Household CO2 Footprint

Well, thanks to Anne over at Green Lent we have a way to measure how our household compares with the average household in England. This calculator is set to British standards, and some conversion is necessary - like gallons to litres, dollars to pounds (the Google calculator does this very adequately - just type in like 700 gallons to liters in the Google search bar and the answer will appear in a window). And, the hob is your cooktop/stove. When I was in doubt, I guessed.

And, our household puts out 19.73 tons of CO2 per year. The average household in England puts out 10.22 tons of CO2 per year. This is a substantial difference. One problem is that we live out in the country, and, even if we did live in town, we have no public transportation at all. Well, we also own four vehicles - one high gas mileage car, one hybrid car, a truck and a medium-sized SUV. The latter two are used for special things - going to the dump, hauling around our friends who visit, making trips when lots of luggage is required. And, no, I can't justify having four vehicles. Someone once asked if we were running a used car lot. Bleah.

The calculator also asked about flying and one section included local (within the country) trips. Trips within the United States are vastly different. And, some questions - well, check it out.

What this told me was that our household probably uses more than its share of energy and puts out more than its global share of CO2. If this were compared on a global basis, I'm sure that the figures would be much different.