With grateful thanks to Chris Goodall whose excellent book “How to live a low carbon life” provided much of the information and inspiration for this Carbon Footprint section of our low carbon communities’ network.
“How to live a low carbon life” is published by Earthscan Books (ISBN 978-1-84407-426-6).
The overall booklist published by Earthscan (www.earthscan.co.uk ) contains much useful reading for all us concerned carbon shrinkers as well as the more highly scientifically, politically or technically minded
Carbon footprints across the world
Estimates as to the size of an “average” person’s annual carbon footprint in the UK can vary from 9.0 to 12.2 tonnes of CO2 (Partly dependant on whether the effects of air travel is included. Something the UK Government is now beginning to include). However given that in an equal world we all need to be somewhere closer to 3 tonnes per year then we probably need to get working on reducing our footprint from whatever starting point we are at!
Whilst we could feel smug when we compare our footprint with the USA average of over 20 tonnes it is more relevant to reflect that the average for India or China is less than 2 tonnes whilst in Uganda it is below 0.2 tonnes. Clearly the developing world has some case to argue that the developed world must do the lion’s share of the reduction.
Carbon Footprint Calculators
There are many available on the web and as over 40% of the UK’s emissions come from everyday personal activity at home and when we travel it’s well worth getting a grip on where savings can be made.
To get started why not try the LECCAP calculator on www.bestfootforward.com/leccap . The result here is expressed both in tonnes of CO2 and also how many planet equivalents it would take if the whole world was living the same lifestyle. It is a fairly simplistic calculator but gets the point across with some strong graphics.
The Act-on-CO2 calculator on the Energy Saving Trust website will give a more detailed picture depending on how much information you can provide.
So what do I do to shrink my carbon footprint?
Firstly don't necessarily see it as a threat to your lifestyle. Basically you are trying to cut down your energy usage and energy is not going to get any cheaper so you can often save money directly or invest to reduce expenditure whilst acting to save the world.
Of the 12 tonnes about half comes from around the home or choices in how you travel. Many of the tactics you can choose to employ are a mixture of changing technology and ways of doing things not necessarily giving them up.
The pdf download below this article comes from www.timesonline.co.uk and is based on ‘The Low Carbon Diet’ by Polly Ghazi and Rachel Lewis Published by Short Books. It can also be obtained from www.timesonline.co.uk/bookfirstbuy
It is based around a set of assumptions of the consumption of a “typically average” adult within the standard family unit. Whilst everybody’s circumstances are different it does indicate where we can make a start and which decisions will have the most impact.
