Every person, business, and other organization has a carbon footprint, which is the total of all of the greenhouse gas emissions emitted as a result of their various activities. Some of these activities include transportation (e.g., driving or flying) and the use of fuel for heating and electricity—essentially anything that uses fossil fuel energy sources. Burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and gasoline to create energy releases carbon dioxide, the most common long-lived greenhouse gas. Other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide are primarily produced by livestock, rice cultivation and agricultural fertilizers. Clearing forests also leads to greenhouse gas emissions when trees are burned and carbon-rich soils degrade. Manufacturing processes also produce greenhouse gases. Even waste that is discarded in landfills decomposes into the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide
