Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
Activity - Classroom
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by The Nature Conservancy
What it is
- This interactive carbon footprint calculator from The Nature Conservancy provides data for the carbon dioxide and methane emissions associated with travel habits, home energy use, food choices, and shopping habits.
- Students answer questions about their habits and household to get an estimate of the emissions produced from daily life.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This calculator provides a number of different metrics that can be changed and customized to see the relative impact of different choices on carbon emissions.
Prerequisites
- Students will need access to a computer with Internet access to use the calculator tool.
- Younger students will likely need to ask a parent or guardian about some of the information in the questions to complete the assessment.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Economics and social studies classes can discuss ways to incentivize choices that reduce carbon emissions and provide more equal access to sustainable food, transportation, and energy.
- Math classes can use this tool to calculate which actions are are most effective at reducing emissions.
- Science and biology classes can use this calculator to see the many sources of greenhouse gas emissions and use this foodprint calculator to get more details on emissions from food.
- Other helpful resources to consider using include an StC lesson on foodprints, an StC lesson on carbon footprints, and this table of solutions to climate change.
From the scientist review
This is a survey that evaluates individual's carbon footprint. The tool contains well-structured questions to elicit relevant data at household level to help reduce carbon footprint. This tool is recommended for teaching.
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Hosted on nature.org
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