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Footprint Calculator

Provided by: Global Footprint Network |Published on: June 17, 2021

Activity - Classroom Grades 6-8, 9-12, 3-5

Synopsis

This interactive tool guides students through questions about their daily activities, household, travel/commuting habits, diet, waste, and living conditions to provide an estimate of their carbon emissions, a land use chart, an estimate of their ecological footprint, and their consumption of resources by category.
Students can see which climate solutions may be the most impactful for individuals and societies as they gain insight into actions they can take and actions that will need systemic change.

Subjects: Science, Social Studies

Authors: Global Footprint Network

Region: Global

Languages: English

Positives

This resource provides insight into the many activities and choices we make each day that require energy, space, and resources.
Students will see that they can make a difference every day.

Additional Prerequisites

It would be beneficial for students to have a basic understanding of what an eco-footprint or carbon footprint is and know how to read a bar graph or pie chart.
Students will see their results in a pie chart, bar graph, in the number of Earths it would take to support our global population if everyone lived like them, and their personal "overshoot" day.
After using the tool, encourage students to make sustainable choices without making them feel guilty for things out of their control.

Differentiation

This is a quick online "quiz" that can be accessed without signing up and it can be retaken over and over to see the impacts of different choices.
Other footprint calculators include the Foodprint Calculator by Harvard University, Calculate Your Carbon Footprint by the Nature Conservancy, and Carbon Check by Biointeractive.
For a lesson plan about carbon footprints, check out The Carbon Footprint of Food.
To discuss the many solutions, feelings, societal changes, and need for international cooperation and prioritization, students can explore Project Drawdown's table of top climate solutions, their "Emergency Brake" solutions to quickly reduce greenhouse gas concentrations, this resource about climate finance and gender equality, or these videos about taking action and climate guilt.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.