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How to Calculate Carbon Footprint

August 29 2022

Calculating Carbon Footprints

A carbon footprint is a tool that helps you estimate how much carbon you contribute to the environment. It will help you know which area of your daily activities contributes the most carbon.

Knowing where you emit the most significant amount of carbon can help you quickly adjust your lifestyle to reduce your carbon footprint to the bare minimum or eradicate it where possible.

Why Greenhouse Gases can be a Problem

What are greenhouse gases, and why are they wrong or an environmental problem? There is a lot of talk about greenhouse gases and what they mean. We will provide answers to whatever questions you might have regarding greenhouse gases in the sections of this article.

What are Greenhouse Gases?

In the simplest form, any gas that can absorb and emit radiation is called a greenhouse gas. Examples of greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone. However, carbon dioxide is the most potent of all greenhouse gases, which is why it comes up every other time people talk about them. When you speak of climate change, you have to mention carbon dioxide emissions as one of the major causes. The real deal is that it is everywhere. As we go about our daily activities one way or the other, we add to the carbon footprint in the environment.

Carbon dioxide can be found naturally as a trace gas in the atmosphere. However, its concentration can vary due to seasons, deforestation, and anthropogenic factors like fossil fuel combustion. The enormous presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is responsible for the change in climate and other extreme environmental conditions like flooding and imbalance in the ecosystem.

Industrialization in the past years has led to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide by over 43% in the atmosphere, which is a disturbing statistic. The most significant contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels for energy, and human activities are responsible for 29 billion tons of carbon dioxide yearly.

How To Calculate Carbon Footprint

Using the U.S. average values, you can get a quick value of your carbon footprint. These values are provided in the tooltips that are listed in the calculator.

However, you need to use your numbers to get an accurate estimate. Include details of your utility bills, such as natural gas, propane, electricity, and fuel oil consumption. These values will enable you to calculate your average carbon footprint over a year. Online tools can help you to have discounts on your fuel efficiency on fueleconomy.gov; these online tools can also help you get your car’s efficiency.

Visit our online tool on our website, which will explain to you the following footprint.

The calculator will provide estimates of your carbon footprint in three areas;

  1. Home Energy
  2. Waste
  3. Transportation.