Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Emissions
Kim Saltmarsh: I'm Kim Saltmarsh.and you're listening to a Going Green podcast on TransitTrax, New York City Transit's podcast service.
(Sound: Muffler running)
Kim Saltmarsh: That muffler isn't just noisy, it's also dirty, and releasing carbon dioxide into the air.
Kim Saltmarsh: Okay, so do you think about the environment on a daily basis?
Senovia Bryant: No, not really.
Kim Saltmarsh: why not?
Senovia Bryant: I just go along with my daily routine and take it as it comes.
Kim Saltmarsh: Senovia Bryant of Brooklyn is like a lot of New Yorkers: going about their normal routine without paying much attention to how our normal routine affects the environment. But today, we can measure just how much CO 2 an individual emits into the atmosphere, and it's called the Carbon Footprint.
Dr. Glen Lawrence, Environmental Chemistry Professor, LIU: Well, what they're referring to is that the amount of carbon dioxide that you're putting up in the atmosphere as a result of your lifestyle or the way that you live.
Kim Saltmarsh: Dr. Glen Lawrence is a professor of environmental chemistry at Long Island University. He says when you have millions of people leaving large carbon footprints, they add to global warming and that means bad news for the environment.
Dr. Glen Lawrence: Well, what it means is that if we put too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there's this concern that the earth is going to heat up and that we might lose icecaps in Antarctica; that certain islands in the oceans might disappear because the levels of the oceans may rise.
Kim Saltmarsh: So what can you do to help? Experts say changing over to Smart Bulbs can cut back on energy use, or you can just shut off your light.
Dr. Glen Lawrence: I think you just need to be conscientious about it, and it's good not only for the world or for global concerns but also for your own health if you get out and walk more, it's going to be healthier for you.
Kim Saltmarsh: Now for an individual it's called a carbon footprint. But a company strives for sustainability, as Projjal Dutta, the director of sustainability at the MTA explains.
Projjal Dutta, MTA Director of Sustainability: Environmental sustainability is the ability of one generation, our generation, to use natural resources and to sort of spend its time on this planet in a way that doesn't compromise the future generation's ability to do the same.
Kim Saltmarsh: And believe it or not, New Yorkers have the smallest carbon footprint. That's because the MTA is going green.
Projjal Dutta: Well in many ways, the single most sustainable thing that something like the MTA can do is extend itself, is increase its ridership, is to bring more and more people on board and bring them out of cars and into shared transportation options.
(Sound: cars driving down the street)
Kim Saltmarsh: So instead of putting your foot on the pedal and pressing it to the medal, board a hybrid bus and help the environment instead.
For TransitTrax, I'm Kim Saltmarsh. Thanks for listening and thanks for riding with New York City Transit.
Back to Transittrax Main Page
Kim Saltmarsh: I'm Kim Saltmarsh.and you're listening to a Going Green podcast on TransitTrax, New York City Transit's podcast service.
(Sound: Muffler running)
Kim Saltmarsh: That muffler isn't just noisy, it's also dirty, and releasing carbon dioxide into the air.
Kim Saltmarsh: Okay, so do you think about the environment on a daily basis?
Senovia Bryant: No, not really.
Kim Saltmarsh: why not?
Senovia Bryant: I just go along with my daily routine and take it as it comes.
Kim Saltmarsh: Senovia Bryant of Brooklyn is like a lot of New Yorkers: going about their normal routine without paying much attention to how our normal routine affects the environment. But today, we can measure just how much CO 2 an individual emits into the atmosphere, and it's called the Carbon Footprint.
Dr. Glen Lawrence, Environmental Chemistry Professor, LIU: Well, what they're referring to is that the amount of carbon dioxide that you're putting up in the atmosphere as a result of your lifestyle or the way that you live.
Kim Saltmarsh: Dr. Glen Lawrence is a professor of environmental chemistry at Long Island University. He says when you have millions of people leaving large carbon footprints, they add to global warming and that means bad news for the environment.
Dr. Glen Lawrence: Well, what it means is that if we put too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there's this concern that the earth is going to heat up and that we might lose icecaps in Antarctica; that certain islands in the oceans might disappear because the levels of the oceans may rise.
Kim Saltmarsh: So what can you do to help? Experts say changing over to Smart Bulbs can cut back on energy use, or you can just shut off your light.
Dr. Glen Lawrence: I think you just need to be conscientious about it, and it's good not only for the world or for global concerns but also for your own health if you get out and walk more, it's going to be healthier for you.
Kim Saltmarsh: Now for an individual it's called a carbon footprint. But a company strives for sustainability, as Projjal Dutta, the director of sustainability at the MTA explains.
Projjal Dutta, MTA Director of Sustainability: Environmental sustainability is the ability of one generation, our generation, to use natural resources and to sort of spend its time on this planet in a way that doesn't compromise the future generation's ability to do the same.
Kim Saltmarsh: And believe it or not, New Yorkers have the smallest carbon footprint. That's because the MTA is going green.
Projjal Dutta: Well in many ways, the single most sustainable thing that something like the MTA can do is extend itself, is increase its ridership, is to bring more and more people on board and bring them out of cars and into shared transportation options.
(Sound: cars driving down the street)
Kim Saltmarsh: So instead of putting your foot on the pedal and pressing it to the medal, board a hybrid bus and help the environment instead.
For TransitTrax, I'm Kim Saltmarsh. Thanks for listening and thanks for riding with New York City Transit.
Back to Transittrax Main Page
