Application Project
05
Environmental Science
Title: The
Billion Pound Diet
Personal Diet Tally Sheet
By
committing to a few of the energy-saving actions below, you can help reduce
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by one billion pounds a year. Your
actions will not only improve the environment but will also reduce our nation's
dependence on foreign oil. The numbers below are approximately yearly national
averages. For each of the categories of actions (1-6) listed below check the
action(s) you are willing to take and then indicate make your estimate of
change. Please record your change on a yearly basis. (you may wish to consider a
daily, weekly, or monthly basis and the convert to a yearly basis). Then add up
all your totals for a grand total reflecting your total
personal CO2 reduction for one year.
1. Dive and Ride Less. I will:
___Eliminate
___________ miles of car travel over the next year.
Total
= ___________ lbs. of CO2 (
.03 pounds per mile or 3 pounds per hundred miles)
2. Tune Up. I will:
___Tune my car regularly and maintain proper tire
pressure.
Total
= 1,000 lbs. of CO2
3. Recycle. I will:
___Recycle
_________ aluminum cans (typical CO2 reduction = 34 lbs. per 100
cans).
___Recycle
_________ glass bottles (typical CO2 reduction = 30 lbs. Per 100
bottles).
___Recycle
_________ lbs. Of paper (typical CO2 reduction = 20 lbs. Per 100
lbs.).
Total
= ________ lbs. of CO2
4. Insulate. I will:
___Wrap a home hot-water heater (typical CO2
reduction = 1,200 lbs. for electrical heaters; 400 lbs. for gas heaters).
___Insulate the attic of a house (for a 6-room house,
typical CO2 reduction = 1,800 lbs. if oil heated; 1,3 90 lbs. if
gas-heated; 4,430 lbs. if electrically heated).
Total
= ________ lbs. of CO2
5. Replace Light Bulbs. I will:
___Replace _________ incandescent light bulbs with
compact fluorescence (typical CO2 reduction = 110 lbs. per light).
___Replace _________ high-watt incandescent with
lower-watt incandescence (each 10-watt reduction typically eliminates 22 lbs.
of CO2 emissions).
Total
= ________ lbs. of CO2
6. Reduce Hot-Water Use. I will:
___Wash my clothes in cold water (typical CO2
reduction = 250 lbs. per person with an electric hot-water heater; 110 lbs.
with gas).
___Install a low-flow showerhead (typical CO2
reduction = 225 lbs. per person with an electric hot-water heater; 99 lbs. with
gas).
___Turn my hot-water heater down 10 degrees (typical
CO2 reduction = 240lbs. with an electric heater; 106 lbs. with gas).
Total
= ________ lbs. of CO2
Total
Personal CO2 Reduction for One Year = ________
lbs. of CO2