EPA calculator helps shrink your carbon footprint through daily habit changes

Our daily routines may be leaving a bigger carbon footprint than we think, but reducing our carbon footprint means changing our habits and change is hard. However, making small changes to our habits can make a big difference for the planet.

That's where the EPA's carbon calculator comes in. It adds up all our little choices to help us see the amount of carbon we personally put into the atmosphere.

Take recycling for example. May times we may throw things away without rinsing them out, and if we make that choice all the time the average person would help create 692 lbs. of carbon annually.

When it comes to gas and electricity, turning up the heat may seem like a comfortable choice but adding an extra layer of clothing is much more environmentally friendly.

Also washing your clothes with cold water as opposed to hot water still cleans them just as well.

Another point to be more conscious of is leaving your computer on all night. The EPA calculator suggests setting up power management to turn your computer off automatically.

Each of these power-reducing tips can save 9115 lbs. of CO2 each year, not to mention over $70 a month in utility bills.

The carbon calculator also shows that when you reduce your driving by even 10% below average, you can reduce your carbon footprint by over 1100 lbs. of CO2.