Carbon Footprint of ADU Students: Reasons and Solutions

Abstract

The objective of the study was to calculate the carbon footprint of ADU students, studying environmental sciences and environmental health & safety and compared it with the average carbon footprint of UAE. Students' activity, which contributed to the highest emissions of carbon dioxide per year, has been determined. The carbon footprints were calculated using the online carbon footprint calculator, which estimated the CO 2 emissions of each student. The method resulted from different activities like consumption of gas and electricity, transportation, flights, food as well as other different activities are associated with individual's life style. The average carbon footprint of Environmental ADU students after decreasing their emissions was 12.22 tons CO 2 /year, which was 68%, less than the average carbon footprint of UAE (37.8 tons/year). The public transportation, driving friendly cars, eating locally and living in a simply sustainable life style are great solutions to reduce an individual carbon footprint.

Carbon Footprint Knowledge and Calculation among Nursing Students

“…Additionally, lifestyle choices among the students from the way of eating and food preferences focus on take-away food and meat-rich diets. According to Qafisheh et al, (2017) [21], food is a major contributor to CF, particularly meat processing responsible for a significant amount of CO2 emissions, and beef is one of the biggest contributors. In addition, personal consumption of clothing, footwear, and goods accounts for a significant amount of individuals' CF resulting from CO2 emissions from gathering materials, production, and transport.…”

“…Since University education is a good starting point for preparing nursing students, there is a high need to equip the current and next generation of nurses with the related core competencies to face the adverse effects of climate change and contribute to innovative strategies to lower CF [19] . Additionally, calculating CF of an educational institute can induce a sense of obligation among students to minimize it [21] . However, research studies about CF among university nursing students are very limited, and this study is among the first initiative studies aimed at calculating CF per capita among nursing students, as it is a major factor contributing to climate change.…”

Determining the 2019 Carbon Footprint of a School of Design, Innovation and Technology

“…University education should include sustainability and sustainable development in training actions [48], instructing students in sustainable development in all areas, as well as informing them of the impact that their way of life has on the planet, efficiency in the use of electricity and water, reduction in the use of paper (10), and contribute to raising awareness of the three Rs method "reduce, reuse and recycle", in addition to the alternatives presented, in order to improve the impact of kg CO 2 -e [49].…”