Calculating our household’s carbon footprint[1] was an eye-opening experience. Seeing our footprint displayed on the screen was humbling, and at the same time motivating. Humbling because we looked like pretty average Americans. Motivating, though, since we could see our improvement opportunities more clearly. We’d already made considerable headway on our home energy consumption, plus we … Continue reading Putting ourselves on a carbon footprint budget →

About 20 years ago, I (Bill) earned a company-sponsored sabbatical, 4 weeks of extra vacation. Jan and I wanted to travel somewhere that was off the usual travel paths and see something different. We settled on Tonga, an archipelago about a third of the distance between New Zealand and Hawaii. Tonga is a kingdom that … Continue reading Example of air travel impact →

For some background about these things we, as individuals and groups,  are putting into the air and water, here’s a link: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html This link gives more information about Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions. There are some very good (and some less good) Carbon Footprint Calculators. Our current favorite is on Shrink That Footprint. This website also … Continue reading My Carbon Footprint and Why Does it Matter? Carbon Footprints of Different Countries. →