Carbon footprint

My mom has been on my blog and asked how to calculate a carbon footprint. So I decided to finally calculate mine. Wow ... I am depressed. For comparison, the national average is 53 Tons of Carbon per year per two-person household. The world-wide average is only 11 Tons.

Here are some sites where you can do the same and the results I got ...

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ - 77 tons!!!!!! (for Chris and I)
53% of that is home energy, and 36% is driving and flying (between the two of us we flew 8 times last year).

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html - 30 tons (for Chris and I)
Wow, much different!! This one takes into account how much you spend each month on heating your home. But ... it didn't ask about flights. So I am probably somewhere between the two above.

there are a lot more - just google carbon footprint.

I like this one, too
http://www.greenprogress.com/carbon_footprint.php - 9.16 tons (just me) and this included flights. If I pulled out my gas and electric bills, I could probably get something more accurate. I think another day I will do this again but be as precise as possible (exactly how many miles did I drive/fly last year?).

Overall I like the last one the most. They all give you tips at the end on how to reduce your footprint. Check it out - and join me in trying to reduce your footprint in 2008!!

Thanks for reading!