Urban Scholars for Climate Change-In Association With The STEM Maker Space

PCCC

CFP

Food & Clothing

Vegetables/Fruits : Meats

I'm eating:

Meat Eating Habits

I'm Mostly Eating:

Clothing

My Clothing Habits:

Transportation

Private Automobile

How much of your travel is by a private vehicle(including rideshare or taxis):

Public Transportation

How much of your travel is by public transportation?

Energy

Appliances

My Household Appliance Use:



Electronics

My Devices:

CFP Index

Ways to reduce your footprint:

Food and Clothing

  1. Eat Less Beef

    • 1kg of beef is equal to 99.5kgCO2eq. In other words, 1kg of beef is producing nearly 100kg of GHG(measured in carbon dioxide). This varies throughout the supply chain stage(99.5kgCO2 being the sum of all stages).
    • Fermentation or digestion of food in animals such as cattle, and animal wastes are the leading sources of GHG(methane in this case) from agricultural activities.
    • Other meats such as chicken or seafood are good alternatives since they do not emit as much GHG as beef.

  2. Eat More Fruits & Veggies

    • GHG emission is siginificantly lower.
    • For example, 1kg of rice is equal to 4.45kgCO2eq. Citrus fruits are merely emitting 0.39kgCO2eq.
    • In addition, they're good for you!

  3. Pay Attention to Clothing.

    • Thrifted clothing will help reduce needless manufacturing which often puts out GHG.
    • Rather than throwing away old clothing, give them away. Whether it's a friend, a relative, or a charitable organization.
    • If you absolutely have to buy new clothing, perhaps consider looking into which brands are more eco-friendly in their manufacturing and use of materials.

Energy

  1. Be Mindful of Your Devices.

    • Donate devices that are old as opposed to throwing them away(which contributes to waste).
    • Reduce needless use of devices. For example, gaming with multiple screens and consoles simultaneously, cryptocurrency mining(a huge emitter of CO2), or doing work with more screens/or computers than neccessary.

  2. Monitor Appliance Usage.

    • Appliances are the second largest contributor of GHG emissions in New Jersey. Residential and commercial buildings account for this.
    • Use appliances that are Energy Star Certified. This means they are certified by the government with on 1-100 scale. The calculation is based on data that is gathered regionally. For example, weather, GHG emission, or over all air quality. No product should have a rating that is less than 75.
    • Again, donate what you don't need. The Salvation Army would be a good organization to refer to. In addition, a simple internet search will yield results as to whom old appliances could be donated. Simply throwing them in a trash heap will add more to waste.

Transportation

  1. Reduce Use of Private Automobile.

    • With the New Jersey Global Warming Response Act in effect, access to public transit is expected to increase. In addition, work from home opportunities will be incentivized. This is expected to improve between now(2022) and 2050.
    • If you have no other choice, use natural gas as opposed to diesel.
    • For the time being, electric cars are not an excellent alternative because the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries is generting more GHG emisiion.

  2. Work From Home if Possible.

    • Not all have this luxury, but for those who do, it is strongly recommended. In New Jersey, the mass transit system(private and commercial vehicles) are the largest contributor of GHG. Even the change from diesel to natural from the NJT has not been enough to mitigate the effects of CO2(and other GHG) emision. 41% of New Jersey's GHG is from mass transit.
    • New Jersey is a hub of imported/exported goods. These goods often through the Ambrose Anchorage in container shipments and are dispersed nationally via freight truck delivery.