counterCarbon

Take That First
Step

Measure and understand your CO2 footprint

More or less every action in the modern world has a carbon footprint. As in, everything you do will in someway use a certain amount of energy, and that energy is, most often, derived from fossil fuels. It's not really anyone's fault but there's a certain amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) attached to every action. Normally CO2 isn't a concern, it's a useful gas that's essential to many lifeforms on Earth. But in excessive amounts it can be a problem. counterCarbon is a project driven by this concern, it's a first step, a straight-forward series of tools to measure and illustrate a person's carbon footprint.

And, first steps are the hardest.

Let's get started then.

Below are a series of questions and graphs. Each separate series of questions is about a different area of your carbon footprint. In each of the graphs your own, personal results will be within the Ireland bar-graph. The results for each country are the average for a citizen of that country: the emissions per capita. Just select the option that's most appropriate, these options aren't completely precise: the point here is just to try and give you an overall picture.

Means of transport

I almost always go by public transport, cycle or walk

I use the car and public transport about the same amount

I almost always drive by car

Flying

I never really fly

I fly max two short distance flights or one long distance every two years

I fly one short distance and one long distance in a year

Shopping

I very rarely buy new products, clothes or decorative items

I buy new products, clothes or decorative things every now and again

I buy a new appliance, decoration, clothes or shoes every week

Food

I mostly eat vegetarian food

I eat meat 3 to 4 times a week

I eat meat every day - mostly from an unknown source

Warm Water

I don't shower for longer than 5 minutes and I rarely take a bath

I love standing under the shower for 20 minutes - but I rarely have baths

I often have baths - but I shower less often and only have short showers

Heating

In winter, I wear a jumper when I am at home (18-20°C)

In winter, it is pleasantly warm in my home (20-22°C)

I can sit in my living room with just a T-shirt in winter (over 22°C)

Energy

I live in a building that was built to be energy efficient

I live in a normal building but I use renewable energy for heating

I live in a normal building that is heated with oil or natural gas