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Carbon Check: Your Carbon Footprint

Activity - Classroom

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Economics

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 BioInteractive
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What it is

  • This activity provides a way for students to evaluate their own carbon footprints and to explore many ways of reducing it, including an estimation of the up-front costs and cost savings for various solutions. 
  • Students will use the interactive calculator to enter data about their household, travel habits, energy sources, food choices, and shopping habits, then select a number of provided solutions. 

Teaching tips

Positives

  • The recommendations at the end of the carbon check tool are interesting and can lead to good discussions about the impacts of different changes and the costs associated with those changes.
  • Students can see how their footprint in each category compares to the average person in their area.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Here is the link to go directly to the calculator.
  • A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.
  • The “Resource Google Folder” link directs you to a Google Drive folder of resource documents that can be modified but the worksheet is also available in a PDF that can be printed. 

Differentiation

  • The ecological footprint calculator is fairly specific and may require students to speak with family members to gather the necessary information to complete the carbon check. An alternative would be to use the average numbers provided for categories that a student is unsure about.
  • Here is an additional resource that provides sustainability projects for students about food waste and consumption. This resource helps achieve SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
  • Other footprint calculators include this Foodprint Calculator and this Footprint Calculator, and a list of global climate solutions can be found in this interactive table. 

From the scientist review

This carbon check resource is very comprehensive and gives insights to students to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions they produce in the course of their daily activities. The carbon check resource is recommended for teaching.
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