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Glossary of Terms

Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint measures human impacts on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, in particular carbon dioxide. Individuals, families, buildings, school districts, communities, states, regions, nations – all entities that use carbon have a carbon footprint. Knowing your carbon footprint is an important step in understanding how to reduce your contributions to climate change.

To figure out your own carbon footprint, you can use a carbon calculator. For example, check out the American Forests’ Climate Change Calculator (note: CEP does not necessarily endorse AF’s carbon offset program attached to this calculator; this just happens to be an extremely easy to use calculator that we like a whole lot). The EPA also offers a personal greenhouse gas emissions calculator. You can also try Earthday’s Ecological Footprint.

After you read the results, check out CEP’s Take Steps section for tips to cut your carbon emissions. Also check out the EPA’s What You Can Do section.
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The energy requirements of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings produce approximately 43 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
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