Apr 10 2008
My Carbon Footprint
I’ve met a lot of people who are concerned about climate change (aka Global Warming) and/or pollution. It reminds me somewhat of when I was a kid, minus the fear of nuclear winter and radiation poisoning.
I take pollution seriously. I grew up hearing the warnings about mercury in fish, “dead” lakes due to contaminants, etc. I now live not far from electric plants and downstream from Chemical Valley in Sarnia, Ontario.
I think it’s bizarre that everything from food to clothes comes with so much packaging compared to even 15 years ago. I look for #1 and #2 plastics, since those are in demand by our local recycler. I also get meat wrapped in butcher paper when I can.
I haved joked that I contribute to cleaner air by NOT cutting the 11 trees that are crammed onto my 1/2 acre of land. I keep my thermostat at 59 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, except for a couple hours in the morning and evening (63-64 degrees).
I haven’t bought the new lightbulbs, since mine still work. I’m a little leery of having a hazardous waste in the house, since mercury has been a problem in the Great Lakes area for many years. I know the bulbs will end up in the landfills, just like car batteries, old freon coolers, etc. People are lazy about garbage.
So, how big is my carbon footprint?
I emit 4.3t carbon dioxide per year. The average American emission is 9.96tCO2/yr. I used the General Electric calculator, which used much more data than others, such as the DTE version..
http://www.ge.com/ivillage/calculator/#
I wish it allowed fractions. I fill roughly 1/2 of a garbage bag weekly, but I had to put in a whole number. For that reason, it appears I generate mondo garbage (0.88tCO2 versus 0.09 for the average American).
My household CO2 generation seemed very high at first (over 4tCO2/year). That was because I put in a dollar amount of annual spending on electricity and natural gas. Honestly, entering the dollar amount is illogical. For example, signing onto DTE’s “GreenCurrents” program for renewable electric generation will INCREASE an individual’s bill. I’m not sure if wind, sun and biomass energy costs more or if the additional fee is a subsidy for development.
When I entered the precise kilowatt hours and therm factor, the new variables lowered my contribution to 1.4 versus the 3.62 average.
So what’s your carbon footprint like?
