A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.

The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Ditch bottled water.Bottled water has a huge carbon

footprint. Try buying a reusable water bottle or canteen for your water. Many plastic water bottles are

recycled, but most are not, making the footprint even bigger.

The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Buy organic and local.When possible, buy organic or "fair trade."

There's a better chance the food was grown in an eco-friendly way, and if it's

locally grown, it didn't have to travel that far.

Use energy saving light bulbs

Replace your old fridge / freezer (if it is over 15 years old), with a new

one with energy efficiency rating of "A"

Don't buy over packaged products

Unplug Unplug appliances that you don't use frequently. Most electronics

have a standby mode. Try using a power strip for groups of electronic

items. One flick of the switch and it's all off.

- Studies have shown up to 30% of the difference in miles per gallon (MPG) is due to driving habits alone.  You could save more than a ton of CO2

per year by:  - Accelerating slowly and smoothly

  - Driving the speed limit  - Maintaining a steady speed

  - Anticipating your stops and starts

• "Carbon Footprint - Calculator your CO2 generation and how it affects the environment." EnviroDuck: Learn to be green and help our environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.enviroduck.com/carbon_footprint.php>.

• "Carbon Footprint - Home of Carbon Management." Carbon Footprint - Home of Carbon Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.carbonfootprint.com/>.

• "Free Carbon Footprint Calculator | The Nature Conservancy." Nature Conservancy | Protecting Nature, Preserving Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm>.

• "Individual Emissions - Household Emissions Calculator | Climate Change - Greenhouse Gas Emissions | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html>.