What the h**l is a carbon foot print?

Question

Sounds like new-age psyco-bable. The way I see it carbon just is, like silicon is, like water (h2o), like every other element. whether we use or don't use it it is going to be there or somewhere. We are even made of it. A tree starts as a seed and grows it takes stuff from the ground (mines carbon and other elements for growth from the soil) and rain and sunshine. A tree is a massive tower of friggin carbon, a great big honken carbon footprint taken from the earth, no man involved. Now some tree's will not germinate unless fire burns the soil in which the seed is laying dormant. That means carbon other greenhouse gas in the air (OMG!!!) all to complete the circle of life. Life and our planet in constant flux, who would have thunk it?

Answer 1

You are funny, and I see your point. By the way, I just had to add I thought an answer you posted elsewhere was a riot:

"pack up your clothes and dishes, drive to the beach and use the sand and ocean water. Works great then hang them out on a fence."

You are totally right, but I have a suspicion that the person who asked about "eco friendly" laundry detergents won't get off her you-know-what and make such an awfully difficult effort, like, omigod, she'd ACTUALLY have to use HER HANDS! to clean her laundry (now imagine that, grandma's laundry cleaning WAS more eco friendly after all!). Nah, just buy some standard fare detergent, labeled "green", and then she will sleep better at night knowing she did HER part to save the world. lol

I love morons like that. They waste as much as the rest of us but they think if they do 1% less waste than the rest of us (in their minds at least) that they saved the world.

Answer 2

Proof of the existence of Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman.  See, they met at the tree line one day and were shaking hands but just then a big metor came down on that exact spot and incinerated them both leaving a black scorch marks in the shape their footprints.  

Makes about as much sense as as your pseudo-intellectual pseudo-scientific pseudo-babble.

Answer 3

What is a carbon foot print?  a new age term dreamed up  by gore to scare our children and our child like citizens into believing that them mean ol Americans with their lights and cars are killing poor old mama earth.

Answer 4

I'm a lib and I say let's mandate carbon from the Periodic Table

Answer 5

What you are saying makes sense--carbon is cyclic---it exists in different forms, recombining with other elements forming variously toxic gas as well as substances harder than steel(carbon monoxid , tungsten carbide)

The concept being attempted to convey  w/"Footprint" is the amount that the humans have assigned to less favorable forms of its compounds in the ecological cycle and manage to keep in those forms to the detriment of the environment.

So what you got wrong is that it is more appropiately named "ECO-Babble"

Incidentally babble =babble no mater what prefix you attach !

Answer 6

basically a carbon footprint is what effect we have on the environment as an indiviual. Like what types of energy do we use alone. E.g. electricity

Answer 7

A carbon footprint is basically the measure of the amount of additional carbon dioxide that each person or business is responsible for adding to the atmosphere. This footprint does not include the natural cycle (breathing, eating, pooping, etc..) as the natural cycle is a good thing.

The problem si not in the natural carbon cycle, but in the fact that we are reversing the natural carbon sequestration cycle by digging up carbon deposits in the form of fossil fuels and burning them. This releases excess carbon dioxide (and many other toxins) which would not have otherwise been released if not for human consumption.