| . a focal point for individuals and groups in Plymouth involved with and/or interested in environmental, human and animal issues. |
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Calculate Your Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions
Why do we need to know how much CO2 we produce?Recent years have seen a huge rise in the number of abnormal weather events. These have included summer droughts, flooding in Yorkshire, the Severn Valley and East Sussex, and even a number of small tornados in Southern England. Meteorologists agree that these exceptional conditions are signs that Global Climate Change is happening already. Scientists agree that the most likely cause of the changes are man-made emissions of the so-called "Greenhouse Gases" that can trap heat in the earth's atmosphere in the same way that glass traps heat in a greenhouse. Although there are six major groups of gases that contribute to Global Climate Change, the most common is Carbon Dioxide (CO2). 
Click on the map for an informal overview of why some countries' emissions are higher than others.Carbon Dioxide is a global problem, but the countries that produce the greatest amount per person are in North America, Europe and Australasia. If Carbon Dioxide reductions are to be made, the lead has to be taken by people living in these countries. Most Carbon Dioxide in these countries comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and oil to heat buildings (including homes) and transport, not to foget the enormous amount of plastic made for luxuries and the entertainment industries, much of which gets burnt.
Carbon Dioxide is also given off by all living things, but due to the use of petrochemical fertilisers etc, the huge growth in animals, human and otherwise and their decay canmot be absorbed by the ever decreasing plant life. Why is this a problem now, when we have been burning coal for centuries?It is quite true that we, in Britain, have been burning coal for several hundred years. But the Carbon Dioxide emissions each year have risen sharply since 1900, and these higher levels cannot be taken out of the atmosphere by green plants. And 100 years ago, there were only a few industrialised countries in Europe and North America burning fossil fuels. These days, the whole world wishes gain a better standard of living through increasing industrialisation.CO2 emissions over the last 250 years : http://www.natenergy.org.uk/co2-250y.htm. What are Governments doing to reduce emissions?Governments across the world have met in a series of Climate Change Conferences and set targets for the reduction of emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels. (There has been some disagreement about how much each country should do as its fair share, but almost all governments accept that they have to take some measures.The best way of reducing CO2 emissions is by using less energy and - just as importantly - getting best value from the energy that we do use. But as well as doing this, it helps to know just how much Carbon Dioxide we are using. This web page includes a simple calculator that should help in calculating your own CO2 emissions. All figures apply to the UK and are based upon official Government figures from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The CalculatorHow To : Type the yearly resource-value from your bill or records under Resource Used. Clicking on [Enter] or anywhere outside the cell you just filled will display the result in the column on the right and update the Total CO2.There are two other calculators you may like to try, see what differences they come up with. 1. The Quakergreenaction Calculator This is a pdf file of some 175Kb, which you will need to print off and fill in and do the sums in your head. It is also available atplymouthenvironmentcentre.org.uk/documents/greenhousegascalculator.pdf 2. Carbon Rationing Action Group's spreadsheet This is a spreadsheet (20Kb) that once downloaded will be usable on a computer running Microsoft Office Excel (Will try to convert this to open source or HTML file). It is also available at plymouthenvironmentcentre.org.uk/documents/co2_conversion_spreadsheet.xls Bear in mind that around half UK CO2 emissions come from industry and commerce, supporting our everyday lifestyle. So if your personal profile comes out below about 3,000 kgCO2 (3 tonnes), you are doing reasonably well by UK standards, but would still need to do more to be a good global citizen! All data in this table is based upon official UK data from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, revised March 2001. Emissions for other fuels can be found on DEFRA's Environmental Reporting page (Link seems duff). For other countries, the electricity component would need to be adjusted based upon primary fuel mix.
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