New carbon calculator conserves forests
A quick and cool way to help combat climate change is now available at .
Lively videos and stunning images are featured in Conservation International鈥檚 (CI) new online carbon calculator, which helps people easily calculate how much they are adding to global greenhouse gases. The CI carbon calculator offers a way to offset those emissions by helping protect tropical forests from being burned and cleared.
Tropical deforestation emits at least 20 percent of total greenhouse gases that cause climate change -- more than all the world鈥檚 cars, SUVs, trucks, trains and airplanes combined. Sporting a novel, upbeat design, CI鈥檚 user friendly calculator determines personal or family carbon emissions from home energy, vehicle, travel and diet behaviors, or from an individual event or travel.
鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 realize that the meat and food items they eat, the soaps and shampoos they use, even some of the biodiesel and ethanol biofuels powering their cars come from cleared tropical forests,鈥� said Michael Totten, CI鈥檚 Chief Adviser for Climate, Water and Ecosystem Services. 鈥淭his calculator shows them how big of an impact they are making, and how to offset the damage by protecting tropical forests that contain some of the world鈥檚 richest biological diversity and life-sustaining benefits critical to the wellbeing of local populations.鈥�
Most web-based carbon calculators focus on reducing a person鈥檚 carbon footprint through energy solutions, mainly by the purchase of renewable 鈥済reen鈥� power such as capturing land-fill methane gas, or wind power or energy efficiency options. While CI advocates those options as well, CI鈥檚 calculator is a quick and easy way to calculate carbon footprints, learn about ways to reduce emissions, and contribute to one of the least addressed and most important ways to combat climate change 鈥� protecting existing tropical forests.
Reducing emissions from deforestation is one of the most effective ways of keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The United States and China are the world鈥檚 two largest emitters due to industry emissions; Brazil and Indonesia are ranked third and fourth due to tropical deforestation.
Users of the CI online tool can offset emissions by donating to the long-term management of threatened forests requiring immediate protection, while at the same time returning the greatest results. CI is establishing forest-carbon projects in Brazil, Colombia, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines.
CI and partners designed these projects to provide multiple benefits. In addition to storing carbon dioxide, they conserve critical habitat for plant and animal species, and protect important ecosystems that provide sustainable income for local communities and benefits for all people. All of the conservation carbon projects are designed to comply with standards set by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, a partnership between leading companies, nonprofit organizations and research institutes. The Alliance was developed to enable independent verification that concrete benefits are realized for climate protection, biodiversity conservation, and local community benefits.
The CI carbon calculator and offset projects respond to public surveys showing that the majority of Americans are concerned about climate change. The calculator was designed to be transferred easily to other sites that wish to offer the tool.
Source: Conservation International
