours are associable with congestions which lower the average speed and enhance the travel time of a passenger as well as those using their personal vehicle. The implication of the aspect is an increase in the emission of carbon dioxide, which is one of the components of greenhouse gases causing global warming and variation of climate.
Carpooling with Colleagues
Global warming is an acknowledged disaster among environmental experts that causes the rising of ocean levels, mounting temperature of land and increased occurrence of disasters such as hurricane and flooding in low-lying regions. Therefore, to effectively achieve my carbon footprint goals, I decided to maximize on the few trips I made on my way to work and back home. After work, I went to the gym and then to the supermarket to do some shopping for the evening. After leaving the supermarket, I went to a shopping center in town to get my nails done and then went to a pharmacist located inside the shopping center to purchase some medications and drugs. I then carpooled with some of my workmates, who drove me back home approximately three times for the first week. The aspect of carpooling with colleagues helped me to reach my target as well as reducing the number of cars on the road during peak hours and lowering the greenhouse gases emission from personal vehicles. At the end of the first week, I realized that I had driven around 182.6km, this was 30.4km less than the number of miles covered in the previous week.
Challenges on the Second Week
However, the second week was considerably different from the first one because I had to go to the university on several occasions. Consequently, I could not avoid the peak hours or even manage to carpool with some of the work colleagues as often as I had desired. As a result, I was stuck in jam on various occasions, which increased my travel time and reduced the average speed in the long-term. On other days, I arrived in some locations such as the supermarket late, which influenced negatively my action plan’s goals. At the end of the second week, I realized that I had driven approximately 192.8km, this was 20.4km less than the number of miles covered each week. However, the distance covered was greater than that of the first week by about 10.2 kilometers. The result suggests that the congestion and peak hour’s effect on the roads made me cover 10.2 km on the second week thus increasing the number of carbon gases in the atmosphere. As a result, I contributed considerably to the damage of the earth’s ozone layer during the second week.
Increased Challenge in the Third and Fourth Week
During the third and fourth week, the situation became more complex as the total kilometers covered considerably increased by 7.7km and 2.2km respectively. Accordingly, there were no kilometers saved during these two weeks because in both cases I was stuck in road congestion during the peak hours and often reached my destinations late. At the end of the two weeks, I found that reducing or managing my carbon print was difficult thus increased emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Results of the Ecological Footprint Test
I also took a test to compare my ecological footprint and obtained positive results. The test revealed that my personal earth overshoot day is 20th May. However, if every human being was to live like me, the world will need approximately two and three-fifth piles of the earth as shown in image-earth_3png. Based on the land type, the test revealed that carbon footprint had a higher percentage on land followed by cropland, forest products, built-up land, fishing grounds and then grazing land see earth_4png. By consumption category, the test exposed a remarkably positive outcome regarding my attitude towards ecological footprint as well as increasing phenomenon of global warming. According to the results, mobility was the principal cause of greenhouse gas emission leading to climate change and rising level of ocean followed by food aspect. Food enhanced the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when farmers cut down trees and clear forests to build farming plantations in most parts of the world.
Reducing Carbon Footprint
Forests are the natural carbon dioxide absorbers known to humans hence cutting them down brings more misery to the planet and its inhabitants in the long-term. The other categories causing high emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is goods, services, and shelter. Vehicles are the principal cause of pollution through combustion of fuel. World Health Organization, estimated road transport to be the major source of air pollution always emitting more than 30 percent of particulate nature in the European continent. Moreover, the test calculated my carbon footprint to have reduced from 8.7 to 7.5 tonnes per year based on the data collected during the four week period of the exercise. The individual’s ecological footprint obtained was approximately 4.4 global hectares (gha), which was a positive direction towards reducing global warming and other effects of greenhouse gases affecting living creatures on earth. My carbon footprint was about 58 percent of the total ecological footprint. The implication is that if I can avoid peak hours on the roads can improve the amount of carbon emission in the atmosphere.
Conclusion
In conclusion, avoiding peak hours on the local roads can considerably save the planet from the destruction caused by greenhouse gases. Peak hours causes the reduction of the average speed and increased travel time, which has an influence in augmenting the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Road transport is the major source of particulate nature emission damaging the ozone layer. Therefore, action plans that reduce the mileage covered by an individual can considerably save the planet. According to the results obtained from the test, my ecological footprint was approximately 4.4gha while the carbon footprint considerably reduced from 8.7 to 7.5tonnes per year. Lowering the individual carbon footprint has a positive influence on the global ecological footprint that could help shape the globe. Pursue the action plan will help an individual to save time and mileage covered over a given period.
