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World’s smallest carbon footprint
If “small carbon footprint” were an Olympic event, NC State’s Jayant Baliga would have more gold medals than Michael Phelps. He may have the world's smallest-ever carbon footprint -- the amount of greenhouse gases that a person directly or indirectly releases into the atmosphere each year.
One of Baliga's inventions is responsible for eliminating the need for more than 100 gigawatts of power, which translates to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about a trillion pounds per year. Now, he is working to make his footprint even smaller by pursuing new inventions that further improve energy efficiency.
The United Kingdom group Carbon Footprint estimates that the average American has a footprint of 44,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. At that rate, Baliga's negative carbon footprint offsets the impact of more than 22.5 million Americans every year. Step on up to the medal stand, Dr. Baliga.