Carbon “Kidprint” Calculator

Why do I have to select a state?

Burning a light bulb for one hour in Maine versus Colorado does not necessarily contribute the same carbon dioxide emissions. Some states rely more heavily on coal powered electrical generation while others use a greater proportion of natural gas, and some regions have more modern, efficient utility plants. Choosing a state determines the estimated pounds of CO₂ emissions produced for every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed in a local area.

The chart below lists the pounds of CO₂ emissions produced for every kilowatt-hour for each census region. This CO₂ conversion factor is used for all the calculations in the tool.

Census Region	lbs CO2/kWh
New England	1.068
Mid Atlantic	1.065
East North Central	1.630
West North Central	1.757
South Atlantic	1.338
East South Central	1.464
West South Central	1.499
Mountain	1.557
Pacific Contiguous	0.426
Pacific Noncontiguous	1.423

How do I calculate my carbon footprint?

Click on the tabs Appliances, Gadgets, Heating/Cooling, Lighting, and Transportation to calculate your carbon footprint. Fill in the number of items you own and the number of hours you use each item per day. Example wattage has been provided for each item, but you should check your own items to generate a more accurate carbon "kidprint".

NOTE: You can use decimals for minutes, for example, 0.5 for 30 minutes, 0.25 for 15 minutes, etc.

Your total daily and annual pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions will appear in the blue box next to the tabs. You can see what areas generate more CO₂ emissions than others as you work through the tabs.

Change your state to see how the totals compare by region and use the tool to experiment ways you can reduce your CO₂ emissions.

Remember to note your daily and annual pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions before closing your browser window. All calculations will be lost when the browser window is closed!

How are the totals calculated (what's the math)?

Daily pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions are calculated by multiplying the units of energy used on a daily basis by the CO₂ conversion factor for each region.

Annual pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions are calculated by multiplying the daily pounds by 365.

To make this number more comparable on a national or global basis, it is also converted into metric tonnes by multiplying the annual pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions by 0.000453592.

Transportation is calculated a little differently. The EPA estimates that the amount of carbon produced in a gallon of gas is 5.33739 lbs. So the gallons of gas used is multiplied by 5.33739 to determine the pounds (lbs) of CO₂ emissions.