Check out your carbon footprint

By Al Grumet, Green Change

By using a carbon footprint calculator, you can learn a lot about how your lifestyle and consumption habits generate greenhouse-gas emissions. This calculator from UC Berkeley’s Cool Climate Network lets you explore your household’s emissions from transportation, home energy, food, and the consumption of goods and services. 

Like a scale, it’s a reality check, but it also offers recommendations on how to modify your actions to reduce your climate impact. You might be surprised to discover how easy it is to reduce your carbon footprint. 

And if you would like to know how much of the earth’s natural resources are needed to support your lifestyle, try this ecological footprint calculator, which might surprise you.  

If you need help reducing your carbon footprint, join a climate action class in your area (such as Resilient Neighborhoods workshops for Marin residents) and learn how to go on an emissions diet.  

Photo credit: Gus Grumet