a benefit
for life
servation strategies. Another environmental science major, she works for an environmental remediation company in Minneapolis. She brings canvas bags to the
grocery store, recycles, shops at the farmers’ market and reads documents on her
computer rather than printing them.
Though utilities are included in her apartment, she keeps the heat low and uses air
conditioning sparingly. In summer and
fall, she often walks and rides her bike,
though she finds it tough to opt for a
walk in the cold Minneapolis winters.
Some other strategies that she’d like to
adopt will have to wait a little while.
“At this point in my life, where I’m
just starting to get established, I’m still
keeping in mind all the things I’d like to
do when I have a little more money,” she
said. “Whenever I do buy a house, I will
make sure I have energy-efficient appliances and that the house is not leaking
heat or air. Depending on what the technology is when I get to that point, I’ll
make sure I drive the most fuel-efficient
or nonfuel-burning car. And I’ll be more
active in different groups advocating for
changes. Wherever I choose to live for a
long period of time, whether they have
good public transportation will probably
be important.”
— Kathleen Kearns
Endeavors,
UNC’s award-winning
magazine of
research and
creative activity,
is a benefit of
life membership
in the General
Alumni
Association.
Calculate Your Impact
Curious about your carbon footprint?Various online
calculators can give you a
rough idea of how much
carbon dioxide you send into
the atmosphere as you get
around and heat and cool
your house or apartment.
Some also measure the
impact of what you eat and
how much you recycle.
Life members,
look for it three
times a year —
in January,
May and
September —
with your copy
of the Carolina
Alumni Review.
www.epa.gov/climate/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
Besides estimating the impact of your transportation and home energy choices, this
site puts numbers on how much you can reduce that impact by, for example, changing
your thermostat settings, using a more fuel-efficient car or changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator
Part of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth Web site, this calculator lets you compare
your carbon emissions with the national average, 7. 5 tons per year.
www.myfootprint.org
This site gives you an itemized estimate of the amount of productive land and
water required to support your consumption, transportation and home energy habits.
It also tells you how many planets would be required to support that standard for
everyone on Earth.
Endeavors is published by the
University’s Office of Research
and Economic Development.
Questions about your GAA
membership? Call us at
(800) 962–0742 or e-mail
membership@unc.edu. Visit us
on the Web at alumni.unc.edu.
These sites provide information on specific activities that produce carbon dioxide:
www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/index.html
fills you in on how what you buy and what you throw away affects your footprint.
www.fueleconomy.gov
lets you make a detailed analysis of your car’s fuel costs and emissions.
www.energystar.gov
has a Home Energy Yardstick that details the impact of home heating and cooling,
as well as information on energy-saving products and building practices.
