Carbon Footprint Analysis

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Management:
How a Carbon Footprint Analysis Can Help Get You Started

by Sharon L. Wright, AICP, HDR ONE COMPANY

Climate change and greenhouse gas management are broad topics receiving a lot of attention. These topics are important because they affect our businesses, communities, and developments. As more legislation is passed and more information is evaluated, it is apparent that all of us need to contribute to greenhouse gas reduction. We can minimize our carbon footprints (the rate or amount of carbon gas emissions we individually contribute to the global phenomenon) through constructing more efficient buildings, creating healthier urban, suburban, and rural communities, and reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through transportation planning and personal travel choices for home and business.

Here are a few great resources, many used as references for this article:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/index.htm

http://www.icleiusa.org/

http://www.seattle.gov/climate/SCPresources.htm (download a carbon calculator)

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/climateSummit2007.htmhttp://www.climatetrust.org
http://www.carboncounter.org/

http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/ConsumersGuidetoCarbonOffsets.pdf

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