Carbon FootprintThe overall vision and mission of the Martin County Comprehensive Energy Strategic Plan establishes a countywide carbon footprint baseline and creates strategic goals designed to produce reductions of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions and concludes with the recommendation of best practices and financially feasible technologies to reduce the county's carbon footprint. This process is critical because it measures desirable past, current, and future carbon footprint levels for Martin County end users using the Plan's realistic goals establishing a new energy market. (Propose possible funding initiatives that will be needed to achieve concrete results in reducing its “carbon footprint” so as to use best practices on a regional, national and global basis. We need to examine what the carbon footprint is and how to measure it best, what is the importance of measuring it and what are the best ways to reduce it on a global, local and individual basis The biggest challenges we face in this century are climate change, dwindling fossil fuel reserves and scarcity of drinking water. The SEMP is the County's response by Martin to these crises. Carbon footprint, also known as greenhouse gases, is the measure of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. These gases are released as a result of our daily activities such as: heating and cooling the home, commute home-work and reduced use. efficient appliances. Gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) can be measured on a large scale, determining the carbon footprint of a nation or simply the footprint of an individual. family. Measuring these gases helps determine... middle of paper... conscious dress codes help reduce heating and cooling costs because employees won't be overdressed for the conditions of the summer months. Placing solar panels on the roofs of buildings that are at certain heights and receive optimal sunlight is an available option that results in savings on building operating costs, as well as encouraging employees to take stairs when possible reduces the energy load demand of the elevator. The SEMP was written to support the implementation of these solutions that can reduce the County's carbon footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions have been a problem for decades, implementing carbon reduction programs that require only small changes in our daily lives helps us reduce our carbon footprint and save us money. Works Cited http://www.gogogreentoday.com/http:// www.watersafe.co.za/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint