Your Ecological Footprint

Many of us at Duke are increasingly concerned about climate change and other human impacts on our planet, but uncertain about what we can do. The answer is: a lot! Simple changes in your daily resource use can dramatically reduce the carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere, which reduces the potential for climate change. Fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas are used to make most products of modern society, so reducing unnecessary consumption and recycling wastes can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you emit.

Take, for example, an aluminum can. For every aluminum can recycled to make a new can, we save 94 percent of energy that would otherwise be used to make a new can from fresh aluminum ore. Recycle 45 cans and you save roughly the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline. If that seems like a lot of cans, make a quick count of the number of cans on the ground after a home basketball game.

The type of car we drive and how far we drive are probably the most important decisions that can dramatically reduce our energy-use footprint on the planet. Since the objective of owning a car is to get from place A to place B, it is easy to accomplish the task by taking as little unnecessary steel, glass and plastic along for the ride. Compact cars with hybrid technology can double the efficiency at which the transport job is done. Living close to Duke reduces your daily commuting distance, controlling the impact on the environment.

April is Earth Month

Celebrate by saving energy, using less water or practicing the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle. Attend festivities sponsored in part by Duke Recycles, the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University Greening Initiative and the Sustainability@Duke Program in the Executive Vice President's Office.

• 6 p.m. April 5: Eat Grub! Putting Justice on Your Plate. Join best-selling author Anna Blythe Lappe for a discussion about food politics and how diet affects our health and the health of our environment. Love Auditorium in Levine Science Research Center.

• 5 p.m. April 10: A regional premiere screening of Laura Dunn's "The Unforeseen," a documentary about development and sprawl, using Austin, Texas, as an example. A Q&A with Dunn and Eco-Reception follow the film. Love Auditorium in Levine Science Research Center.

• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 20: Earth Day Festival with food, activities and more than 50 community and campus groups on hand to demonstrate and discuss ways to promote sustainability and limit our "footprint" on earth. West Campus Plaza.

For information and other events, e-mail earthmonth@nicholas.duke.edu

Visit www.duke.edu/sustainability

For those who just can't imagine driving a small car, companies such as TerraPass offer certificates that allow you to mitigate the impact of driving habits. TerraPass calculates carbon dioxide you emit driving each year. Buying a certificate from TerraPass allows you to support the installation of wind power in Kansas, saving the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions from your car.

All of us can make immediate reductions in our energy use (and what we pay for it) by improving home heating systems and insulation. Living in Durham, my wife, Lisa, and I found our heating bills decrease 11 percent after insulating ductwork under our house. Every time you replace a household appliance, you can save on your electric bill by selecting an EPA Energy Star model.

You can further reduce your impact on the environment by cutting use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in your yard. Nitrogen fertilizer contributes nitrate to runoff waters, eventually making their way to the coastal ecosystems of North Carolina, where they impact our fisheries. Saving food scraps in a composter will produce wonderful mulch, allowing you to use less garden fertilizer each year.

We all can make a difference.