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Database Provider

Author

The Nature Conservancy

Grades

6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

Science, Social Studies, Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics

Resource Type

  • Interactive Media

Regional Focus

Global

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

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Synopsis
  • This interactive carbon footprint calculator 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.

Additional 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

  • Economics and social studies classes could discuss ways to incentivize choices that reduce carbon emissions and provide more equal access to sustainable food, transportation, and energy.
  • Math classes could use this tool to calculate which actions are are most effective at reducing emissions.
  • Science and biology classes could 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.
Scientist Notes
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.
Standards
  • Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
      • MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
  • College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
    • Dimension 2: Economics
      • D2.Eco.1.6-8 Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.
      • D2.Eco.1.9-12 Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
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