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7 online calculators to measure your carbon footprint

Kenneth Hill | 15.04.10

Make Use Of, a web site that produces a daily stream of online finds and social media tips, has put together a collection of carbon footprint calculators in preparation for Earth Day on 22 April. The calculators range from quick hits to more involved tools that go fairly in-depth in looking at one's use of the Earth's resources.

The World Wildlife Fund, for example, walks you through a series of questions about your "home, food, travel and stuff," and delivers its best guestimate of your footprint. At the end, you're invited to access their library chock full of advice on greener living or join their online community. You can also sign up to track your footprint over time -- ideally to watch it come down. Zero Footprint and others have calculators to teach kids about carbon footprints.

Almost all of the sites offer carbon offsets, mostly in the form of giving visitors the opportunity to make donations to green projects being run by the organizations to whom each of these calculators belongs, like Carbon Footprint's UK tree planting.

This kind of calculation isn't an exact science necessarily, but it's interesting to see and think about what in our daily life is high impact. Give these carbon footprint calculators a try and see what you think.

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