Carbon Foot Print

Have you ever thought about your Carbon Foot Print? Now there are calculators that can help you tabulate it. According to their calculations my carbon foot print is 24 tonnes - more then average (20 tonnes Co2/year). When I saw that number and read that statement I almost choked. I know that I commute to work and all that adds up, but come on! I still try to do my part.

Then I read further down the page. . .

Part of the calculations are based on average user consumption/waste. Well, I think thats where this whole calculation went terribly a rye. For one thing, I consume way less then the average person that I know. I know there are people who consume less then I do. I use re-usable bags instead of plastic. I use a stainless steel coffee mug instead of paper cups. And I buy most of my stuff used - including clothes! Besides from commuting to work, I don't drive that often - and if I do, we carpool. I think most of my real waste comes from the dogs - the laundry and food. But even the food is more eco-friendly then kibble. The puppy pee-pads aren't helping this month, though.

After reading the whole page, I found a different calculator and found that my carbon foot print is 12 tonnes Co2/year. I feel that this is a bit more accurate because you can enter in your car m/m/m and you can enter exact flight data as well. You can also input info as to what/how you consume. Part of the calculations are based on what part of the country you live in as well.

Later, I found another calculator and determined that my carbon foot print is 17 tonnes Co2/year. Again I feel that this is a little high because it doesn't consider your consumption but it does take off points for using energy efficient appliances/lighting.

At the end of my experiment I never really determined what my Carbon Foot Print is, but I take some solace in knowing that its lower then average - but how much is still up for debate. I guess I can look into offsetting it, but that would mean I have to leave my computer on for another hour and that would increase the electricity to the house which would increase my foot print which would mean that I would have to do that much more to offset it. . . .