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.

I'm slightly lower than average, and I do care.
While a vast majority of pollution is done by big companies, I want to do what I can.
Some things aren't possible for me - like, due to inner ear problems and random dizzy spells I can't safely cycle any distance (same reason I don't drive), so I do use the bus for most journeys I cant walk to.
But I recently switched to 100 percent renewable energy and I also want to decrease my meat intake this year.

I'm sure the fact that we bought a new fridge last year will have put up our carbon footprint....but we did get it mended twice in a year before giving up on it. While we have a tumble dryer and dishwasher they are admittedly luxuries that we can live without. A fridge isn't really!

I don't know. I'm vegan but also fly 3-4 times a year.

Just done the "Bulb" one, now I am 41% less than average. Woop woop.

mobiles use more carbon than landlines for calls about 3 times more, while your phone doesn't use much power the mobile network uses huge amounts
phones are rarely recycled and most people upgrade way before the phone has stopped working there is no reason an iphone 4 or something on android 3 wouldn't operate but they are no longer supported or updated so people are forced to buy more tech like those with old computers on windows 7 it is very hard to convert them to windows 10 so a perfectly good PC for many things ends up being dumped because the software is out of date
apparently data centres have a bigger carbon footprint than aviation industry ( article in guardian)
85% of a phones footprints is in manufacture so upgrading every 3-4 years instead of automatically at end of contract would make a big difference
netflix ( any video streaming including iplayer) is similar see this article www.ourdailyplanet.com/story/your-streaming-platforms-are-coming-with-a-big-carbon-footprint/

I'm shocked that mine is 92% -

5% from travel, the recommendation it makes is to cycle (not with 60 books to mark!) or go on the bus (not an option, there is no bus to where I work unless lessons start at noon) and keep my boot empty and tyres at the right pressure (which I do)

22% stuff - recommendation is to buy one expensive thing, which I do as the one thing tends to be shoes for the DCs and to buy second hand - I don't buy myself any clothes new or second hand unless I really, really need it

16% food - recommendation eat in season (we do) less meat and dairy (I said I rarely eat meat) and to add variety to my diet.

57% home - recommendation to switch to green energy but we can't afford the extra, use energy efficient bulbs (we do so not sure why it said this) and use smart technology to light and heat our home (too expensive)

We dont use single use plastic -our cleaning products all come from Splosh, I don't use any plastic bags, I drive less than 50 miles a week, we walk when possible and house heating is at a minimum. We eat meat once a week.

Probably higher I have s bit of commute to work.
Do I care? I used to before the extensive head continual nipping about it you get now.

Nothing puts you off like activists saying you never doing enough when you DO try. Might aswell not bother

I don't drive or eat meat, so not too bad. Have been on about 4 planes, short journeys but not for a good few years. More conscious of this now than ever before. Got 1 child and used disposable nappies which I still feel a bit guilty about. Xxx

Where does it give the average figure? I have mine compared to the target for 2020, but no average.
We eat very little meat, recycle just about everything, use energy saving lightbulbs, only have one DC and have solar panels, BUT we live rurally, and a car is essential, and our council doesn't recycle food waste, so our carbon footprint is 110%

No idea, probably above because I have 4 DC rather than the ideal 2.5.

We’re vegetarian, only drive when necessary, rarely ever fly, use reusable nappies and wipes, cook mostly from scratch and recycle lots.

Above.
Most of the things I can’t do anything about. It made me laugh when it suggested that I drive too much and I need to cycle - I can’t ride a bike. Public transport doesn’t go anywhere near where I travel to and from either. I do get the train one day a week but obviously drive to the station.
I do try to do my bit. The thing I feel guilty about is holidays- we fly 2-3 times a year. I would like to offset this if anyone can recommend a good offset scheme.
We are trying to eat less meat too and only have it 2-3 meals per week.
I have 1 child, that’s green

that calculator is bollocks. I am also somewhere with minimal public transport but work from home and drive under 4000 a year. Buy very little stuff, don't have kids, no pets and house not overheated. Have done shedloads of flying but not for years.

oh but look - oil fired boiler and not on renewable electricity (because I know that is bollocks too) so up it goes to near 'target'

I'm just above average. But it tips to that because I've bought a TV and big furniture in the last year. Given these replaced sofas that were over 15 years old & in the last 25 years I've only bought 2 TV's it wasn't a typical year!

According to quiz link I’m 20% below average for UK
Will still try and reduce though

I’m assuming ACautionaryTale won’t care if they kill a few people on the way with their total disregard to their carbon footprint.

I assume also planning to die early as we are already feeling the impact and it is only going to get worse.

Mine is lower than UK average according to WWF calculation despite having 4 children.
Must say I'm surprised by that. I assumed it would be much higher.

110% according to the WWF footprint site. Quite shocked by that!

Below average, hardly ever fly, last holiday abroad was 22 years ago.
Grow a lot of our own fruit and veg, I feel bad about owning a cat as I know her food probably contains sand eels which contribute so much to the ecology of our seas. When Dcat passes on, we wont get another.

We're below average, which I was surprised at tbh. We fly less than lots I think, but that is mostly because the kids are young, so not that keen on it!

Below average but I think it would be better to advice people what to do to reduce or offset rather than a blunt quiz. I heard somewhere recently that the two things ordinary folk could to do to help protect the environment is to stop flying and eat a plant based diet. Overly simplistic but I understand the gist.

Not read the full thread but saw the article today that said Brits get to the average carbon footprint of someone in Africa in two weeks, which is fairly shocking.

I don't use the car unless I have to, I walk and cycle a lot, but then I do things which mean I use the car like a 15 min drive to (and from) a Saturday parkrun each week. Don't eat red meat (but do eat fish and chicken/turkey). However that also means I don't buy alternatives flown in from wherever. Heating isn't on very much for me, but DH puts the fire on in the lounge a lot. I have no pets and one child who uses the bus or the train to get to college.

And I have already flown this year (although it was with BA who say they are offsetting all their flights from now on, whatever that means, it does smack rather of greenwashing).

I'm vegan, rarely buy stuff or clothes, recycle everything, don't fly and am in the process of going plastic free, yet apparently I'm over the target/average

Based on the questions, i could only hit target by living in a cold house and home schooling to avoid using the car!!

Interesting. I drive a lot as one of the dc has SEN and can't access school or life otherwise. Am veggie trying to be vegan as are the dc (no questions on dc) and on renewable tariff. Recycled everything on the list (wwf questions) . 112%.

Just did the WWF quiz and came out at 82%.