Students calculate carbon footprints

Calculating her carbon footprint led Woodstock High School senior Cecelia Long to find ways to be more earth friendly.

"Last year, I was surprised, but this year, I'd cut way down," said Long.

She convinced her parents to buy locally grown produce at the Woodstock Farmers Market and also encouraged friends to eat healthier, plant-based diets.

"There's a lot of transportation when you buy food from a big store," she said.

Eddie Grogg, a senior, said seeing his carbon footprint made him encourage his family to switch to energy efficient light bulbs.

"It was interesting to see all the carbon I put out and how I can change," he said.

This spring, Long, Grogg and classmates in Bill Donato's Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science classes are sharing their ideas with students around the world as they participate in the Student Carbon Footprint Challenge, sponsored by Stanford University and the University of Gothenburg.

The online initiative combines environmental education and social media. Students from 30 high schools in 25 nations calculate their carbon footprints and converse online about ways to be more environmentally conscious. The educational social media site is known as Einztein.

Countries participating in the project include the U.S., Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, the Maldives, New Zealand, Japan, England and the United Arab Emirates.

Donato learned about the project when he attended a science teachers conference.

"I met the person who created it and decided to get involved," he said. This is the third semester that classes from WHS have participated.

A carbon footprint is determined by factors such as transportation use; food consumption; home energy use, including appliances and technology; shopping habits and recycling.

Donato says eating locally grown food is an interest around the world.

"I posted something about it, and a guy from Croatia was talking about his garden," he said.

He added that the Woodstock students' footprints were lower than students from California and Texas, where long commutes are common. Students from the Maldives Islands had the lowest footprints.

"Their transportation was zero," said Donato. "They walk everywhere."

Arlinda Fasliu, a junior, said she enjoyed watching a video posted by a group of Lithuanian students and reading magazine recycling suggestions by a European student.

Fasliu said she tries to be more environmentally conscious by shopping in thrift stores.

"It's a way to recycle, and it reduces the energy needed for transportation and to make the clothes," she said.