The term "carbon footprint" is used to describe the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are emitted into the atmosphere each year by an entity such as a person, household, building, organization, or company. It is usually measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalents.

A carbon footprint usually includes both direct and indirect GHG emissions:

- Direct emissions are considered to be emissions that are directly under the control of the person or company. For example, when a person drives his or her car it emits GHGs. For a company, if it chooses to heat its factory by burning a fuel, those are direct emissions.

- Indirect emissions are emissions that are a consequence of the activities of the reporting entity, but that occur at sources owned or controlled by another entity. For example, purchased electricity is considered an indirect emission. While a person or company can control the amount of electricity that is purchased, they cannot control the emissions that are associated with the generation of that electricity. Those emissions are under the direct control of someone else.

To calculate your personal carbon footprint, click the link below to the US Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
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