Efforts to save Great Barrier Reef 'too slow'

Efforts to try to save the Great Barrier Reef from pollution aren't happening quickly enough, according to top politicians in Australia.

A report by the Queensland government says the Great Barrier Reef is in poor condition because of chemicals, used by farmers to help their crops grow, entering into the sea.

When it rains the chemicals run off the land in the rainwater, flowing into rivers that end up in the sea.

Once in the sea the chemicals damage the coral and threaten certain species of fish by making the levels of acid in the water go up and the oxygen levels, needed for sea creatures to breathe, go down.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system covering 1,600 miles along Australia's north east coast.

The government in Queensland say more work needs to be done urgently with farmers to cut down the use of chemicals on their crops.(CBBC Newsround)

What is a carbon footprint? What can you do about yours?

A carbon footprint is historically defined as "the total sets of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or individual." (Wikipedia)

  Wright, Kemp, and Williams, writing in the journal Carbon Management, have suggested a more practicable definition:

A measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) emissions of a defined population, system or activity, considering all relevant sources, sinks and storage within the spatial and temporal boundary of the population, system or activity of interest. Calculated as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) using the relevant 100-year global warming potential (GWP100).

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) can be emitted through transport, land clearance, and the production and consumption of food, fuels, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings, and services. For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted.

Most of the carbon footprint emissions for the average U.S. household come from "indirect" sources, i.e. fuel burned to produce goods far away from the final consumer. These are distinguished from emissions which come from burning fuel directly in one's car or stove, commonly referred to as "direct" sources of the consumer's carbon footprint. ( in Wikipedia)