I've been reading "What about China?", a book with lots of answers debunking the common myths & misconceptions about climate change. It's also got a handy index with lots of websites.
I tried http://www.carboncalculator.com/ to see what kind of footprint I have (the UK average is 12 tonnes a year according to the book, 9.8 tonnes according to the website). I came out at 7.646 tonnes, which I guess is pretty good until you think about the average worldwide carbon footprint of 4 tonnes and the target of 2 tonnes! It actually puts in perspective all the kinds of things that we do to try and be green, yet I'm still nearly double the world average & nearly four times the target! Even taking into account that the calculator isn't perfect, we've still got a long long way to go.
Read the book, visit the site and see for yourself.
3 comments:
Thanks for posting on carbon calculators! There are so many out there, it is hard to navigate this area of the green market! Zerofootprint has a few tailored calculators:
http://www.zerofootprint.net/products
I really like the kids calculator. Kids can generate goals between classrooms and schools, and learn information to bring home. If you’ve looked at a few calculators, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for your comment - yes, you're right, it is a minefield out there! My view is that they're all on the right lines (the ones that I've seen so far), it's a matter of personal preference. I guess if people are just starting to get interested in the subject, the one that is the easiest entry point is best - I also like the Carbon Workout from the National Energy Foundation in the UK. For me, somewhere in the middle between hardcore eco-warrior and environmental glutton, the shades of green are difficult to distinguish between as all the calculators are fairly high level, and don't take into account the daily minute choices that we all make that in aggregate add to our footprint.
Having said that, I did really like the one you suggested - my kids are pre-school, but I'd imagine the kids' calculator would hit the spot with school-aged kids.
Thanks again.
Forgot the link: http://www.nef.org.uk/actonCO2/carbonworkout.htm
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