Sometimes, I get really cool things in my in-box. The Earth Day Network Ecological Footprint Calculator is one of those things.

The calculator, created by the Global Footprint Network and launched today, measures how many planets it would take to sustain your lifestyle. Like most calculators, you go through a series of questions, pick the answers that fit your lifestyle and watch the results come in. But there are two things that set this calculator apart from the pack: the interactivity and the measurement of an ecological footprint.

First the interactivity. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a world of video games but if a tool like this is fun as opposed to bland, I’m a lot more likely to pay attention. And this tool is fun. First, you get to design an avatar (mine had blue spiky hair), and then you get to watch the avatar’s world change as you enter choices that correspond to your life. Fun, no?

Second, and more importantly, the ecological footprint. Most calculators out there measure a person’s carbon footprint. But how much carbon you generate is only part of your impact as a human being. A carbon measurement doesn’t count more esoteric things like how much meat you eat, where you get it and how that affects your impact on the world. 

The ecological footprint, on the other hand, creates a full picture and represents the overall human demand on nature; it compares human consumption with what it takes to regenerate natural resources.

Using this idea, the calculator measures how many planets it would take if the rest of the world lived like you. It’s a really visual way of seeing how much you impact the world… versus seeing a large number that you don’t really understand. For example, even though I recycle everything, almost always carpool, live in an urban environment etc. etc., if all the world lived like me it would apparently take 3.8 planets. And the majority of that (46 percent) is in services. That surprised me. 

The idea of measuring your impact by planets, then decreasing it, is the push behind One Planet Communities and BioRegional, the groups that brought the world BedZed (at left), one of England’s poster children for sustainable living. I wrote about BedZed and One Planet Living in December here in the DJC. According to their numbers, it would take 5.3 planets if the rest of the world lived like the United States does.

There are plans in the works to create One Planet Communities across the world, for more visit www.bioregional.com.

The calculator also offers suggestions after you’re done on what you can do to decrease your result, and lets you change your choices so you can see what exactly affected the final total.  

Though it’s fun, I don’t know how they calculate their numbers and can’t comment on whether the amounts are accurate or not. If you have a favorite calculator that you like better than this one, or can comment on the accuracy of the numbers used, please share your information below. New resources are always appreciated.

More info on the calculator at Plime here.

If you do, there’s one simple way to get it: reduce your drive-alone trips by 60 percent between now and May 2009 by biking around town.

That’s right, the Green Bike Project, a partnership between King County Metro Transit, Washington State Department of Transportation, Cascade Bicycle Club and REI, is giving away 300 bikes, along with training and tune-ups.

The bikes are Novara commuter bikes, courtesy of REI. The program is geared towards major employers in King County who are required by law to have an employee commute program. Employers must have five to 15 employees willing to participate to be eligible. So far, Expedia, ZymoGenetics, Perkins Coie, Boeing, Kirkland, Kent, SeaTac, Renton, Quadrant Homes and the Washington State Department of Ecology have signed on. If you’re an employer that wants to participate, contact Susan Whitmore at susan.whitmore@kingcounty.gov. 

And hey if you already bike to work, REI is offering 100 free tune-ups for those who already commute but want to participate in the project.

There’s a lot of news out there people. But possibly the most entertaining thing in my in-box doesn’t have to do with green materials or green buildings…. it revolves around a penguin.

The Environmental News Network reports that Norway has knighted a king penguin named Niles Olav. Sir Niles Olav is the third penguin to serve as the mascot of the King’s Guard. The first mascot penguin was chosen in 1972, and named after then-King Olav V. Sir Niles Olav (the penguin) lives in the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland and was promoted from regimental sergeant major to honorary colonel-in-chief in 2005. Just think, I never knew a penguin could be a knight! For more on this, click here.

In other (green building) news, Portland Architecture reports that Houston developer Hines has withdrawn from the competition for the San Diego city hall project, leaving the door wide open for Gerding Edlen and ZGF, though it doesn’t guarantee them the job. For more on the project, click tag ‘Gerding Edlen’ below or click here.

Jetson Green reports on a Yale grad school student who built her own tiny house that is off the grid. The home will cost about $11,000, is 8′ x 18′, and has a sleeping loft, storage loft, study nook, kitchen area, living area and bathroom.  For more, click here.

And Landscape + Urbanism has some awesome photos of green rooftops in NYC. For more, click here.

Happy news hunting! (penguin photo courtesy of ENN. Tiny house courtesy of Stephen Dunn, via Jetson Green). 

I’ve been on vacation the last week in Chicago/Michigan/Indiana so here’s some news items you might have missed:

Seattle is a walkable city!  According to Walk Score’s listing of the 138 most walkable neighborhoods in the country, Pioneer Square hits number 18, Downtown Seattle (wherever that is) is 33, First Hill is 46, Belltown is 61, Roosevelt is 64, the International District is 83, South Lake Union is 85, University District is 86, Lower Queen Anne is 97 and Wallingford is 133. And overall, Seattle is the 6th most walkable city, following San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia. I don’t know that I agree with the ranking, do you? For more opinion on whether Seattle reeeeallly outranks Portland, check out the Seattle Weekly here. For more on urban development visit Seattle MetBlogs here, and  Sightline’s has more here with some pertinent reader comments!

The first meeting of the Green Building Task Force is tomorrow from  3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the downtown library. The goal of the force over the next six months is to figure out how to actually make Seattle the “green building capital,” and help achieve Nickel’s February goal of improving energy efficiency in commercial and residential by at least 20 percent. I wrote about that in the DJC here. They’ll be looking at policy options, financing programs, efficiency incentives and regulatory mandates.

There will be two teams: one will work on existing building stock, the other will work on new. That’s an important point, as many energy efficiency programs or government mandates only look at new projects, and not existing, even though there is by far much more to fix in existing buildings.

I love sources that provide a virtual who’s who of green people and this task force does just that. Members include reps from AIA, AGC, BOMA, Master Builders, Mithun, NBBJ, Touchstone, Seattle Steam… you get the idea. To see the actual list, go here.

In other news, I learned on my trip that US Weekly has a spread in its current edition about green celebrity tips. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but if you (or your kids) want to know what Cameron Diaz does to go green, check it out. I must admit the part comparing carbon emissions from celebrity perks (like personal jets and yachts) to everyday life (coach seating, a little sailboat) was a tad - shall I say - enlightening (or depressing, take your pick). Treehugger covers it here.

It’s Monday and already my mind is on Friday because it’s that dashingly loud holiday called FOURTH OF JULY!

But today I found another reason to think about the holiday, due to an article in my inn box from the Environmental News Network called, ‘8 ways to green your independence day’ by Earth 911.

Greening your Fourth of July? The idea seems outlandish and obvious at the same time, but the article’s suggestions aren’t.

Here are some of the article’s (shortened) ideas:

Celebrate outside to save energy. 

Drink lots of water in large containers. Water will keep you hydrated and using reusable containers will prevent lots of plastic water bottles from ending up in a landfill.

Check to make sure the beach you want to go to is open before you go so you don’t waste gas (FYI all beaches in the city of Seattle are open and awaiting your sun bathing self!)

Use eco-friendly fireworks. Apparently they exist … if you want to find them search for fireworks rich in nitrogen. For more, see the article.

Do you have a Fourth of July suggestion? How about a fourth of July green building suggestion? Mine would be use fireworks far away from buildings so they don’t catch on fire and cause unnecessary rebuilding. Pretty good for an off the cuff idea, hmm?