Calculate and get information on your carbon footprint, and get suggestions on how to reduce your emissions. Find incentive programs near you to install solar, get electric cars, and more: https://www.dsireusa.org/ Everything you need to vote: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/743250666/ Contact your elected officials: https://democracy.io/ Buy renewable energy certificates: https://terrapass.com/product/productres-recs/ Offset carbon emissions for free when flying: https://flygrn.com/ Please like, favorite, and share in order to help spread the word to more people. This calculator will give you an estimate of your carbon emissions. It is not exhaustive nor is it 100% accurate, and errors are to be expected. METHODOLOGY: DRIVING: - This uses data from the US Environmental Protection Agency, which estimates that 19.6 pounds of CO2 are emitted when burning a gallon of gas. The amount of gallons of gas you burned is calculated by dividing the miles driven by the MPG of your car, which measures the amount of miles 1 gallon of gasoline can take you. You can find the data here: https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/data/GHGCalculator.xls - Electric cars are counted as having zero emissions for this section. While greenhouse gases are emitted when producing the car and creating electricity to power it, this is already counted in the stuff and electricity sections, respectively, so there is no need to double-count. ELECTRICITY: - The amount of emissions that are caused by burning electricity depends heavily on what is used to produce electricity in your area. In Vermont, most electricity is produced via zero-emissions hydropower, so there is very low emissions. In West Virginia, most electricity is produced via high emissions coal, so there is very high emissions. - Data from the US Energy Information Administration is used for the carbon emissions of each state's power grid. Source: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ - This calculator groups states based on their average carbon emissions per kwh and then multiplies it based on the number of kwh you used. Since it uses rounding, it is not entirely accurate. NATURAL GAS AND FUEL OIL: - Data for this is again from the EPA. One gallon of fuel oil burned emits. 22.61 pounds of CO2, and one therm of natural gas emits 11.7 pounds of CO2. - This does not include emissions from methane leaks. PEOPLE: -Since emissions for driving, electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil are for the entire household, the calculator divides those emissions by the number of people in your household. If some people in your household drive more or use more electricity than others, this may be too low or high. WASTE, FLYING, FOOD, AND STUFF: -These use data that is based off of information in the book Being the Change by Peter Kalmus, which is also a documentary. -Waste emissions are approximately 1500 pounds CO2e* if you compost, and 2000 pounds CO2e if you don't compost. Your emissions might be lower if you buy more secondhand stuff and/or use practices to reduce waste. -Food emissions are approximately 2,000 pounds CO2e, plus 400 pounds for each time you eat meat and dairy. - Flight emissions are 3.3 pounds per mile for first class flights and 1.76 pounds per mile on coach/economy flights. - Emissions from buying new stuff are approximately 1 pound CO2e per dollar spent. This is a rough estimate that heavily depends on what you buy, but if we were to get specific it would take forever. - One school bus weighs approximately 15,000 pounds, according to measuringstuff.com. -According to Being the Change and the US EPA, the average American emits approximately 20,000 kilograms (44,000 pounds) of CO2e per year, while the average human emits approximately 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds) of CO2e per year. *CO2e is a measurement of the warming power of greenhouse gases. While carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the most common greenhouse gas, other greenhouse gases such as methane are more powerful. For example, one pound of methane will warm the atmosphere as much as 83 pounds of CO2 would over 20 years, so we use CO2e. For more information about climate change, the greenhouse effect, and more, check out this animation by : CREDITS: Button detector - based off of code from Pie chart generator - based off of code from . Carbon footprint definition - Oxford Languages
