Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Carbon Footprint - The Sustainable Souls Project June 2017

Hello and Welcome to The Sustainable Souls Project June Post.

The Sustainable Souls Project is a monthly artist collaboration inspired by sustainability issues, concerns, ideas, and thoughts.  Each month, we will pick a sustainability topic and create awareness through art, using the monthly theme as inspiration.  Projects may include art-journaling, mixed media, assemblage and more. The idea is to create awareness around Sustainability through art, one paint stroke at a time!  We hope to educate, entertain, and share pretty things for both humans and the earth.
June's theme is an interesting concept, Carbon Footprint.  What is your Carbon Footprint?  Let's start with a definition.


Where did the concept of your Carbon Footprint come from?
The carbon footprint concept took hold at a 1979 U.S. Senate energy committee discussion about the “environmental footprint” of government operations in Yosemite National Park. Tom Rawls, chief environmental officer for Green Mountain, is largely credited with the first quoted use of “carbon footprint” in a Seattle Times article, “Carbon Count: Forests Enlisted in Global Warming War,” published November 18, 2000. From there, the term gained wider use through a 2005 British Petroleum advertising campaign.
While a host of greenhouse gases cause climate change, scientists identify carbon dioxide as the largest source. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels accounted for 82 percent of the greenhouse gas released in 2006. Power plants, factories and transportation generate the majority of fossil fuel usage. Personally, the way your travel, the electricity you use, the products you buy and the food you eat all contribute to your carbon emissions.
The main way to reduce your carbon footprint is to decrease your energy consumption. For travel, use public transportation or low-emission vehicles. Insulate your home, use energy-efficient products and reuse or recycle as much as possible. You can also compensate for the effects of your carbon footprint through carbon offsetting. The Nature Conservancy and other organizations provide carbon offset programs that invest donations toward protecting land and planting trees, both proven ways to reduce greenhouse gases.
(source livestrong.com)

On average, U.S. household food consumption emits 8.1 metric tons of CO2e each year. The production of food accounts for 83% of emissions, while its transportation accounts for 11%.
The emissions associated with food production consist mainly of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2), which result primarily from agricultural practices.
Meat products have larger carbon footprints per calorie than grain or vegetable products because of the inefficient transformation of plant energy to animal energy.
Ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats produced 164 million metric tons (mmt) in CO2e of methane in the U.S. in 2014 through enteric fermentation (digestion).
Eating all locally grown food for one year could save the GHG equivalent of driving 1,000 miles, while eating a vegetarian meal one day a week could save the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles.
 A vegetarian diet greatly reduces an individual’s carbon footprint, but switching between different types of meat can have a major impact as well.  For example, replacing all beef consumption with chicken for one year leads to an annual carbon footprint reduction of 882 pounds CO2e.
Organic food typically requires 30-50% less energy during production but requires one-third more hours of human labor compared to typical farming practices, making it more expensive


Iinterested in what your Carbon Footprint is and where you can reduce it?  There are many Carbon Footprint calulators on-line, but here a FREE carbon footprint calculator from nature.org.
We asked the Sustainable Souls to create, using this theme as an inspiration point and as a point to share what Carbon Footprint means to them.  I think you will be amazed at how each artist interpreted the theme and how they shared their message.
Let's see how 'Carbon Footprint' was transformed into art.
(Click names for links to the artist blog post)

Camille McCoy


Michele Kosciolek


In addition this month, we have a very special Guest Artist who is a fellow Sustainable Soul, Deb Weiers.  I fell in love with Deb's 'human' art and thought she would be a perfect guest to join us this month.  We are happy and thrilled that she is joining us this month!


 Aren't they fabulous?
I'd like to say a special THANK YOU to our Guest Artist.  We appreciate you taking the time to create with us this month and for embracing the importance of Sustainability.
What an incredible collection of art!  I personally love the unique characteristics of each piece and what Carbon Footprint means to each person.
Thank you to each and every artist who took time to create with us this month.  

Want to know what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint?  Here's a short video that shows easy ways to make an impact.
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