How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint

Answer the following and then go to the bottom of the page to see how you did:

1. Once you are old enough to drive, which of the following would you prefer to drive:

(a) fast car (b) large luxury vehicle (c) mid-size car (d) whatever costs me the least in fuel $$

2. Which of the following describes you better:

(a) I have to have the latest new thing (b) I am ok with a few new things (c) what I own is ok for now

3. When it comes to cold weather:

(a) you can wear a sweater inside (b) you want it really hot inside (c) you open windows with the heat on

4. When taking a shower:

(a) super long showers are great (b) use the water only to wet and then rinse (c) about 5-minute shower

5. In really hot weather you:

(a) prefer to open a window (b) enjoy the breeze of a fan (c) turn the air conditioner on high (d) enjoy the heat

6. When you use foods or beverages from plastic containers, you:

(a) recycle the containers (b) up-cycle the containers (c) throw containers away (d) you do not use plastic

7. When it comes to food, which describes you best:

(a) I prefer homemade foods (b) I only eat prepackaged foods (c) I like homemade & prepackaged foods

8. If you need to go somewhere and it is less than a mile:

(a) you prefer to walk or bike if you can (b) you would ride in a car always (c) ride in the car only in bad weather

9. What size house do you want to have when you are older:

(a) Giant 8 room mansion (b) a house with 1 room per person living there (c) a tiny house on wheels

10. When it comes to lighting with light bulbs, you:

(a) turn on all of the lights in the house (b) light only the room you are in (c) leave one or two lights on

For all who answered the “how big is your carbon footprint” questions from “Progressive Youth”, you can actually check how you did!

Follow the link below and enter your answers into the “survey”. The survey will then return a number (out of 100) that tells you how large your carbon footprint is. It will also tell you how much each individual answer was worth. Remember, the smaller the number, the better ….

https://cornell.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4SclWQTcolrX6LP

Interpreting your score:

If you score less than 20 then your carbon footprint is pretty low!

If you score between 21 and 45 then, your footprint is still fairly low but not as low as it could be.

If you score between 46 and 66, well … you might want to reconsider some of your decisions.

If you score 67 or over then your carbon footprint is high. It would be good to re-evaluate your decisions with the goal of creating less pollution. What are some choices you would be willing to change?

Last updated November 9, 2021