How much CO2 do you contribute through your personal daily activities? To make a rough calculation of your emissions, follow the steps below. Be sure to show all calculations and keep track of units!

  1. Determine the amount of CO2 it takes to support your driving habits. Burning 1 gallon of gasoline releases 9 kg of CO2.
  1. Estimate the total number of kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you used last year from the data you collected in your personal energy audit. Each kWh of electricity generated in a coal-fired power plant produces about 1 kg of CO2. Nuclear energy is essentially free of CO2, but produces only 20% of the nation’s electricity. Therefore you will assume that at least 80% of your electricity is generated by coal-fired plants.
  1. Estimate the number of BTUs (British Thermal Units) of natural gas that you used each year, if your family uses natural gas as an energy source. For every 100,000 BTUs of natural gas consumed, 5.5 kg of CO2 is produced. 100,000 BTUs is approximately the yield of 100 cubic feet of gas (if your natural gas bill gives you the data in cubic feet).
  1. If your family heats with oil, each gallon of oil generates 7.6 kg of CO2 and the average home uses 600 gallons of oil per year.
  1. If your home is heated by coal or wood, see your teacher for information
  1. Estimate the amount of CO2 produced by your air travel last year. Most commercial airliners produce 0.23 kg of CO2 per passenger per mile flown.
  1. Total your CO2 footprint from your direct energy use determined in steps 1-6 above.
  1. Now we must take into account your CO2 production generated from your indirect energy use. Approximately 75% of the energy we use is used indirectly to support the manufacturing, processing, transport, etc. of our goods and services. Therefore, you need to multiple your result from #7 by 4 to get your total CO2 footprint.
  1. Convert your CO2 footprint to metric tons (which is a standard measurement for these things).
  1. How does your total carbon footprint compare to the average value of 1.3 metric tons that is estimated to be your rightful share (based on population)?
  2. How does your total compare to the average production of CO2 per person in the US of 20 metric tons? If all 6.2 billion humans lived the way we do, what would be the overall carbon footprint of the planet? How much of a change in global temperature would this cause?
  3. What concrete steps can the average person take to reduce personal CO2 emissions? Governments? HOW would these changes reduce CO2 emissions?