Calculate Your Greener Future

By Rose Miller Utne.Com
Published on September 1, 2005

A veritable green toolbox for the environmentally concerned is
just a few mouse-clicks away. Several online green auditing tools
can help you calculate your environmental impact and answer
pressing questions about how you can lessen the stress you place on
the planet.

The Personal
Environmental Impact Calculator

A good place to start when conducting a personal environmental
audit. It helps you measure your weight on the earth in terms of
water and energy use, transportation habits, and recycling
behavior.

Ecological Footprint
Quiz

The average American might stomp on 24 acres of land and water a
year. The quiz helps determine how many acres it takes to support
your lifestyle. After you finish the short survey, you can navigate
the site’s resources for tips on going on an energy-use diet.

SafeClimate Carbon
Footprint Calculator

To calculate your carbon footprint, you’ll need to have your home
energy bills handy. This site even helps you track your progress in
reducing your carbon emissions.


Add Up Your CO2 Emissions

If you’re in a hurry or you’ve lost (or recycled) your energy
bills, this handy survey can help you estimate your average yearly
CO2 emissions.

AirHead Emissions
Calculator

This calculator helps you evaluate and track personal pollution on
a monthly basis and even generates colorful graphs based on the
information you provide, comparing your emissions to the national
average and your previous months’ emissions.

Home Energy Saver
This calculator, coupled with a resource filled with energy-use
reduction tips, is not for the faint hearted. The Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory has developed the detailed online
household-energy auditing tool to help you to track your energy use
over time.

Home
Energy Checkup

Maybe you are considering investing a bit of money into upgrading
your home with more energy-efficient heating, lighting, or
appliances. The Alliance to Save Energy’s calculator can help you
estimate how much money your green home improvements might save you
in energy bills.

National
Wind Technology Center Clean Power Estimator

Considering going off the grid or augmenting conventional power
sources with your own small wind installations? The Clean Power
Estimator will help determine the viability of wind power on your
property.

Related Links From the Utne
Archive:

Comments? Story tips?
Write a letter to the editor

Like this? Want more?Subscribe to Utne
magazine

UTNE
UTNE
In-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.