"Carbon footprint" is defined as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted due to your daily activities. (3)
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas in our atmosphere that has contributed to our climate change and ultimately global warming. Carbon dioxide levels have risen significantly since the industrial revolution, but what is the cause?
Fossil Fuels
The major cause of carbon dioxide levels rising is the burning of fossil fuels.
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| Created by Shannon Hill |
What are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon containing natural resources that aren't derived from plants or animals, they are also known as mineral fuels. Fossil fuels are a result of decaying plant and animal matter converting to crude oil, natural gas, coal, and heavy oil after being subjected to heavy pressure and high temperatures in the Earth's crust. This process takes hundreds of millions of years. This indicates that our fossil fuels are not only limited, but they take a long time to be produced. (1)
Deforestation
Another major cause of rising carbon dioxide levels is the rapid deforestation that has occurred. Trees are very slow-growing plants, and we are not able to replace them as fast as they are cut down. The presence of plants on our earth is essential to our existence. Because they take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen, we are able to breathe.
Photosynthesis:
It's clear that plants help lower carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, but this process becomes less effective as we:
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| Created by Shannon Hill |
It's clear that plants help lower carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, but this process becomes less effective as we:
-Cut down forests: reducing the amount of plants available to use the carbon dioxide
-Burn fossil fuels: increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
What does our carbon footprint look like?
-Burn fossil fuels: increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
What does our carbon footprint look like?
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| Taken from rainforests.mongabay.com/09-carbon_emissions.htm |
Based on these trends, the United States, China, and Europe account for a majority of the carbon dioxide emissions. (2)
1) "Fossil Fuel" Science Daily 2012. http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/f/fossil_fuel.htm
2) Butler, Rhett. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Charts" Mongabay.com 2011.http://rainforests.mongabay.com/09-carbon_emissions.htm
3) Wiedmann, T. and Minx, J. "A Definition of 'Carbon Footprint'" Ecological Economics Research Trends: Ch. 1, pp. 1-11. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppague NY, USA
www.novapublishers.com/catalog/prduct_info.php?products_id=5999
Sources
1) "Fossil Fuel" Science Daily 2012. http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/f/fossil_fuel.htm
2) Butler, Rhett. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Charts" Mongabay.com 2011.http://rainforests.mongabay.com/09-carbon_emissions.htm
3) Wiedmann, T. and Minx, J. "A Definition of 'Carbon Footprint'" Ecological Economics Research Trends: Ch. 1, pp. 1-11. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppague NY, USA
www.novapublishers.com/catalog/prduct_info.php?products_id=5999
Overall, looks pretty good. You show lots of uses for hemp, but I'm not sure you talk about how hemp itself can help reduce our carbon footprint like the title suggests. Also, make sure you cite facts in the text, not just at the bottom of the page.
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