Calculate your Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is based on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that a person contributes to the environment each year. This is calculated from how many miles you drive on an annual basis to your electricity usage and various other factors. There are a wide variety of websites that offer useful emission calculators to help you determine your carbon footprint including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CarbonFootprint.com, FootprintCalculator.org, and many others.

A few items to gather up and have handy before sitting down to calculate a carbon footprint are: average miles driven per week and the average miles to gallon for your vehicle. Additionally, gas and electric bills, and the estimated amount of recycling done annually in pounds. Once you have all of the information at hand, take 15 minutes or so to sit down and enter the information into an online emissions calculator. Calculating your carbon footprint and determining ways to reduce it can go a long way in helping our environment for future generations to enjoy!

• February 20, 2019
• Environment
• Pete Yang

About This Author

Pete Yang

Pete Yang is a senior vice president for Alpine Bank and the co-chair of Alpine's "Green Team." He's based in Aspen, where he handles commercial and consumer loans, with a particular focus on resort financing. He has a keen interest in protecting Colorado's unmatched mountain environment.

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