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Green Living: Home

Resources to help you green your home and make better environmental decisions.

Green Living News

Courtesy of the green lifestyle category on Environmental News Bits.

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New Green Living Resources

New resources from Laura L. Barnes' Delicious bookmarks tagged "green lifestyle".

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Introduction

This guide is a companion to a one-hour presentation entitled Go Green at Home. For information about going green at work, see the Green Business LibGuide.

Calculate your carbon footprint

U.S. EPA's Household Carbon Footprint Calculator gives you a estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions. To use the calculator:

  1. You can get a quick, rough estimate of your carbon footprint by using U.S. average values. They are provided (along with other useful information) in the "tool tips" throughout the calculator.
  2. For a more accurate estimate, use your own numbers. Gather your utility bills (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, propane) to calculate your average use over a year. You can find your car's rated fuel efficiency at fueleconomy.gov, or you can calculate your car's actual efficiency.
  3. To work offline or see the formulas behind the calculator, you can download it as a spreadsheet.