How big is your carbon footprint?

[tatt]

Just did the quick one and we come out a litle below average (halo emoticon)

Where is it at?

Is there a quiz or something?

ooh, mine could be interesting!

wheres the quiz then?

oops - sorry. www.jointhebiggerpicture.co.uk

ha I dread to think am off to do the test.

Size 5

actually just below average too

We're below average too at 8.7tCO2/yr.
I'm suprised it didn't ask about recycling though, or did I miss something? We recycle almost everything these days so was hoping to get brownie points for that

I was surprised about the recycling too, it only asks that when you look at how you could reduce it further.

Sorry, but I think the simple calculator is a load of rubbish, it's just too simplistic.

It had our waste levels as higher than average, but I think that's based on there being 5 of us in the household so it's just assumed to be higher.

Equally, the transport one looks too high - we do run a car but rarely use it!

And asking about our Sky set-top box - of course, we all have one of those don't we!

I'm still trying to get the complex calculator to work, it doesn't seem to want to, but I've seen better calculators online that seem to take more things into account.

below average!!! yeay

Although we are very eco at home the cars have a rather scary impact on the households carbon footprint!

I felt it was very simplistic too portonovo - need to dig out the bills etc and do the longer test really... we make quite an effort to keep our carbon footprint low so I would hope to be below average but am going to give the more detailed test a try later when i have time.

even the detailed one is quite simplistic. It asks about recycling but I really have very little idea how many litres of waste we produce - depends how much I squash the packaging. However using a rough idea of our energy usage we now come out above average . Still it does have some what if questions to show what difference e.g using the car less would have.

If you know a better one which is simple enough to encourage people to use it where is it? This www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp is a bit more complicated but I'd prefer miles to kilometres. Interesting to see that although we try quite hard we'd need 2.6 planets if everyone lived like us.

I just did the detailed Sky one and came out as 7.17

funny how the two graphics are on different scales, so that even though we were below the average, it looked as if we were wildly above

agree the simplistic one is pretty pointless - same reasons - doesn't ask about recycling or how often you actually use your car

I have just done the quick one and agree about how simplistic it is. Didn't come out great as we live in Cyprus and travel home a couple of times a year. On the other hand I really go out of my way to recycle as much as I can and I hardly use my car. Will have a go at the fuller one when I have a more time. It's a good idea though.

I am not convinced by this. I've just done the short one, and we come out at 10.5. Yet we have a well-insulated house, have A-rated appliances, switch off our TV rather than standby, recycle, compost, walk to school, cycle to work, have flown abroad once in the last 6 years. Our worst enviro-crime is to use disposable nappies.

4.11 tco per year on the detailed one

Excellent Filly, that is really low isn't it?

oho but on the SHORT test its 9.5

yes ignore the short test

I am keen to worship at your feet a little and get tips on how yours is so low

how many miles do you do a year in the car and how much rubbish do you have, etc

I am not sure where we could best cut down, really

oh except on gas which turned out to be shockingly high I had no idea until dp told us what we used

oh lol

i am not sure really

i think because we have more people in the house that helps

(oooh can i count the embryo also do you think? I mean, i'm feeding it and stuff)

I am not sure really. I double checked the electricity etc (am nerdy). We don't drive much, maybe thats it. We recycle a lot, most stuff is composted or recycled or given to charity...hmmm....

yes we don't drive much at all (3000 miles a year, mostly on visits to grandparents who helpfully live at opposite ends of the British Isles) but I thought you did, a bit

(see thread about how you need your car)

we guessed the rubbish thing going on the size of our bin

I don't compost though I know darn well that is the first thing we should be changing

oh dear that thread

no i don't actually drive that much but i think i will need to. so right now we get the train most places but i don't think i can do that with 3 preschoolers

oh yes I do see

I have been considering getting one of those eco audit thingies done, they are about £100 I think and you get an incredibly detailed document about what you should be doing

the fact that no 1 will be START COMPOSTING is kind of putting me off slightly though

ok.

let me talk you through your composting fears

oh and have you considered a wormery?