Carbon Footprint Worksheet

Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of your
every day activities. Answer the questions below, then follow the scoring instructions to see how
green you are!

1) Do you turn the lights off when no one will 6) Do you turn off the television, computer or
be in the room? video games when you are not using
a. Yes them?
b. No a. Yes
b. Sometimes
2) When you want to get cool in the summer, c. Never
do you:
a. Turn on the ceiling fan 7) Do you turn off the water while you brush
b. Stand in front of the open your teeth?
refrigerator a. Yes
c. Open the windows with the air b. Sometimes
conditioning on c. Never
d. Turn the air conditioning up
8) What kind of vehicles does your family
3) How many drinks do you have each day drive?
that are in cans or plastic bottles? a. None (we use public transportation)
a. None b. Car
b. 1 per day c. SUV
c. 2-3 per day d. Truck or Van
d. More than 3 per day
9) Do you mostly eat:
4) How often does your family eat out? a. Vegetables and fruits
a. Never b. Meat and bread
b. Once a month c. Frozen foods or packaged foods
c. Once a week
d. Twice or more per week 10) How often does your family line-dry
clothes?
5) How often does someone in your family fly a. Always
in a plane? b. Sometimes
a. Less than once per month c. Never
b. Once per month
c. 2-4 times per month 11) Do you unplug your chargers after you
d. Once or more per week have charged your phone or games?
a. Yes
b. No

12) Do you recycle:

a. Magazines
b. Newspapers
c. Plastic
d. Glass
e. Cans

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Parent’s Page

Scoring: For questions 1-11, score 1 point for every A answer, 2 points for every B answer, 3 points for every C
answer and 4 points for every D answer. For Question 12, subtract 1 point for every item circled.

1-15 Green Machine! Great job doing your part for the earth!

16-24 You’re doing some good work but can do more to help the earth.

25+ Let’s find some more ways to conserve at home!

Here’s some information you can review with your kids when talking about resource conservation.

1) Do you turn the lights off when no one is in the room? Turning off the lights is an easy way to get kids
involved in energy conservation. For more ideas see 12 Ways to Reduce Electricity Costs.
https://electricityplans.com/12-ways-reduce-electricity-costs/
2) When you want to feel cool in the summer, ceiling fans are a great way to feel cool without touching
the thermostat. Ceiling fans cool by evaporating tiny beads of sweat on your skin.
3) How many drinks do you have each day in individual cans or bottles? Cans and plastic bottles are a
problem in landfills. Try replacing them with multi-serving sizes and re-usable drink bottles
4) How often do you eat out? Restaurant food is super convenient. But it also involves driving to eat.
Plus, it typically involves larger quantities of food and high waste.
5) How often do you travel by airplane? Airplane travel, like car travel, burns fossil fuels. Try video
conferencing when you can!
6) Do you turn off the television, computer or video games when you are not using them?
This is one you remember from your own childhood. If you aren’t using it, turn it off. Use power strips
for your various electronics. You can turn off the entire power strip to power down all devices at once.
7) Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth? A running bathroom faucet uses around 1
gallon of water per minute. Turning off the faucet while brushing can save gallons a year.
8) What kind of vehicles do you drive? The better the gas mileage, the fewer carbon emissions
9) What types of foods do you eat? Your food’s carbon footprint, also known as its “foodprint” is the
amount of carbon produced in the process of growing, rearing, processing, transporting, storing,
cooking and disposing of the food you eat. While many fruits and vegetables travel long distance to
reach us, beef and pre-packaged meals are the most carbon intensive to produce.
10) How often do you line dry clothes? Dryers are known for being energy hogs. According to the EIA,
electric dryers can be up to 6% of the electricity usage in your home. If you prefer not to have your
neighbors see your dirty laundry, consider switching to a natural gas-powered dryer.
11) Do you unplug your chargers? Device chargers can continue to draw power even when a device isn’t
plugged in. Also watch for “energy vampires.” Those are devices that continue to draw power even
though they are turned off. See 9 Tips to Beat High Summer Electric Bills for more information.
https://electricityplans.com/9-tips-beat-high-summer-electric-bills/.
12) The more you recycle the less ends up in landfills. Check for community recycling programs.

This worksheet simplifies carbon emissions for kids. For a more exact calculation of your carbon emissions, we recommend
www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx.

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