Yesterday, hundreds from around the state gathered at the Success Without Excess water symposium to learn more about the future of water and water policy in North Carolina.

While the theme of the conference was on water, one of the more entertaining segments was by Dr. Travis Gannon and his speech on “Understanding the Environmental Benefits of Turf.”  Not only did Gannon link a lack of turf to obesity in America, but he also exposed members of the conference to North Carolina State University’s Carbon Footprint Calculator.

If you are curious about what your carbon footprint is then this website is right up your alley.  However, I must warn you, you will have to know how many trees are in your yard along with their width, how much grass you have on your property, and how many miles you drive per year along with your car’s average miles per gallon.  Only after you enter all of this cumbersome information will you know your carbon footprint.

While this website may be fun and games for now, the brevity of what this website encompasses could pose problems if governments begin enforcing carbon regulations on individuals.  As Roy Cordato notes, Obama’s administration already wants to “improve” the environment by:

Imposing a highly restrictive assortment of ‘carbon footprint’ edicts, penalties, and fines in order to achieve the so-called ‘greening’ of America — no matter the cost”.

Another startling matter, pointed out by David Bass is that The Climate Registry, an organization that attempts to get companies and organizations to report their carbon footprint, has been tied to North Carolina.

While there are currently no regulations on personal carbon emissions, with technology like the Carbon Footprint Calculator at the Government’s fingertips, this tool could be used in the future to infringe upon individual liberties.