Track your carbon footprint…automatically
There are many carbon calculators out there that will track everything. The only problem is that you have to put all of the information in, to get anything out. Unless you keep up to date numbers, it’s hard to stay on top of it. That’s why I like EcoBot, because it tracks everything for you. All you have to do is just install it. Right now, it only works on Mac’s, but it’s a great tool for personal and business use.
What is a carbon calculator?
Most of everything we do throughout the day has an impact on the environment by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide that gets released into the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide that gets released, the warmer our planet gets. By being mindful of what we do throughout the day we can limit the amount of carbon dioxide that we are responsible for. Carbon calculators help us figure out our impact by doing the math for us. They usually tally up our fuel and power consumption to give us our “Carbon Footprint” which is the total number of ounces of carbon we are releasing.
Why EcoBot makes it easier
With EcoBot it asks you simple questions in the begining and will keep track of your fuel connection via wifi connections or locations you visit. It will figure out what kind of computer you are using and track your power consumption. If you print any paper, it will track how many times you print, how many copies you print and what the carbon impact of that was. Beyond the automatic calculations you can manually add more of your own. Modify your trips or locations, add vacuum cleaners, dryers or TVs and any newspapers or magazines you read. You can really dial it in to get the most accurate footprint possible.
Okay, I know my carbon footprint, now what?
Now that you know how much carbon you are releasing into the atmosphere, try to lower it. This is where we get into “reduce, reuse, recycle,” because all of those things lower your impact. So, riding your bike to the store instead of driving, would be a way to reduce. Opening a window or turning on a fan, instead of running the air conditioner would be another way to reduce. One of the ways I think of reusing is fixing things that are broken or repainting or refurbishing them for continued use. We have gotten use to just throwing things away and many things can be repaired or given away to a friend for another life. Recycling is actually pretty fun. Think of composting, rainwater harvesting and zero waste. It’s an incredible feeling taking the trash out and it’s significantly less than it used to be.