Is your footprint above or below average? And do you care?

[Cam77]

Is your carbon footprint above or below the national average - and if it’s above do you feel bad about it? There are some good calculators online which quiz you on every aspect of you lifestyle. For what it’s worth I’m below average on most metrics - food consumption, energy usage (average sized home with good rating), don’t drive (work from home), only one kid, etc. However, I do fly a fair bit including one long haul every couple of years (12 hour return flight to visit family) - and that alone bumps me right back up to around the national average. I feel kind of bad about it, but there you go.

@nakedavengeragain all meat diet and constantly shitting out greenhouse gases with shit that either goes to landfill (if bagged) or eventually pollutes the water table (if left on the floor), releasing further greenhouse gases either way as it breaks down.

Mines below. Not that I’m that fussed about it in a sense we live how we live because we like it not to be eco warriors or anything. Have three children, eat meat, don’t drive, don’t fly, recycle and compost everything.

we Also grow our own fruit and vegetables. I point blank refuse to be buying strawberries in January! I grow my own chillis as well rather than importing from places like Egypt.

@TimeAfterTimeAfter according to the Guardian article a child adds 80 tonnes of carbon every year.
This study, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2017/08/02/whats-your-dogs-carbon-pawprint/amp/ taking the higher estimate, a Labrador adds 1.6 tonnes a year.

So a an extra human child has carbon footprint 50 times that of a dog.

Also babies tend to shit in big wads of plastic backed man made fibres several times a day which end up in landfill which ends up on the water table.

Above and no i don’t care.

@Yeahnah2020 - why don’t you care?

On the dog issues dogs are clearly a problem due to their very meat heavy diet (and consumption of red meat is one of the biggest issues we face). However there are insect protein foods now available which are an extremely environmentally friendly option and very good for the dogs and the cost is coming down as more people get on board. Insect based diets are a way forward to help reverse the damage caused by red meat production (in particular the destruction of the brazilian rainforests) but people in western societies are squeamish. Dogs aren't.

Surely those who "don't care" fall into one of two camps - not educated about the issues or selfish.

Probably above and don't give it much thought. Guess I'm uneducated then.

My husband is a pilot so I'm guessing that shoves is very high. We unfortunately both have to drive to work as where we live has no useful public transport; a 20 minute drive for me would take 2 hours. I do care but there's not a lot I can do at the moment. I have changed to a hybrid and my husband will when he upgrades his car. I've stopped purchasing fast fashion and often buy secondhand where I can

Just done the quiz and I'm 93% of the average - surprised to be below average to be honest. I guess it's because I have a small car and don't use it much as a I work from home.
It didn't however ask how long my daughter spends in the shower which would have taken us off the scale.
I think I need to find a quiz that captures that kind of detail so we can show out daughter.
DH started fining the children over Christmas for leaving lights and appliances/devices on. This seemed to focus their minds.

The problem with these 'quizzes' are they are a blunt tool for a complex subject.
They should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt rather than proper guidance - they are there to get you thinking more than anything else.
Almost every decision you take will have an impact in some way and sometimes even 'green' choices have unintended consequences. I have to evaluate this a lot for work where new build choices can reduce energy consumption dramatically but reuse would reduce over all resource usage - it's often a balance.
The thing is to acknowledge that over consumption of things, energy, food, resources etc is not good (although it has become the norm) and we should do our best to reduce our impact on the planet where we can.

The thing is to acknowledge that over consumption of things, energy, food, resources etc is not good (although it has become the norm) and we should do our best to reduce our impact on the planet where we can.

Exactly. There's so much we can all do

recyle
mend clothes, shoes etc rather than throwing stuff away and replacing. If buying then buy second hand.
insulate our homes properly
use green energy
buy local food produce
eat seasonal foods as much as possible
reduce food waste and compost what we cannot use.
reduce travel as much as we can
stop buying useless shit for the sake of it..

I'm 7.5 tonnes on the quiz. I've been vegetarian for 30 years don't drive and have never flown.
I also lived in a caravan for 15 years with only a wood burner and one lightbulb. I have got 4 kids but it didn't ask about them!

kjhkj
There's so much we can all do

Yes, there is, but which achieves what exactly?

On the carbon calculator I'm above average, but it's because we live in a large house. It doesn't ask about how well insulated that house is though - our house is modern and super insulated and so we hardly have to have the heating on at all. The small, Victorian house we used to live in (which the CC would've rated much more favourably), was far worse for energy consumption. What CCs are good for though is to make you think about where you could improve and how little impact certain behaviours have. For instance, I've always prided myself on recycling, but that really has bugger all impact and the saying goes 'Reduce, reuse, recycle' in that order for a reason. Much better to buy less in the first place.

Yes, there is, but which achieves what exactly?

slows the rate of the impact giving time to find other solutions to enable people to live the way they want to live. Meat production for example is now being looked at very closely re burning the methane produced and artificial meat production, we will be forced to increase green fuel usage, etc etc

slows the rate of the impact

By how much? How many people, doing what, for how long, are needed to reduce the impact by how much?

By how much? How many people, doing what, for how long, are needed to reduce the impact by how much?

No idea since I'm not an environmental scientist but if everyone who currently flies reduced their flights by 50% it would take twice as long to do the same amount of damage...

kjhkj
By how much? How many people, doing what, for how long, are needed to reduce the impact by how much?
No idea

Ah.

but if everyone who currently flies reduced their flights by 50% it would take twice as long to do the same amount of damage

If you don't know, then how do you know there is a 1:1 causation-effect relationship that is reduced proportionately after immediate halving?

Above average here.

I care. I’m trying to make changes but it’s hard. I drive to work which takes around 40 mins - to go by train would take over two hours each way, and that would still involve a 15 minute drive.

We’re cutting down on meat and we’ve just booked the train for our next holiday (would usually fly).

@Devereux1 you're just being deliberately argumentative. Just because I have no idea doesn't mean the experts don't.

But hey - carry on being a climate change denier if that makes you happy. I'd prefer to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Below average as I don’t own a car (work from home and live right next to a bus stop with a regular service). I also don’t have kids and live in a small house with a good energy eating. I go abroad once per year which requires flying. Food consumption is probably the area I need to tweak as I buy a lot of prepackaged food and there is often some waste (i recycle and compost as much as I can though). I did try growing veg in my garden last year but it didn’t go to plan. I’ll wear my clothes and shoes to death before replacing them and I’ll buy things like books from charity shop

kjhkj
@Devereux1 you're just being deliberately argumentative.

You have made statements as fact, I am asking you ever so simple questions about your statements. This is the basic of stuff. Is that being deliberately argumentative in your world?

Just because I have no idea

Don't you think it's a bit odd that someone who admits they have no idea is telling everyone that if they make changes to their life, climate change will reduce? If you have no idea, how would you know?

But hey - carry on being a climate change denier

Climate change denier? But I completely believe in climate change. Why did you just make that up about me? Do you often make things up like that?

I'd prefer to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

And yet you admit you have no idea how anything you are claiming would be part of any solution.

Righty ho.

I'm above average I think because I said I got a new mobile phone and just bought a new sofa.
Also there's only two adults living in a five bedroom house..