Click here to download a printable version “A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual,
organization, event or product.”1 It is calculated by summing the emissions resulting from every stage of a product or service’s lifetime (material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life). Throughout a product’s lifetime, or lifecycle, different GHGs may be emitted, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), each with a greater or lesser ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. These differences are accounted for by
the global warming potential (GWP) of each gas, resulting in a carbon footprint in units of mass of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). See the Center for Sustainable Systems "Greenhouse Gases Factsheet" for more information on GWP. A typical U.S. household has a carbon footprint of 48 metric tons CO2e/yr.2 Estimate your personal or household greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of different techniques to lower those emissions: Cite As Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2021. "Carbon Footprint Factsheet." Pub. No. CSS09-05. References
How much CO2 does a car produce?A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This assumes the average gasoline vehicle on the road today has a fuel economy of about 22.0 miles per gallon and drives around 11,500 miles per year.
How much CO2 does a car produce at idle?For a single short trip at -25 °C your fuel savings could be in the order of 25 percent. How much fuel am I wasting‚ and how much CO 2 do I produce by idling my vehicle? An average vehicle with a 3-litre engine idling for ten minutes burns 300 millilitres (over 1 cup) of fuel and this produces 690 grams of CO 2 .
Does a horse emit more CO2 than a car?Horses are selective grazers and will not eat the tougher grasses because they cannot digest them. Horses simply produce less methane in their digestive system. So the horse's carbon footprint is considerably smaller than an automobile's.
How many kg CO2 per mile?This is equivalent to 0.12 x 44 divided by 12 = 0.44 kg per mile, or 0.96 pounds (~1) pound of carbon dioxide per mile. Or, in metric units, 0.28 kg per kilometer. And, driving this car for two miles (3.2 km) produces 0.88 kg carbon dioxide – as much as we produce by breathing all day!
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