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What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2012 Holiday Lectures on Science
What Is My Carbon Footprint?
What Is a Carbon Footprint?
We use energy in everyday activities, from turning on the lights to driving to school. Most of that energy is derived
from burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO
2
), into the
atmosphere. A carbon footprint is the total amount of GHG emissions caused directly and indirectly by an
individual, organization, event, or product. A household’s carbon footprint varies depending on factors such as
home size, types of vehicles used, and what household members eat and purchase. We care about our carbon
footprint because GHGs absorb energy and trap heat in our atmosphere. We need some amount of GHGs in our
atmosphere to survive, but too great an amount and too rapid an increase can have devastating effects on our
environment, our health, and the economy. Current consumption of fossil fuel releases more than 25 billion tons
of CO
2
into the atmosphere every year. If current trends continue, there will be a tripling of atmospheric CO
2
by
the end of the century – levels not seen for more than 40 million years. By measuring our carbon footprint, we can
learn how we are contributing to this rise in atmospheric CO
2
and how we might use energy more efficiently.
Materials
• A computer with online access • What Is My Carbon Footprint? Instruction Sheet
Procedure
What Is My Carbon Footprint?
1. Take some time to carefully read through all the steps in the procedure. You may want to list the
information you need to collect to make it easier to input the data into the calculator. Your parents or
guardian can help you fill in some of the information.
2. Go to the website
http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/carboncalculator.
Remember, you will be calculating the carbon footprint for your entire household.
3. Click on the “Intro” tab of the online calculator. Fill in your zip
code and basic information. This populates the calculator with
accurate defaults and allows you to see how your energy use
compares to that of households of similar size and income in
your area. None of this information is saved by the Berkeley
website. You may, however, choose not to fill in this section.
This will not affect later calculations. Mouse over the orange
question mark for more information.
4. On the Data Sheet (on page 5 of this document), write down
your zip code of residence (question 1).
Zoonar/Thinkstock
About This Activity
This activity complements the 2012 HHMI Holiday Lectures on Science —
Changing Planet: Past, Present,Future.
Using an online calculator, you will estimate your household’s carbon footprint and
explore various actions to reduce it.
Credit: All screenshot images are used with permission from coolclimate.berkeley.edu
Page 2 of 6 Carbon Footprint Activity
What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
Travel:
5. Click on the “Travel” tab.
a) Write down how many miles each vehicle is driven in one year.
b) Write down how many miles per gallon each vehicle gets. If you are unsure, go to
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.shtml. Use the column that best describes the kind of driving
each vehicle is primarily used for. For example, if you mostly do highway driving, choose the MPG in the
HWY column.
c) Back on the carbon footprint calculator, write down any public transportation or flights your household
has taken in the past year for leisure (not including business travel). You can identify the specific type of
public transportation you take by clicking on the advanced tab for more options.
6. See the emoticon on the calculator, which looks like Figure 1.
7. Write down the GHG emissions from your household’s total travel in tons of
CO
2
/year on the Data Sheet (data chart in question 2).
8. Look at the graph on the bottom of the carbon calculator (Figure 2). You can see
which travel subcategory made the greatest contribution to the total carbon emissions
for travel. Mouse over each subcategory to view the tons of CO
2
/year emitted.
Housing:
9. Click on the “Housing” tab.
a. Type in your annual electricity, natural gas, heating oil, or other fuel use in this section.
Your utility bills will contain the information necessary to fill out this section. For more
accurate results, average several months of statements from different seasons to
extrapolate energy use for a year.
b. Under “electricity,” you will be asked for the percent purchased from a clean-energy program. Leave
this value at zero unless you know that you are enrolled in a utility program that allows customers to
pay more for renewable energy.
c. Estimate how much more or less water your household uses compared to similar households. For
example, if you have a large lawn or if everyone takes long showers, then move the dial above average.
If you consciously use less water, then move the dial somewhat lower than average.
10. Write down the total housing emissions in tons of CO
2
/year on the Data Sheet (data chart in question
2).
Food and Shopping:
11. In the next two sections, you will calculate the secondary sources of CO
2
emissions. Producing and transporting our food, clothes, and other supplies
require a great deal of energy and produce high emissions of CO
2
and other
greenhouse gases.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Page 3 of 6 Carbon Footprint Activity
What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
a) Use your best judgment to fill out this section. For example, if your family eats a lot of meat
compared to other families you know, adjust the meat lever up a little from the average.
If you would like to be more precise, spend one day writing a food journal for you and your
family. You can calculate the caloric values for each food item by using
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/foodtracker.aspx. On the carbon footprint
calculator, move the lever up or down to record the caloric intake from each of the food groups
listed in the calculator.
b) For the shopping section, if you think your family buys a lot less than other families you know,
adjust the lever down a little from the average. You can also use the advanced feature and input
dollar amounts. Remember, the site does not save this information.
12. Write the total food and total shopping GHG emissions in tons of CO
2
/year on the Data Sheet (chart
on question 2).
13. Click on the “Take Action” tab. Before you click on anything else, write the total footprint in tons of
CO
2
/year on the Data Sheet (data chart in question 2).
Reducing My Carbon Footprint:
1. List ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Under the “Take Action” tab, look at the list of possible actions. With your parents, decide on some
actions that you and your family will try to implement. Place a check mark next to those actions listed on
the Data Sheet (question 3).
Page 4 of 6 Carbon Footprint Activity
What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
3. Click on the actions that your family agreed upon (see Arrow 1). For example, if you decided to ride your
bike to school, click on “Ride my bike.” A pull-down menu will appear. Fill in how much of a change you
would like to make.
4. Click on the “pledge” button. That will highlight this button green (see Arrow 2).
5. Repeat for all of the selected actions.
6. Write down the total reductions in tons of CO
2
/year in the Data Sheet (question 4).
Arrow 1
Arrow 2
Page 5 of 6 Carbon Footprint Activity
What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
Data Sheet
Instructions: Answer all four questions below. To answer 2–4, you will need the data from the online carbon
footprint calculator.
What Is My Carbon Footprint?
1. Zip code of residence:_________
2. Data chart:
Total Travel
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Housing
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Food
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Shopping
(tons of
CO
2
/year)
Total footprint
before
reductions
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Your
household’s
carbon footprint
Reducing My Carbon Footprint:
3. Check the actions your family would be willing to take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Buy a more efficient vehicle
Maintain my vehicles
Turn down thermostat in
winter
Offset remaining housing
Telecommute to work
Carpool to work
Turn up thermostat in summer
Go on a low-carbon diet
Ride my bike
Reduce air travel
Choose Energy Star fridge
Go organic
Take public transportation
Offset remaining transportation
Purchase green electricity
Offset remaining shopping
Practice eco-driving
Switch to CFLs
Line-dry clothing
Other:______________
4. What is your total reduction, in tons of CO
2
/year, if you take the above action(s)? __________tons of
CO
2
/year
Page 6 of 6 Carbon Footprint Activity
What is My Carbon Footprint? Published January 2013
www.BioInteractive.org
Questions:
Total Travel
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Housing
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Food
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total Shopping
(tons of CO
2
/year)
Total
footprint
before
reductions
(tons of
CO
2
/year)
National average
carbon footprint
14.6 14.1 7.0 12.8 48.5
1. The chart above shows the national average carbon footprints for different categories per household.
How do your carbon footprints compare?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. In which category does your household produce the largest carbon footprint?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Which specific action contributes to that large carbon footprint? (for example, if housing was the category
that produced the largest carbon footprint, was your electricity use or your natural gas use responsible?)
______________________________________________________________________________
4. In which category does your household produce the smallest carbon footprint?
______________________________________________________________________________
5. From your list of actions to reduce your carbon footprint, select one and explain why you chose that
action. Consider how much of an impact this action will have on your carbon footprint and on your
lifestyle.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. If every household in the US pledged to reduce their carbon footprint by the same amount as your family,
how many tons of CO
2
would we avoid putting into the atmosphere? (According to a 2011 report by the
US Census Bureau, there are about 114,761,359 households in the US.) Show your calculations.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
About the Holiday Lectures on Science and BioInteractive.org
As part of its mission to strengthen science education, HHMI presents the Holiday Lectures on Science, an annual series that brings the latest developments in a rapidly moving field of
research into the classroom. The lectures are given by HHMI investigators and other leading scientists. The 2012 Holiday Lectures, Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future, are the 20th in the
series, which began in 1993.
To complement the Holiday Lectures and enhance their usefulness in the classroom, HHMI produces a variety of free science education materials. Lecture summaries, biographies of the
lecturers, and other resources are available at www.holidaylectures.org. DVDs and CD-ROMs can be ordered through HHMI’s Catalog at http://catalog.hhmi.org.
The BioInteractive website (www.BioInteractive.org) features virtual labs, animations, and other engaging instructional materials. They can be used to supplement the lecture topics or to learn
important concepts in the biomedical sciences.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a nonprofit medical research organization that employs hundreds of leading
biomedical scientists working at the forefront of their fields. In addition, through its grants program and other
activities, HHMI is helping
to enhance science education at all levels and to maintain the vigor of biomedical science
worldwide. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, HHMI is one of the world's largest philanthropies, with
laboratories across the United States and grants programs
throughout the world.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Trustees or management of the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
© 2012 Howard Hughes Medical Institute
About the Howard Hughes Medical Institut
e
Department of Science Education
4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
(301) 215
-8500 • biointeractive@hhmi.org
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