There are some very good (and some less good) Carbon Footprint Calculators. Our current favorite is on Shrink That Footprint.

When starting to calculate your footprint, you’ll need some information about your current lifestyle, including electricity, heat, and water usage and your travel habits. I gathered my info in a spreadsheet (with a date), so I can use different calculators, and also see if things have changed in a year. Not that dissimilar to spreadsheet to track your finances. (Template coming soon)

Another set of calculators that need to be evaluated:

• http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx?tab=3
• http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/ (structured to have you give Nature Conservancy money)
• 15 calculators rounded up in 2009: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/stories/the-15-best-carbon-calculators

What carbon footprint numbers should we be targeting? Many of these questions are answered on Shrink That Footprint.

• We want US average, Europe, world, other areas?
• If you were trying to really do your part (along with a lot of other people), what would that be?
• What should the average number for everyone for stabilization? Do we need to stabilize or decrease?