Activity 2.1 Atmosphere- Tracking my Emissions

Investigation:

For the past four days I have tracked my activities that cause emissions and have pit them in a list:

1) Transport- In the past few days I have flown on a plane (Den - San), taken 3 trains, and have driven around using about 8.5 gallons of gas traveling 287.3 miles

2) Plastic- As my shifts passed through the days I counted how many trash bags I used in a day with Monday (55), Tuesday (41), and Wednesday (44).

Problem: In the four days that I have been conducting my research I have been able to clearly identify what major carbon emission problems I have within my lifestyle. From all the data I have collected I narrowed it down to my major emission being plastic

Data Analysis: In the 3 days that I have worked I have used a total of one hundred and forty trash bags, each big enough to hold thirty three gallons, drank ten bottles of water, and used two plastic containers. The trash bags are a LDPE commericial bags meaning they are low density and more environmentally friendly.

After evaluating all the data I’ve collected I measured the quantity of plastic that is used to make a singular trash bag. The weight of each trash bag is roughly 3.9 ounces, and averaging the amount of trash bags I used in one day would be 47. So by multiplying 3.9 ounces and 47 trash bags i was able to find the total amount of plastic used in just one day which was 183.3 ounces. Going further in just one month 5,132.4 ounces of plastic is used, and 61,588.8 ounces per year for just myself alone at work.

Explanation and Solutions:

In a Stanford article written by Samantha Staley she explains the ratio of carbon emission to plastic productions in ounces as 5:1. So to find out the total amount of carbon emission I produce at work I would multiply 61,588.8 ounces by 5 totaling out 307,944 ounces of carbon or about 8730.066 kilograms produced. In a post by Kelly Marlene who works for UNNI a company who makes 100% biodegradable trash bags explains how with these trash bags when placed in a compost environment will dissolve leaving only CO2, water, and humus. Even by using just ten of these bags everyday I could save 1857.461 kilograms of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere.

Work Cited

Marlin, Lisa, et al. “7 Best Alternatives to Plastic Trash Bags in 2021.” Green Coast, 27 July 2021, greencoast.org/alternatives-to-plastic-trash-bags/.

Polymer, AAA. “High Density vs Low Density Commercial Trash Bag Uses.” AAA Polymer, 4 Mar. 2021, www.aaapolymer.com/high-density-vs-low-density-commercial-trash-bag-uses/.

Staley, Samantha. “The Link between Plastic Use and Climate Change: Nitty-Gritty.” STANFORD Magazine, 2009, stanfordmag.org/contents/the-link-between-plastic-use-and-climate-change-nitty-gritty.