WHAT'S YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?

"Carbon footprint refers to the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that we generate directly or indirectly,"
Not just vehicle exhausts, almost everything we do or use leaves a carbon footprint — be it the paper we use, the computers we work on, the packaging of our groceries, or the disposables such as cups, cartons, and plastic bags that are so much a part of our life. Leave alone the carbon footprint left by the raw materials used in manufacturing these goods, their manufacturing process consumes fossil-fuel generated electricity, while the transportation process causes more emissions by way of vehicle exhausts and so does even the tarred road if one were to take into account the emissions caused by the tar refining process.
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint (shown by the green slices of the pie chart) and the secondary footprint (shown as the yellow slices).

1. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these.
2. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. To put "A carbon footprint of up to one tonne per person per year is sustainable globally, but the average city dweller far exceeds this,"
Carbon Trust, an independent carbon foot printing agency, measured the carbon footprint of a popular two-litre packaged orange drink and found it to be equal to a carbon dioxide emission of 1.7 kg! This came from the emissions during its processing, packaging and transportation. Using 1KWhr of electricity leaves a 10 kg carbon footprint. While some energy-saving methods would entail initial investments, even these would pay off over one to four years through energy savings.
For instance, invest in energy saving CFL bulbs or LED lamps. Replace your old fridge if it is over 15 years old with an energy-efficient one. Use solar lamps and cookers if possible. And then, there are other things you can do, that don't cost you a paisa. In fact, you stand to save money in the process. And the planet!