In honor of Earth Day 2011, here’s some useful tools to help you assess your carbon footprint, determine if there are ways you can cut down on energy use, help you find ways to contain storm-water runoff, and other useful items from a wide variety of organizations including King County and Seattle public utilities.
How big is your footprint and what can you do to make a difference?
- King County EcoConsumer Waste Calculator – assess your consumer impact on the county and state
- Seattle Business Carbon Footprint Calculator – assess your business impact using an Excel spreadsheet tool
- ZeroFootprint Youth Calculator – useful for students and teachers to assess impact of personal choices
- Paper Calculator – assess your impact based on paper purchases for towels, tissues, and the like
- Household Savings Calculator – useful tools for helping save the planet starting at home
- Greenhouse Gas Calculator – convert CO and CO2 into other units including Kilowatts of power
- Water Footprint Calculator – determine your impact on the Earth’s water supply
- Low Carbon Diet Calculator – determine if your food is also contributing to CO loading
- Eco-Cool Remodel Tool – King County tool to help envision greener domaciles and what to consider
- EnergyStar Home Energy Yardstick – take the Energy Star home assessment and see how you rate
You can also help reduce your use of paper and therefore save in the conversion of trees into pulp and the attendant issues associated with that process. Here’s some ways you can reduce your use of paper.
You have a choice when it comes to how much junk mail, credit card offers, catalogs and phone books arrive at your home and workplace.
Help your recycling reduce bulk by opting-out of phone books and taking your name off catalog and junk mail distribution lists. Here’s links to ways to do this:
Reduce, Reuse what you can, and then Recycle. It’s pretty easy. Do you have a question about recycling, composting or reducing waste? Ask Charlie, CleenScapes online inquiry and question form.
Seattle ecycling stations are open from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm seven days a week except major holidays.
- North Station: 1350 North 34th Street (located in the Fremont/Wallingford area at North 34th Street, near Carr Place North)
- South Station: 8105 5th Avenue South (located south of the First Avenue South Bridge)
You can even see the waiting lines on-line at this link: http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Garbage/Recycling_&_Disposal_Stations/index.asp
For other recycling options in the Puget Sound area, visit the Take It Back Network.