Family Sustainability Action Plan to support reducing household Greenhouse gas emissions and drive associated benefits.
As recommended by the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, Nashville has adopted a goal of reducing the community’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% from 2014 levels by 2050. To achieve this target, it’s going to take contributions from local government, the private sector, and individuals and families.
What is the Family Sustainability Action Plan?
The goal of the Family Sustainability Action Plan is to engage Families/Households in making Nashville-Davidson County a more healthy, sustainable and resilient city by reducing Family/Household greenhouse gas emissions. The Family Sustainability Action Plan aims to educate families/households on the use of a carbon footprint calculator to get a baseline assessment of Greenhouse gas emissions, then identify areas where they would like to be greener (less Greenhouse gas emission), set goals and develop an action plan to achieve those goals.
What are greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases are atmospheric pollutants generated by our actions that lead to a warming of the earth and climate change. These include carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and methane. Climate change has led to both environmental and human health effects. More frequent storms, floods, heat events, drought and wildfires are an example. Children’s health is especially affected as a result of extreme weather, extreme heat, vector borne diseases, poor air quality and food insecurity.
What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases generated by our everyday actions. The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons per year, one of the highest in the world. Globally the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons per year. To have the best chance of avoiding a rise in global temperatures with significant global impacts, the average carbon footprint per year needs to drop to 2 tons by 2050.
The Family Sustainability Action Plan offers two options for the calculation of family/household carbon footprint:
- Nature Conservancy Carbon Footprint Calculator and
- The USEPA Carbon Footprint Calculator.
Areas of focus for household Greenhouse gas reduction include, home energy use, water use, transportation, waste, food, and shopping. Simple changes can make your home more comfortable and reduce energy usage. Examples include: Use active transportation (walk, bike). Eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Buy less stuff.