Carbon Footprint

      We spent part of our meeting discussing our carbon footprint.  Most of the girls and parents really didn't understand what this meant. The choices one person makes impacts our environment.  We use energy in everything we do.
       An example we used is food we eat. We use all types of energy in order to eat everyday.  We live in a suburban area so we have to go to the grocery store to get our food.  Our cars use gas to get to the store and back. The store uses energy to keep the food fresh either in refrigerators or freezers.  There are lights in the store so we can see what we are buying. The cash registers are all electric. Heat and air conditioning keeps the store comfortable.  Employees use gas in their cars to get to work.  The food has to be manufactured or grown and transported to the store. Once we get the food home we use energy to keep the food cold in the refrigerator or freezer.  Then we need a stove or microwave to cook our food. All this energy is used just so one person can have food on their table to eat.
      People in the United States use more energy per person than any other country in the world.  How can we reduce our carbon footprint?  The girls came up with a lot of great ideas, car pool, farmers markets, turn of light when not in the room, turn t.v. off when not using.   Parents can plan outings carefully,don't make a lot of trips to the same place in the same week.  Recycling and reusing can also save energy.  A good idea the girls thought of was to use library book or e-books instead of buying books.
       Can anyone else think of any good ideas to reduce our carbon footprint?