Overview of Activity

This online interactive site allows students to enter lifestyle information to determine their personal contribution to the greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. This activity can be used as a method of getting the whole family involved in a discussion of the human impact on global warming.

Grade Level: 9 to 12

Difficulty: Advanced

Activity Type: Online
URL: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
Amount of Time Required for Activity: Two 45-minute periods

Description
Students enter information about how much energy their family uses at home, the types of transportation they use, and where they dispose of waste to get an estimate of their personal greenhouse gas emissions. They can then enter choices they might make to reduce these emissions.

This site allows the students to answer the research question:
What evidence is there that my family and I are contributing to greenhouse emissions?
How does this evidence relate to the Global and American CO₂ emissions calculated during the visit to the museum?

This web site is produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Relation to the Science Standards
High School
Content Standard D – Geochemical Cycles
Content Standard F – Environmental Quality
Content Standard F – Natural and Human—Induced Hazards

Related Part of the Exhibit
Responses to Change

Related Resources
Carbon Offsets Allow Businesses to Trade Environmental Credit -NewsHour, March 8, 2008
Physicist Searches for Alternative Fuel Technologies - NewsHour, May 2, 2007
Alternative Fuels - An Indepth Report - NewsHour

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