Calculating Your Carbon Footprint NAME___________________________Which of the tabs/categories represents your largest contribution of carbon? Name the category and a specific action or strategy you can take.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years once it is released into the atmosphere. It has been estimated that 20-30% of human CO2 emissions is absorbed by the world’s oceans.
4. Calculate (in tons of CO2 eq/year) how much of your carbon contribution is absorbed by the ocean, assuming 25% of the carbon you contribute to the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean.
5. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that, when in the atmosphere, can increase Earth’s average temperature. How might recent climate change be different if the Earth’s ocean didn’t absorb CO2?
During the next class we will discuss what happens to carbon dioxide after it is absorbed by the ocean and some of the negative aspects of this process.