Why should I use a carbon footprint calculator?
The Hudson Gazette
April 29, 2009
By Dr. Mark Lefsrud
With the increasing concern of climate change and the gases that have been linked to climate change, the general public has been swamped with news stories. Most people are aware that carbon dioxide is a cause of climate change, but are confused about how to reduce their impact.
Some online calculators have been set up to help people understand what they are consuming and provide ideas on how to reduce their carbon footprint.
Climate Change Primer
Before we get into the details of how these calculators work - first a brief background into what really is causing climate change. Most of you have likely heard about carbon dioxide, but there is more than that involved. Methane and water vapor are also major gases responsible for climate change. The reason you haven’t heard much about these two gases, is that very little can be done about water vapor production and to reduce water vapor production and to reduce methane is very politically and environmentally complicated.
If you were to even try to reduce methane production, the world would need to stop eating rice (rice paddies are major sources of methane), stop eating beef or milk products (ruminant digestion results in methane production), drain all wetlands and not allow any rotting of biological material. This is pretty much impossible to do on a large scale.
Carbon Dioxide Production
So that brings us to carbon dioxide. Its production is directly linked to the western consumer economy and the more we consume the more we produce. To this end a number of websites have been set up with the ability to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide individuals or families produce to determine how best to reduce their carbon dioxide production or footprint.
Testing Several Calculators
Bioresource Engineering students at McGill University attempted to estimate the footprints of each student over a year using 11 different footprint websites. The average pers person usage from this group was 7.7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. That is at the lower end of te average for Canadians, who typically use 6 to 15 tons per year.
However, not all website calculators are created equally. One website www.nature.org provided an average estimate of over 1.8 tons/student/year and www.safeclimate.net estimated production at 2.3 tons/student/year.
An interesting note of the www.safeclimate.net site was that some students determined their carbon dioxide footprint was less than a _ ton per year. The amount of carbon dioxide an average human breathless out in a year is just under _ ton, making the www.safeclimate.net site an under estimation.
Good Websites to try
The average websites were:
- www.conservation.org at 7.7 tons/student/year
- www.earthlab.com at 7.0 tons/student/year
- www.bp.com at 5.2 tons/student/year
- www.zerofootprintoffsets.com at 7.8 tons/student/year
Should you use a Carbon Footprint Calculator to reduce your impact?
The answer is yeas. The purpose of the footprint exercise is not to determine your exact carbon dioxide footprint but to make you aware of the impact that you are having on the climate and the consumption of resources.
Try a few calculators and then choose one. Enter in your information and then make changes in your behaviour. Test yourself on the calculator every three months to see if you are on the right track and if you can generally reduce your number.
Once you realize what your personal impact is, it becomes easier to determine methods to reduce your consumption of energy and material goods. In a world with concerns about high gas prices and increasing costs for food and consumer goods, reducing your footprint will have two important benefits - improving the world and saving you money.
Dr. Lefsrud is an assistant professor at McGill University.
Originally published in The Hudson Gazette (no longer active)
