From the article:
The U.S. EPA’s carbon footprint calculator, for example, looks at three sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: home utilities for heating, cooling and cooking; vehicle fuel efficiency and miles driven; and non-recycled waste generation. In these areas, my carbon footprint was roughly half that of other people living in my zip code.
However, roughly two-thirds of Americans’ GHG emissions are embedded in so-called “indirect” emissions released during the production of all the other things we consume, such as food, household supplies, apparel, air travel, and services of all types, according to an in-depth
analysis by the Center for Global Development, a non-profit policy research organization.
Furthermore, higher income suburbanites like me generally consume more goods and services, which ratchets up their carbon footprint compared to people in lower income brackets.
Despite my efforts to live “green,” my lifestyle is highly energy intensive, as is that of the average American who is responsible for GHG emissions equivalent to dumping 21.8 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually, according to the Center for Global Development’s analysis.
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