The footprint calculator👣

Maybe you’ve heard of them.

With a footprint calculator you are able to calculate your individual footprint.

Which means you can calculate the CO2 emissions that were/are produced for different items and things you do in your day to day.

From the emissions that were produced by

making cheese,

growing apples,

producing a pair of jeans,

taking the train/car/bus,

all the way to the emissions that were released in the production of pepper grains and basil.

Footprint calculators are nothing new and we are often told to “reduce our individual footprint”.

But, where does the footprint calculator actually come from?

In 2000 the fossil fuel company BP (British Petroleum) started a huge campaign that they invested millions of dollars in.

They invented a footprint calculator so that every person could calculate their individual footprint – and take the focus off of them.

British petroleum started an ad campaign called “Beyond Petroleum” which is obviously ironic because a company that only exists because of petroleum, . . .

They tried and for a time successfully took themselves out of the mix,

deflecting and distracting from their responsibility by telling the individual that it was on US not on THEM to reduce emissions, tackle pollution and climate change.

Which is incredibly brazen and nothing but advertising to keep them from having to take any responsibility for the vast damages they are doing to people, planet and wildlife.

Considering that “even a homeless person living in a fossil fuel powered society has an unsustainably high carbon footprint” (~Benjamin Franta),

individual action is NOT what will resolve these problems.

The fossil fuel industry is one that has no regard for life, health, future generations, indigenous people and protected land (at this point I think we should all take a moment to give thanks to indigenous communities who make up less than 5 % of the world’s population and protect 80 % of global biodiversity and inevitably –

protect us all).

Now you might be thinking: “After reading all of this, it doesn’t sound like footprint calculators are all that great.”

It is inarguably so that individual action alone will NOT be the remedy.

But, it starts with individual action.

Individual action that then becomes collective action can influence systemic changes, politics, demand of different products and

what companies produce and put on/take off the market.

Knowing your carbon footprint and learning more about it can be one tool to educate yourself, build awareness and make changes to your everyday life that do make a difference.

Becoming aware of how you live, what you consume,

what you can change and swap out is what you can learn by dabbling in footprint calculators.

And I’m not talking about the one BP created, but ones like the footprint calculator from yourfootprint that let’s you calculate your stats very individually with detailed explanations and the option to “offset” your emissions by donating to different causes like: supporting green energy in Indonesia or planting trees in Panama🌿

Building awareness and realizing how we are living our lives right now through the systemic build of our societies is important and a gateway to changing habits, educating others, taking part in activism and realizing that there is a BIG need for change.

Thank you for reading💚

See ya next blog👋🏼

Cheers,

Stella