Being green can mean different things to different people. A simple Google search provides a variety of definitions: according to Google Dictionary, 'Green' can mean 'being concerned with or supporting protection of the environment as a political principle'; 'of a product not harmful to the environment'; and also 'make less harmful to the environment'. 'Green' can be an adjective, a noun, and a verb. Importantly, it is synonymous with being environmentally-friendly.
For this blog, I want to look specifically at how an individual can reduce their carbon footprint since I am concerned about climate change and its impacts. When discussing how to be green, I therefore mean how an individual can reduce their carbon footprint. According to WWF, a carbon footprint can be defined as 'a measure of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted directly or indirectly by an activity or product we use.' We consume GHG directly through transportation and energy use in homes, and indirectly through the use of products that have GHGs embedded within them e.g. consuming food.
There are many carbon footprint calculators online and with guidance from The Guardian, I used the calculator from Carbon Footprint. Carbon footprint calculators exhibit flaws in accuracy and reliability: different foods have different levels of GHGs associated with them, but calculators generalise categories. Additionally, how much you spend on a product/activity may not correlate with its GHG emissions. I think that a measure of your carbon footprint is an easy and comprehensive way to visualise your approximate impact on the planet, however, the figures shouldn't be taken so literally.
Using my lifestyle from the past month, my carbon footprint came to a total of 0.53 tonnes, equating to 6.60 tonnes per year. According to the Carbon Footprint, this is lower than the national average of 7.13 tonnes per year, but before I could feel slightly smug I had to remember that over the past month I have been living in London and consequently, haven't travelled in a car, never mind an aeroplane. We haven't used the heating and I haven't bought many clothes in that time... I sense that 6.60 tonnes per year is not quite as representative as I first thought. Additionally, when the worldwide carbon footprint target to combat climate change is 2.0 tonnes per year, I have a long way to go: I still need to give some serious thought about reducing my carbon footprint... the quest for being green is still just as urgent.
Now I've outlined what I mean by being green, in my next post I will look at the actions individuals can take to reduce carbon footprints, or alternatively the actions individuals can take to be green, that have been recommended by environmental NGOs.
For this blog, I want to look specifically at how an individual can reduce their carbon footprint since I am concerned about climate change and its impacts. When discussing how to be green, I therefore mean how an individual can reduce their carbon footprint. According to WWF, a carbon footprint can be defined as 'a measure of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted directly or indirectly by an activity or product we use.' We consume GHG directly through transportation and energy use in homes, and indirectly through the use of products that have GHGs embedded within them e.g. consuming food.
There are many carbon footprint calculators online and with guidance from The Guardian, I used the calculator from Carbon Footprint. Carbon footprint calculators exhibit flaws in accuracy and reliability: different foods have different levels of GHGs associated with them, but calculators generalise categories. Additionally, how much you spend on a product/activity may not correlate with its GHG emissions. I think that a measure of your carbon footprint is an easy and comprehensive way to visualise your approximate impact on the planet, however, the figures shouldn't be taken so literally.
Using my lifestyle from the past month, my carbon footprint came to a total of 0.53 tonnes, equating to 6.60 tonnes per year. According to the Carbon Footprint, this is lower than the national average of 7.13 tonnes per year, but before I could feel slightly smug I had to remember that over the past month I have been living in London and consequently, haven't travelled in a car, never mind an aeroplane. We haven't used the heating and I haven't bought many clothes in that time... I sense that 6.60 tonnes per year is not quite as representative as I first thought. Additionally, when the worldwide carbon footprint target to combat climate change is 2.0 tonnes per year, I have a long way to go: I still need to give some serious thought about reducing my carbon footprint... the quest for being green is still just as urgent.
Now I've outlined what I mean by being green, in my next post I will look at the actions individuals can take to reduce carbon footprints, or alternatively the actions individuals can take to be green, that have been recommended by environmental NGOs.
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| Image:Credible Climate Action |
Hi Ruth, I found this so interesting! I had no idea I could measure my own Carbon footprint. I had a look at the calculator and am shocked to find I can't fill out the information as I'm not even aware of how much gas/electricity I'm consuming! Slightly embarrassing, especially as I see myself as someone who cares deeply about the environment. Definitely agree with you that we as humans need to work on our individual 'green' behaviours to create a global impact.
ReplyDeleteHi Tania - thanks for the comment! Yeah I was also really surprised and I found it really hard to estimate how many miles I travel on a bus per week... I think we should definitely take our carbon footprint estimations with a bit of salt.
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