Carbon Calculator Tallies Green Cred

March 10, 2008 -- A new Internet-based carbon calculator is designed to help not only individuals, but also entire cities, get more control of their carbon emissions.

In addition to the standard, big-ticket carbon-emitting activities like driving and heating or cooling a house, the CoolClimate Calculator also factors in such things as how many miles you fly each year, what sorts of foods you eat, and where you live.

The calculator is also adaptable, say its designers, so that states, counties and cities can tailor it to make their own calculators that better reflect local lifestyles, climate and alternative energy options.

"There are a lot of carbon calculators out there," said Chris Jones, who developed the CoolClimate Calculator for the University of California at Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and the Berkeley Institute of the Environment. But few of those other calculators capture everything people do to emit carbon compounds from fossil fuel burning, he said.

The new calculator, in comparison, goes so far as to ask users where they live, since local and regional climate have a huge effect on how much heating and cooling you do in your home.

"We were able to incorporate these types of data," said Jones. "We know the consumption habits of the top 28 metropolitan areas." And in wider areas the calculator applies regional averages.