What’s My Carbon Footprint?

10.10.2017

0600

I wanted to calculate my carbon footprint because I haven’t ever done so. I know that I watch what I buy and how much energy I use so I was hoping it would be low. There are aspects of my life I could probably change to reduce my carbon footprint, but I wanted a base number to start with. There are a few different carbon print calculators available, but this is the one I used. Also, I’m located in the United States of America, so I used the Nature Conservancy Carbon Calculator, from the Nature Conservancy.

Because these calculators consist of a lot of smaller chunks of information, I thought I would at least list out the information needed for this calculator. I had to go searching for a large chunk of information to input, when I filled out my survey. So here is the the many pieces of information I needed, that you might need as well if you choose to use this carbon footprint calculator:

Get Started: A QUICK CARBON FOOTPRINT ESTIMATE
1. Zip Code
2. City
3. County
4. State Country
5. How many people live in your household?
6. What is your approximate gross annual household income?
Travel: HOW DO YOU GET AROUND?
1. Car(s): (Miles per gallon)
2. Public Transit: (Miles per year)
3. Air Travel: (Miles per year)
Home: HOW MUCH DO YOU USE IN YOUR HOME?
1. Electricity ($/year)
2. Natural Gas ($/year)
3. Heating oil & Other Fuels ($/year)
4. Square ft. of living space
5. Water useage ($/year)
Food: HOW MUCH DO YOU CONSUME OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING?
1. Simple Menu: (Daily calories per person)
  1. Meat, fish, eggs
  2. Grains & baked goods
  3. Dairy
  4. Fruits & vegetables
  5. Snacks, drinks, etc…
2. Advanced Menu: (Daily calories per person)
  1. Beef, pork, lamb, veal
  2. Fish & seafood
  3. Other meat (processed, nuts, etc…)
  4. Poultry & eggs
  5. Grains & baked goods
  6. Dairy
  7. Fruits & Vegetables
  8. Snacks, drinks, etc…
3. Shopping: HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING?
  1. Simple Menu
    1. Goods ($/month)
    2. Services ($/month)
  2. Advanced Menu
    1. Goods ($/month)
      1. Furniture & appliances
      2. Clothing
      3. Entertainment
      4. Paper, office & reading
      5. Personal care & cleaning
      6. Auto Parts
      7. Medical
    2. Services ($/month)
      1. Health Care
      2. Information & Comunication
      3. Medical
      4. Vehicle Services
      5. Personal business & Finance
      6. Household Maintenance & Repair
      7. Organizations & Charity
      8. Other Services

So my results stated that my Total Footprint is 20 tons CO2/year, which is 59% better than average person. This is a good standing to start from. I’m actually quite happy with it. I could try to adjust my daily decisions to see if I can reduce my footprint a re-take the survey, but it’s a good starting point.

The last section in the calculator allows you to sign a pledge to stand with Climate Action. There are a few different carbon footprint calculators. I encourage you all to take a look at how large or small your carbon footprint is. It’s amazing when you see it written down in a calculated measure of your daily decisions. Here are a few other websites that also have carbon footprint calculators that might be of god use as well: