The Offset Project

One Stop Shopping: Carbon Calculator to Carbon Offset

Tired of hear about greenhouse gases and emissions? By now you have probably heard about the link between carbon emissions and global warming. Fortunately and possibly unfortunately, depending on which side of the issue you fall, conversations around greenhouse gas and carbon emissions are becoming more mainstream. Not only are individuals starting to take ownership of their carbon footprint but also businesses are starting to take ownership of their carbon footprint to.

The EPA states that global emission trends have been on the rise and have increased over 16 times since the early 1900’s which puts the US falling slightly behind China with 19% of the global total CO₂ emissions. It averages to about 17.3 metric tons per capita. The result is carbon emission regulation policies are becoming more impactful and the EPA has even proposed a Carbon Pollution Standard for new power plants. Once these regulations pass, there will be the inevitable trickle down to regulations that effect everyday citizens and the choices we make each day. This is just one example of on-going trends to create cleaner and safer practices by reducing company’s carbon emissions and pollution.

How do greenhouse gas emissions relate to you? Our individual carbon footprint is caused by the emissions we create through our everyday actions. Actions can include:

Land- How much land you own and forestry practices
Buying habits- Where your products are coming from and how they are made
Utilities- How much you use
Food choices- Farm practices and the distance food travels
Transportation choices- Driving, carpooling, flights, public transportation etc…

These actions are all linked to the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels. For example, one acre of forest would counter emissions of approximately 2.7 cars and 223 trees would counter emissions created by a child watching 3 hours of TV every day for 18 years.

How does one go about discovering their individual carbon footprint? The good news is that it is getting easier and easier to find out this information. Using a carbon calculator is a great way to quickly and easily determine your overall impact and find out which areas of your life offer the easiest CO₂ savings.

Not sure that your effort will really make a difference? Not true! According to the EPA, recycling just 10 aluminum cans saves enough energy to power 1.7 hours of an air conditioner! Recycling only 38 magazines saves enough energy to power 10.6 hours of a computer laptop. If you want to take responsibility for the greenhouse gases you emit, start by analyzing the big carbon offenders i.e. utilities and travel.

Instead of calculating your emissions and then trying to find a credible carbon offsetting project, here are steps for a one stop shop:

Step 1: Look at a one year timeline:

Gather your utility bills
Estimate miles driven
Find the number of round trip flights you have taken

Step 2: Figure out your average utility bill for the year and approximate hours for each of your flights.

Step 3: Enter this information into the *MBCF calculator or a calculator of your choice.

Step 4: Hit the calculate button. This number represents the total number of your carbon emissions for one year.

Step 5: Decide if you want to offset (subtract) your carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits.

Step 6: If you decide to make a purchase, click the “Buy Now” button, it will take you directly to your PayPal account where you can complete your purchase.

* Why choose the MBCF calculator? All proceeds go directly to local projects that reduce carbon emissions in the Monterey, CA area. All MBCF projects offer student job training and are creating real jobs locally. If you want additional information, please click on any of the resources below.

References:

David Suzuki Foundation: http://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/go-carbon-neutral/

The Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2012/12/03/global-emissions-carbon-dioxide-hit-record-high/21tbuKCZkWTGrsP5CVDNYM/story.html

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html, http://epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard/pdfs/20120327factsheet.pdf, http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/rrr/