Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have gone up 38% since 1750 - the year the industrial revolution started and humanity is facing one its biggest challenges - global warming induced climate change.1
The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997. That’s a fact, based on recorded temperatures since 1850 (when reliable records began). Over the last 100 years the Earth has warmed by about 0.75 degrees Celsius and the speed it is warming at is getting faster. These days the UK Spring arrives about 10 days earlier than it did in the 1970s. In 159 years of records, the 10 hottest years have been in the last 12 years.1
One of the main offenders contributing to rapidly increasing temperature isn't carbon itself, it's increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, methane and deforestation.
Trees ingest carbon dioxide and turn it into carbon which they store - the problem is that there's simply not enough trees left to deal with the massive carbon load we put on our ecosystem.
Our oceans are increasingly bearing the strain of absorbing carbon dioxide, which is making them acidic.
As a part of the battle to help reduce global warming, we need to reduce general consumption and to plant more trees to take carbon dioxide out of the air and turn it into plain old carbon. We also need to implement more in the way of renewable energy projects.
Average C02 emmissions per year*
- 4.5 tonnes for the average global citizen
- 9.1 tonnes for the average UK resident
- 1.5 million tonnes for a 500MW gas power plant
- 8.3 million tonnes for an older 1,000MW coal power plant
- 540 million tonnes for the UK as a whole
- 25 billion tonnes for the planet as a whole
A Tonne of CO2 is emitted when you*
- Fly 2000 miles in an airplane
- Drive 1,300 miles in a large 4x4
- Drive 1,900 miles in a mid-sized car
- Drive 6,000 miles in a hybrid car
- Run an average UK household for 120 days
- Run your computer for 10,600 hours
- Graze a Ugandan dairy cow for eight months * Alternative Energy Magazine
This carbon dioxide emission calculator will help you gain an approximate idea of how many tons of carbon dioxide some of your activities generate.
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Need to convert from metric?
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Notes on CO2 emissions/offset calculator:
The calculator is not designed to be 100% accurate as there are too many variables required in order to give a reliable emissions total. It is simply to give you an indication on how much carbon dioxide you generate and how many trees it would take to offset those emissions.
Unlike many calculators available on the web. We thought we'd let people know how these figures are arrived at. The calculations are based on the following:
- Household electricity is based on a figure of 0.7 kg of carbon emissions per kWh generated by a coal fired power station. Averages for USA based on Department of Energy, for Canada, the Ontario Ministry for Energy; for the UK, UK Environment Watch and for Australia, various state government environmental departments (averaged).
- Natural gas emissions calculated on 0.83 kg of carbon dioxide per kWh.3
- Fuel oil based on 2.6 kg CO2 emissions per litre.5
- Small car emissions calculated on 0.26 kg emissions per passenger, per mile
- Medium car emissions calculations based on 0.5 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per mile1
- SUV/4 wheel drive carbon dioxide emissions based on 0.7 pounds per mile1
- Air travel emissions based on Boeing 747 at average USA capacity and calculated per person1
- Train travel calculations based on average occupancy of intercity train.8
- Millettia Trees - sequestrates up to 50 tonnes per hectare per year based on 1852 trees per hectare.
- General waste is based on the USA average5 carbon dioxide emission equivalent of 458 kg per person per year. Please note, if your household recycles all glass, paper, plastic and cans; this aspect of the calculation could be as much as 50% less.
- Based on the average American diet generating the equivalent of 1.5 tonnes more carbon dioxide per year than a vegan diet.4
1 Source: www.direct.gov.uk/actonco2
2 Source: International Energy Agency, Global CO2 Emissions From Fuel Combustion 2005
3 Source: Various studies from around the world; averaged
4 Source: Diet, Energy and Global Warming - Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin. University of Chicago study, May 2006
5,6,7 Source: USA Environmental Protection Agency
8 Source: Sightline Institute
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