A recent research paper by UC Berkeley’s Christopher Jones and Dan Kammen looks at the impact location and lifestyle has on your household’s carbon footprint. The point of the research isn’t to state the obvious: that, for example, a couple living in an urban area with good public transportation has a very different footprint to a family of four living in car-dependent suburbia. Instead it looks at how different strategies for carbon footprint reduction are needed depending on where and how you live.

So what does it mean for a Berkeleyan? Helpfully, Jones and Kammen have worked with the California Air Resources Board to create a carbon footprint calculator that focuses on Californian lifestyles, which is part of an online community called CoolClimate Network. CoolClimate Network is a project of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the university.

“Our primary message is simple:If you are concerned about reducing your carbon footprint, or the carbon footprint of others through policy, it is important to focus on the actions that lead to the greatest reductions,” Kammen told UC Berkeley NewsCenter. “Our online tool can help people do just that.” … Continue reading »