Oregon Carbon Calculator − Frequently Asked Questions

Click on link to view answer to question, then scroll back up to the list of questions.

1. Where can I find information on the calculations and data sources?

2. Should I enter information as an individual or a household?

3. What about regional differences?

4. What if I live outside of Oregon?

5. What happens when I select number of people in household?

6. Why is entering income important?

7. Can the personal information I enter be viewed by any other computer?

8. What are "Similar Households"?

9. Are default answers entered automatically?

10. Utilities are included in my rent. How can I enter this information?

11. What types of items are included in the four major categories of goods and services?

12. Who developed the Oregon Climate Calculator?

13. Where can I find more information on the calculator?

14. What are the terms of use?

 

1. Where can I find information on the calculations and data sources?
   A description of all calculations in the tool (Transportation, Housing, Food, and Goods & Services) is available here: Calculations and Data Sources
   
   
2. Should I enter information as an individual or a household?
   It’s up to you. The Oregon Carbon Calculator allows you to select the number of people in your household. It then generates a default footprint for all people in your household and allows you to adjust the inputs based on your household’s particular consumption choices.
   
   If you are an individual living in shared housing then you may be only interested in calculating your own personal emissions. If this is the case you should only enter data that corresponds to your own personal share or contribution towards the items in the calculator. For example, only enter the portion of the electricity bill that corresponds to your consumption, rather than the electricity bill for the entire house. Similarly, only enter the number of square feet of housing that correspond to your share of the total living area. For example, if five people live in a house, you may want to divide the total square footage of the house by 5.
   
   
3. What about regional differences?
   The current version of the calculator uses statewide averages for Oregon. Where you live (for example, Bend vs. Astoria) impacts the energy used in your home. We hope in the future to offer a more refined calculator that is sensitive to regional differences.
   
   
4. What if I live outside of Oregon?
   If you live in outside of Oregon, the University of California, Berkeley has a calculator that includes all U.S. states and 28 major metropolitan regions: http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu
   
   
5. What happens when I select number of people in household?
   When you select the number of people in your household and your household’s gross annual income, default values for all questions in the calculator are automatically filled in. You can then progress through the calculator to change answers based on your own behavior. Default values are provided by the US Consumer Expenditures Survey.
   
   
6. Why is entering income important?
   Income and household size are highly correlated with greenhouse gas emissions. In order for the calculator to most closely approximate your annual household emissions, income and household size help to approximate consumer spending for households with similar characteristics. Many people don’t keep track of their expenditures in specific categories, so these default approximations make the calculator easier to use. If you want to change answers based on your own behavior, the defaults provide a starting point from which you can adjust upward or downward.
   
   
7. Can the personal information I enter be viewed by any other computer?
   No. The data entered in the calculator is not saved and cannot be viewed by any other computer.
   
   
8. What are "Similar Households"?
   Similar households have the same number of people and income level. The calculator generates default values based on these characteristics. These default values are automatically entered into the calculator. Therefore, if you do not answer a question, the calculator assumes you are like households with similar characteristics. This feature is particularly useful if it is difficult for you to answer the questions … just assume you are like everyone else.
   
   
9. Are default answers entered automatically?
   Yes, if you do not answer a question, the default value is entered automatically. You can choose to accept the default values or enter your own.
   
   
10. Utilities are included in my rent. How can I enter this information?
    If you do not pay for your utilities directly you can simply accept the default values for similar households, or adjust these based on your best guess of whether you use more or less energy than most households with the same number of people and income.
    
    
11. What types of items are included in the four major categories of goods and services?
    
    Clothing includes things like:
    - Indoor and outdoor clothing
    - Fabrics and yarns
    - Shoes
    - Accessories (including jewelry, hats, etc.)
    - Luggage and backpacks
    - Blankets or sleeping bags
    - Other textile or leather items
    
    Furnishings and other household items includes things like:
    - Furniture and other furnishings, such as art
    - Appliances (large and small)
    - Yard items (plants, fertilizers)
    - Household maintenance and tools (anything from toilet paper, to paint, to power saws)
    
    Other goods includes things such as:
    - Medical goods, including medicines
    - Entertainment Paper, office and reading
    - Personal care and cleaning and Auto parts
    
    Services includes things such as:
    - Vehicle Services
    - Household maintenance and repair
    - Education
    - Health care
    - Personal business and finances
    - Entertainment & Recreation
    - Information and communication
    - Organizations and charity
    - Personal services and clothing services
    - Childcare and domestic workers
    - Animal Services
    - And other miscellaneous services
    
    
12. Who developed the Oregon Climate Calculator?
    The calculator was developed by researchers at the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) at the University of California, Berkeley. RAEL is directed by professor Daniel M. Kammen. Christopher M. Jones  is the lead developer and project manager.
    
    Financial support has been provided by the California Air Resources Board via the CoolCalifornia.org partnership. CoolCalifornia.org is a joint project of the California Air Resources Board, The California Energy Commission, the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Next Ten.
    
    Additional financial support has been provided by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) at UC Berkeley.
    
    
13. Where can I find more information on the calculator?
    Please visit http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu for more information, or contact Chris Jones to learn how your organization may benefit from joining the CoolClimate Network, a University of California Berkeley membership program supporting research and development of advanced carbon footprint management tools for U.S. households, small businesses and communities.
    
    
14. What are the terms of use?
    The terms of use may be viewed here.
     

 

 

[print version]