PSA: Figuring out my carbon footprint led me down a rabbit hole of vague calculators

I decided to calculate my personal carbon footprint to see where I could improve. But every online calculator gave me wildly different results, and none explained their methods clearly. Has anyone found a reliable tool or method that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileymartinez1d ago

Question if focusing on personal footprints ignores bigger systemic issues.

david_lopez131d ago

Spot on about the calculator chaos, it TOTALLY highlights how we're shoved into focusing on individual metrics while companies pollute freely. @rileymartinez raises a CRUCIAL point that this distracts from systemic change. I saw one calculator that weighted air travel as 50% of my footprint, but another said it was only 20%, with no transparency on why. This inconsistency makes personal action feel FUTILE without larger regulatory frameworks.

the_jessica20h ago

Read a piece in Wired recently that broke down why carbon calculators vary so wildly, mostly due to inconsistent data sources. It totally aligns with @rileymartinez's point about systemic issues, in my experience.