e2 Students - carbon footprint calculator instructions

The carbon calculator is an Excel spreadsheet. Here's how to use it.

The Excel spreadsheet has a series of blue, boxed areas.  At the top of the blue, boxed areas is a darker blue bar showing the category type.  The yellow cells within each of the boxed areas are where you enter your data, and the cells directly to the right of the yellow boxes are calculation cells. 

Sometimes you'll enter a numeric value. Other times you'll answer a multiple choice question and enter the value for your choice.

All of the calculation cells are used in final calculations found below the series of blue category boxes.  The calculations associated with each category take your responses (data input into the yellow cells) and weight the response with an estimated productive land area in square meters required to support your response.  The final calculations convert the area to hectares and acres (the ecological footprint values displayed in different area units) and number of planets required to sustain your lifestyle.

The calculator is a modified version of one originally prepared by Lamont C. Hempel and Jason Venetoulis with funding from the Population Coalition for the Vermont Earth Institute.

Click here to download the calculator.