CO2 Footprint
Figure: Graphical representation of the carbon footprint
The
carbon
footprint
is
a
measure
of
how
much
CO
2
is
released
by
a
person
due
to
their lifestyle or for the production of a product they use.
The human being per se
Every
human
being
excretes
CO
2
by
nature.
With
each
breath,
CO
2
is
released
from
the
lungs
when
we
exhale.
In
the
lungs,
gas
exchange
takes
place
between
the
blood
and
the
air.
As
the
blood
is
supersaturated
in
CO
2
,
this
is
released
into
the
air
in
the
lungs.
The
CO
2
is
produced
in
the
body
cells
during
the
energy
production
of
the
cells,
whereby
organic
substances
(food)
are
oxidized
("burned").
Biochemically,
the
CO
2
is
produced in the so-called respiratory chain.
Man
in
the
Stone
Age,
who
had
no
heating
and
fed
on
the
substances
of
his
immediate
environment,
lived
on
renewable
raw
materials.
His
life
was
CO
2
neutral
and climate neutral.
The way of life of today's man
What makes today's humans different from those in the Stone Age?
We
have
means
of
transportation
that
need
to
be
powered.
Predominantly,
these
are
internal combustion engines that burn organic fuel and convert it into CO
2
.
Our
fuels
are
predominantly
fossil
fuels
(coal,
petroleum,
natural
gas)
that
were
removed
from
the
earth's
carbon
cycle
over
millions
of
years
and
safely
deposited.
Now we are releasing the CO
2
bound in them again in a short time.
Even
electrically
powered
vehicles
indirectly
release
CO
2
from
fossil
fuels
as
long
as
the electricity is not generated from renewable energy sources.
If
we
look
at
by
category
in
Germany,
the
energy
sector
accounts
for
the
largest
quantities of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO
2
eq), at 84.2% .
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We have heaters in our apartments. Again, we use mostly fossil fuels for this.
We
have
houses,
cars
and
a
wide
variety
of
everyday
objects,
all
of
which
have
to
be
produced.
This
requires
a
lot
of
energy,
which
in
turn
is
mainly
generated
using
fossil fuels. And in transporting the items to the consumer, we are back to fuels.
We
afford
ourselves
the
luxury
of
importing
some
of
our
food
from
distant
countries,
so
again
consumption
of
fuels.
Even
the
fertilizer
we
use
for
intensive
agriculture
is
produced with high energy input.
Due
to
the
high
proportion
of
meat
in
our
food,
many
cows
are
kept,
which
particularly contribute to the emission of the greenhouse gas methane.
With
the
desire
to
get
to
know
distant
countries
on
our
travels,
we
are
back
to
fuels.......
Modern communication via data exchange also consumes a great deal of energy.
But
we
cannot
return
to
the
Stone
Age.
Therefore,
our
lives
and
actions
will
always
result in CO
2
being released.
This
measure
of
CO
2
release
due
to
human
activity
is
also
figuratively
referred
to
as
our CO
2
footprint.
Anker
Table: Shares of CO
2
eq emissions by category in Germany (2021)
(German federal environmental agency)
