According to the calculators we checked out, this is how my household and myself checked out:
I create 9.7 metric tons of CO2 per year accoording to the Green Energy Calculator from Yahoo! Green
The Total Emissions for my household are 72,125 pounds according to the carbon calculator on The Green Team website
My household produces 89,757 pounds, or 45 tons, of carbon dioxide each year! It takes 3,590 trees to store this much carbon dioxide. Both the 89,757 and the 72,125 pounds estimates are WAY above the average for Americans. Either I am way overestimating my amounts or we need to seriously look at what we are doing. As far as driving goes I don't know exactly where we'd cut back any as the driving we do is to and from work. I hope I am over estimating on the Electric bill but even so I don't know how I could be by so much.
I liked the looks of the Yahoo! Green website most but respect the reputation of the National Wildlife Federation most. The Green Team website is from Illinois State University does have a very nice Carbon Footprint Calculator for kids complete with lesson plans for teachers.
I have been to the Houston farmer's market in the Heights and @ Rice University, both are good but the Rice University one has more vendors. I buy honey from the honey lady every time I go and whatever fresh fruits and veggies that are available. I also regularly go to local u-pick places and pick strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and figs. I purchase my free range eggs from our vets office who has a local farmer bring them to their office to sell. I would like to use Jolie Vue Farms to purchase our meat but I don't have a freezer (which would increase my carbon footprint because I would be running another appliance) and driving into Houston (Rice University) is not feasible or possible on a regular basis. I would like to figure out how to use Jolie Vue or a farm similar to it on a regular basis.
If you liked this iHCPL unit you might want to read:
Animal, vegetable, miracle : a year of food life / Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver ; original drawings by Richard A. Houser.
by Kingsolver, Barbara
How to reduce your carbon footprint : 365 simple ways to save energy, resources, and money / Joanna Yarrow.
by Yarrow, Joanna.
Plenty : one man, one woman, and a raucous year of eating locally / Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon.by Smith, Alisa, 1971-
Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, And Fair by Carlo Petrini and Alice Waters
Moveable Feasts: From Ancient Rome to the 21st Century, the Incredible Journeys of the Food We Eat by Sarah Murray
1 comment:
My average was waaay over the nat'l level as well. Maybe there's something wrong with the calculator. Plus, there's only 2 in our household AND I let T. run the shower the *entire* time. LOL Wat up wid dat?
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