Calculate your Carbon Footprint & Offset, offset, offset

Have you calculated your Carbon Footprint yet?

You can do this for yourself, your home, or your business.


Use any of these (or others)  to calculate your Carbon Footprint:


Carbon Fund: http://www.carbonfund.org/Calculators/
Safe Climate: http://www.safeclimate.net/calculator/
Terrapass: http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator/


Or do a Google search for “carbon calculator” and choose a company/organization you want to support--and use their carbon calculator.


What do I do after I calculate my Carbon Footprint?


If you’re doing well...and recycling, reusing, and thinking about the Planet, you might not need to do much. Except keep up the good work!


But what about those things that you “can’t avoid” or that are “difficult” to avoid, for whatever reason, such as travel or paper use?


Consider offsetting your carbon use. Here are some ways in which to do this:


1) Native Energy: For example, you can offset the carbon used in traveling with the easy to use calculator here: http://www.nativeenergy.com/pages/travel_calculator/465.php

2) Plant trees or donate to the Green Belt Movement: http://greenbeltmovement.org

3) Purchase a Terrapass: http://store.terrapass.com/store/c/18-Carbon-offsets.html?&


Get this!: You can even use Search Engines powered by Alternative Energy such as this one called Gigablast: http://www.gigablast.com/


“Gigablast is the leading clean-energy search engine. 90% of its power comes from wind energy” (Gigablast, 2010).

Tell us how you are offsetting your Carbon use.

Sarah and Robert, Owners of YZNRG, an Alternative Energy Consulting Company located in the San Francisco Bay Area: www.yznrg.com
(We work nationally and internationally.)

Ecological Footprint & how we live green

As a winner of the 2010 eco footprint contest with the lowest overall carbon footprint of SJSU students who participated in the contest I want to share some of the things we do to keep our footprint low. Although I was the "winner" it is really a team effort between Robert and me.

• grow veggies in our yard. there is nothing like going outside to pick dinner.
  
• shop at the Berkeley Organic farmer's market--bring our own bags
• time of use: we have our PG&E set up for time of use. So we pay a lot less because we only use the washing machine & vacuum cleaner before noon or after 6 pm
• solar panels on the roof
• solar hot water heater
• double paned windows
• insulation in the walls
• offset travel with Native Energy
  
• plant trees via The Green Belt Movement
• recycle everything. we just canceled our garbage service because we didn't have any!!!! we are currently sharing with a neighbor who also produces very little waste.
• we both drive a Prius. yes, we also walk places and take BART, but truly, a hybrid vehicle is a pretty decent way to go. our next car will be electric

There is much more. Let us know if you have any questions.