Curious to know your own carbon footprint? We checked out two different online calculators over the weekend. The EPA has published its own carbon calculator tool: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html. Another useful carbon footprint tool can be found on www.carboncounter.org.
Be ready to collect some data about yourself. Each tool requests that you compile annual data from your electricity and gas bills. The EPA tool asks for actual costs while the Carbon Counter tool prefers the same data in terms of kilowatt hours of electricity or therms of natural gas. Both tools also ask you to enter information about how many miles you drive each year and the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
The tools also differ. The EPA tool asks about your recycling habits; while the Carbon Counter is more interested in your annualized miles via air travel.
In the end, both tools calculate your carbon dioxide emissions and provide national averages so you can see how you fare. The EPA calculates emissions in terms of pounds of carbon dioxide per year, whereas the Carbon Counter tracks total carbon dioxide emissions as metric tons. So if you’d like to compare, remember that 1 metric ton = 2204.62262 pounds.
Each tool suggests ways that you can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions. The EPA tool allows you to readily see how much you might save once you’ve answered a series of questions. The Carbon Counter offers ideas on how much money you could contribute to a carbon offset organization to neutralize your activities. Either way, it’s good to note where each of us stand in terms of carbon dioxide. As we all learned in kindergarten – there’s always room for improvement. We could all help reduce carbon emissions.