What is a Carbon Footprint?

A Carbon footprint can be termed as a measure of the impact that activities, mostly human, have on the climatic conditions and the environment as a whole. It is about the amount of greenhouse gases produced due to burning of fossil fuels and industrial activity. Primary and secondary are the two categories of carbon footprints.

Primary carbon footprint is the result of the direct emission of Carbon dioxide (CO2) from our everyday activities – for e.g. the burning of fossil fuel while driving a car or energy consumption in a household for heating, lighting and cooling. Secondary footprint is the indirect emission of CO2, where emission is related to the production of goods in industries that are later purchased by us, the consumers. Individuals can contribute in numerous simple ways to reduce their household carbon footprint.