Carbon Footprint

Submitted By: Katie Coats, Jazmine Cruz, Kayley Miller, Aaron Rice
Salt Lake Community College through Copper Hills High
COMM 1010
December 18, 2016

Table Of Contents

Executive Summary
2
Project Description
3
Methods
4
Conclusion
10
Works Cited
11
Appendices
12

Executive Summary
1

Our project description explains what we decided would make an effective strategy. It
details what we were looking to improve and justifies why our solution best solves the stated
problems. The methods section evaluates the manner in which we went about deciding on a
solution. In it we explained our processes and the contribution of group members. Our
conclusion is a brief overview of previously stated main points. We have included a works cited
page with references from the initial research. Meeting notes are included in the appendices.
These include notes from meetings, assignments, and research.

Project Description
Our solution aims to decrease the impact of our carbon footprint on the environment and
bring a stronger sense of community, our goal is that we wish to reduce the carbon footprint of
our community at a school level. We wanted to zone in on the effects that these emission have on
our local valley. An inversion is the trapping of carbon emissions in the atmosphere that can have
adverse effects on people's health (Salt Lake City Government). People see these adverse effects
in their health. Respiratory disease is not helped during these inversions nor is the mental health
of local residents (Stewart). Those that are affected include children, the elderly, and those that

spend copious amounts of time outside such as construction workers or those who work outside
during the winter. Not only does the inversion have an effect on the respiratory health of
residents but it affects local hospitals as well (Boyd).
There are several ways that many have tried to tackle the issues in the past and there are
many plans that have yet to be implemented. One way that local Utahn government has sought to
deal with the issue has been debating over whether or not to have "free days for UTA on bad
inversion days (Tackling Bad Air). There are many ways that people in their community can
reduce their carbon footprint if they are not able to use the services. One way is to carpool. Many
of them can start on a neighborhood and local basis. That is what we have chosen to focus our
project on. Our solution is to limit the amount of school parking passes to one per household,
with approved exceptions. We also would like to encourage sibling and neighborhood carpools.
We want to encourage carpooling by encouraging the students through incentives. We can
combat many issues by working with the administration to enforce the solution. Outside of
carpooling, in order to tackle other issues of our carbon footprint people can recycle in addition
to using appropriate means of disposing of different products by utilizing appropriate dump and
recycling facilities.

Methods
Our team used the reflective thinking process to decide on our solution. This process can
be remembered with the acronym PAC-BOY, which stands for: problem, analyze the problem,
criteria, brainstorm, organize, and yes we can! The steps were divided into team meetings.
Defining the problem occurred in our first meeting when we decided that we wanted to find a

solution to decrease our schools carbon footprint. All team members were assigned an area of
our issue to analyze before the next meeting. At the next meeting, we discussed our findings and
outlined the criteria we would be using to determine the best solution. Brainstorming occurred at
the next meeting and was a time for suggesting any and all ideas. After we had collected a
number of proposals, we organized it by narrowing it down to five of our best/realistic solutions
and determined how well each fit the criteria. We found which one fit the best and chose to
attempt to improve our carbon footprint by limiting parking passes to one per household.

Problem:
What is the best way to limit our schools carbon footprint while staying within the
parameters set by the district?
Analysis:
Stakeholders:
Carbon emissions have very controversial effects. Debates over climate change and
global warming will be endless, but looking at a local level, there are some distinct effects of
carbon emissions. For anyone that has lived in the Utah valley they definitely know what an
inversion is. This trapping of carbon emissions in the atmosphere can have adverse effects on
people's health. Some of the people that see a large part of these effects are children and the
elderly. Those that have respiratory issues also experience many of the effects. Other people that
could be affected are those who exercise or who spend copious amounts of time outside such as
construction workers (Maffly). Not only does the inversion have an effect on the respiratory
health of residents but can also have an effect on the mental health also. Local hospitals feel the

effects of the inversion as they see more patients related to the issues dealt out" by the inversion
(Boyd).
Characteristics:
The problem that we have with carbon footprint is that it affects everything around us
such as water, air and food. One of the largest effects that we have on carbon footprint is climate
change. The warming of the our planet is created by human producers, greenhouse gases, and
natural weather. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased throughout the years. From 1990 to
2005 31% of carbon dioxide emissions increased throughout our planet. Large carbon footprints
deplete resources on large and small scales, from a countrys deforestation activities to one
homes increased use of air conditioning. The more that those with large carbon footprints use
resources, the more greenhouse gases increase which spurs further climate change. The
Environmental Protection Agency suggests that consideration of different energy supplies and
conservation of current ones will be needed to balance energy demand. Reducing carbon dioxide
emissions as much as possible and offsetting the remaining emissions by planting trees is one
such example.
History:
From the 1850s to today, the world has generally experienced a constant growth of
emissions, adding to the carbon footprint. This is because of things such as industrialization and
population growth (Damassa). Specifically in Utah, some schools have tried to reduce their
carbon footprint. In the Nebo school district the Cherry Creek Elementary school has reduced
their electrical use by 20% (reported in 2014). They turned off computers and checked air
conditioning and heating regularly. The students recycled and made sure to use the most of their
paper and school assignments. Not only did these things reduce the schools carbon footprint, it

saved their money. They all worked together to better their community (Balzotti). One of the
only reasons why past attempts havent worked is because people arent willing to stick to the
goals they make. Its all about simple life decisions and when people arent willing to do
anything, nothing changes.
Politics and Policies:
No student or employee of the Jordan School District may engage in illegally harassing
conduct that creates a hostile learning environment for students or staff of the district.(Student
Discrimination and Harassment). Any attempts to make changes, whether for the good of the
community or the school, will not be allowed to infringe on the rights of students, staff, or the
community. All encouragement to participate in proposed solutions to improving our carbon
footprint, must be inviting and not overbearing. No persons should be made uncomfortable by
promotion of solutions or pressured to go with the flow which takes away agency.
Discrimination in urging community members, students, and staff to participate will not be
tolerated.
In a recent study, 91% of students surveyed were willing to change a part of their lives to
minimize the carbon footprint of the school. Teachers surveyed also exclaimed a willingness to
support such a venture and voiced their own ideas of how they and their classes could contribute.
While this seems like a positive response, many students expressed a concern of how much effort
they would need to put in for something that many would not notice a difference in. This also
needs to be taken into consideration.
Resources Available:
Although there may not be endless resources that are available to those that need to get to
various places around the valley, there are way that people can help reduce their carbon footprint.

One way that local Utahn government has sought to deal with the issue has been debating over
whether or not to have" free days for UTA on bad inversion days (Tackling Bad Air). But there
are other ways that people in their community can reduce their carbon footprint if they are not
able to use the services. One way is to carpool, but outside of car emissions people can recycle
and use the appropriate means of disposing of different products by utilizing dump and recycling
facilities.

Criteria:
The criteria we used to determine which solution would be most effective was compiled
by all group members. We started with the want to increase public awareness and have it be
community oriented. This also led us to consider the agency of community members, appealing
to all opinions about the environment, and complying with state regulations and standards. To
reach the goal of creating an attainable solution we also considered teacher and staff
involvement, how realistic it would be for high school students to accomplish, and focusing on
using readily available sources.
Brainstorming:
The following list is a compilation of every proposed solution. All were evaluated postbrainstorming and the ones that were the most realistic were further rated. Our solution list
before evaluation consisted of: sibling carpool/ one parking pass per household, district boundary
map, aluminum recycling, checking heating and air conditioning(running efficiently), lighting
solutions, turning off computers, CNG buses, encouraging bussing, electronic assignments,
awareness assembly, stop sale of plastic bottles, invest in more water bottle refill stations, local
farm products.
We stopped to evaluate most of our solutions because we got overexcited about the
possibilities. We were able to come up with some out of the box solutions. Our most creative
solution was to invest in more refill stations and sell less plastic water bottles.
7

Organization:
After coming up with our list of possible solutions, we all chose one individually and one
as a group. We then created a comparison chart to determine which one fit our criteria the best
(A2). Once everyone evaluated, on a scale of 1-5, the solution they chose with the criteria we
wrote, we picked the solution that had the highest score. This turned out to be sibling carpool.

Contingencies:
-Siblings that participate in extracurricular activities before and after school.
-Siblings that attend the Jordan Applied Technology Center.
-Administration not wanting to cooperate/put in the effort to make this change.
-Students feeling that their rights being taken away.
Coping with contingencies:
-With extracurricular activities exceptions will be made or carpooling with neighbors can be
arranged. Carpooling within clubs and teams would also be encouraged.
-Students that have siblings attending Jordan Applied Technology Center may also be considered
for multiple parking passes, however, bussing to campus is provided by the school.
-Group members intend to arrange a formal meeting with several administrators
to address any possible issues and concerns.
-Group members have discussed ways of promoting and rewarding the solution.

Revised Solution:
Our solution is to limit the amount of school parking passes to one per household, with
approved exceptions. We also would like to encourage sibling and neighborhood carpools. We
want to encourage carpooling by encouraging the students through incentives (ex. pancakes for
those who carpooled to school that day). We can combat many issues by working with the
administration to enforce the solution.
We will present our solution to our class with a poster and handouts.
Yes We Can:
8

Our group determined how we plan on implementing or solution. Group members were
assigned different steps and dates for the steps to be accomplished.
Steps:

Assigned to:

Due date:

Interview siblings

Katie/Jazmine

12/20

Talk to admin

Aaron/Kayley

12/20

Prepare for awareness assembly/presentation

All

12/15

Implement one pass per family

Aaron

1/5

Talk to Quarnberg about not

expanding the parking lot
Propose alternate ideas for funds

Katie

1/5

Kayley/Jazmine

1/5

Conclusion
Our goal was to come up with a solution to decrease the carbon footprint of our school.
Before deciding on the solution that best fit our criteria, we came up with several alternatives.
They were valid solutions and each had their own appeal, but our plan for a sibling carpool was
the one we felt would be the simplest and most cost-effective to implement. We feel confident in
our choice and ability to move forward with the beginning steps. We have considered
contingencies and proposed solutions to each, while considering the needs and rights of the
community. Our team is satisfied with our plan and committed to making the necessary changes
to better our community

Works Cited
Balzotti, D. (Mar. 7, 2014). Clients in the News. Utah: Nebo Schools Save Energy by Going
Green. Retrieved from http://www.cenergistic.com/utah-nebo-schools-save-energy
-going-green
Boyd, R. (Feb. 12, 2016). Inversion Conditions in Utah worse than ever; area hospitals see spike
in patients. Retrieved from http://fox13now.com/2016/02/12/inversion-conditions-in-utah
-worse-than-ever-area-hospitals-see-spike-in-patients/
Damassa, T. & Friedrich, J. (May 21, 2014). The History of Carbon Dioxide Emissions.
Retrieved from http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/05/history-carbon-dioxide-emissions
In our opinion: Tackling bad air. (Feb. 20, 2013). Opinion. Retrieved from
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765622952/Tackling-bad-air.html?pg=all
Jordan School District. Statement of Policy. SUBJECT: Student Discrimination and Harassment
http://policymanual.jordandistrict.org/policies/as094.html
Maffly, B. (Dec 22, 2013). News. Scientists tackle Utahs particulate pollution puzzle. Retrieved
from http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/politics/57159228-90/utah-quality
-pollution-lake.html.csp
Salt Lake City Government. Winter Inversions: What Are They and What We Can All Do To Help
http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/winter-inversions-what-are-they-and-what-we-can-all-do-help
Stewart, K. (Jan. 27, 2014). News. My bad air day: Utah doc: More illness, depression in
inversions. Retrieved from http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/politics/
57432510-90/bad-health-inversions-lake.html.csp
Utah Department of Health. Bureau of Epidemiology. Air Pollution and Public Health in Utah.
http://www.health.utah.gov/utahair/

10

A1

Team Contract
Katie Coats, Kayley Miller, Jazmine Cruz, Aaron Rice
Mr. Haslam
Team Contract
05 December 2016

Team Contract
We commit to not whine, make everyone feel welcome to express opinions and ideas, and
validate everyone. Our meetings will be productive and members will stay on task and
strive to
keep meetings within the time limit. When team members are absent, Jazmine will email
or text
them the info that they missed.
Relational Roles:
Gatekeeper: Aaron Rice
Harmonizer: Kayley Miller-goes to Haslam/ enforcer
The Snacker: Katie Coats- brings food
Updater and welcomer: Jazmine Cruz
Task Roles:

11

Time keeper: Jazmine Cruz

Devils advocate: Aaron Rice
Proofreader: Kayley Miller
Information Agent: Katie Coats
Problem: What is the best way to limit our schools carbon footprint while staying within the
parameters set by the district?
Description of the problem: In Utah due to the carbon output by the many companies and drivers
there is an increase of carbon emissions that get caught in the atmosphere of the valley. These
emissions can have notable effects on the health of valley residents.

Analysis: assignments for next meeting

Characteristics: Jazmine Cruz
Stakeholders: Aaron Rice
History: Kayley Miller
Policies and Politics: Katie Coats
Resources available: Aaron Rice
KC, KM, JC, AR

12

A2

Comparison Chart
Local Farms

Sibling
Carpool

District
Boundary
Map

Aluminum
Recycling

Decrease
plastic bottle
sales/ refill

Increase
Public
Awareness

Use Readily
Available
Sources

Realistically
Manageable
for High
School
Students

Teacher and
Staff
Involvement

Community
Oriented

Respects
Agency of
Community
Members

Complies
with State
Regulations

Appeals to all
Opinions on
Environment

31/40

28/40

30/40

26/30

Totals:

30/40

A3

13

Participation Points
Name

Participation Points (Out of

40)

Reason

Coats, Katie

Came to every meeting,

contributed to solutions,
completed individual
assignments on time for the
most part, contributed to
meetings, and had a positive
attitude during it all.

Cruz, Jazmine

Came to every meeting,

contributed to solutions,
completed individual
assignments on time for the
most part, contributed to
meetings, and had a positive
attitude during it all.

Miller, Kayley

10

Came to every meeting plus

one extra meeting,
contributed to solutions,
completed individual
assignments on time,
contributed to meetings, and
had a positive attitude during
it all.

Rice, Aaron

10

Came to every meeting plus

one extra meeting,
contributed to solutions,
completed individual
assignments on time,
contributed to meetings, and
had a positive attitude during
it all.

14