Thursday 22 October 2009

Baby steps to cutting climate clown footprints to size

The Guardian's quick carbon calculator shows the steps you can take to reduce your carbon emissions
You've calculated your carbon footprint. You know if you have footprints from clown shoes (nearly 20 tonnes, like the US) or baby ones (just under 5 tonnes, like the average person in China). Now it's time to try cutting your emissions down to size, hopefully bringing them towards the magic 3.1 tonne figure that UK "per capita" carbon footprints must reach by 2050 for a sustainable future.
Here are our guides to slimming your footprint:
Green your home - from eco bulbs to major insulation, everything you need to know about saving energy at home
• Chris Goodall shows you how to cut 10% off your footprint for the 10:10 campaign
How to cut your footprint if you live in rented accomodation
• Get more tips and ideas in our Green Living Blog and Ask Leo and Lucy, our archive of green living answers
Plus some inspirational stories of people who've cut their footprint:
• Guardian columnist Madeleine Bunting on her baffling journey to a low carbon life
One woman's war on energy waste
• Actor Pete Postlethwaite explains how he cut this footprint
Couple Tracey and Colin Codhunter: 'We're not eco warriors'
And finally, some useful external resources for cutting carbon:
The Energy Saving Trust - consumer tips, energy efficient products and info on eco grants from the government's official energy-saving agency
10:10 - advice and energy-saving tips from the 10:10 carbon-cutting climate campaign
Act On CO2 - the government's official carbon calculator, plus useful data such as league tables of the most efficient cars (which you can also find on our environment data store)