Get in the Habit 10 easy ways to shrink your carbon footprint :: Environmental and Health Concerns

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Get in the Habit
by author Antoine Giraud

In 1992 William Rees received a new desktop computer—one that sat upright instead of flat. Pleased with the space-saving design, he remarked that he liked the “smaller footprint” on his desk.

It was a defining moment.

Rees, a community planner at the University of British Columbia, had found the perfect metaphor for a concept he had been working on called “the regional capsule.” After his small epiphany, he immediately renamed that concept “the ecological footprint.” This now ubiquitous phrase has challenged the way we think about our relationship to the environment.

Over 15 years later, ecological concepts have become staples in our everyday coffee conversation. However, unless carbon-cutting habits become ingrained in our lives, all we are doing is bandying topical buzzwords around. One-time green gestures such as changing light bulbs are good but aren’t going to turn us into eco-heroes. It takes dogged perseverance to radically change our lifestyles. After all, replacing a light bulb takes two minutes, but what are we going to do with the rest of our lives?

What is a carbon footprint?

If you still scratch your head whenever your green friends huddle around the tofu dip to compare their carbon footprints, read on.

The term carbon footprint is derived from Rees’s ecological footprint concept but is specifically focused on global warming. Basically, a carbon footprint represents the overall amount of CO₂ an individual personally contributes to the atmosphere. A carbon footprint is made up of both a primary and secondary footprint.

Our primary footprint includes how much electricity, gas, oil, and coal we use for our energy and transportation needs. A lifestyle that includes frequent air travel, for example, would dramatically increase a footprint’s size.

Our secondary footprint is determined by the products and services we use. The manufacture, transport, and eventual breakdown of a product impact the environment throughout the product’s life cycle.

How is a carbon footprint measured?

A carbon footprint is usually measured in tons of carbon per year. There are many online calculators that will determine the size of our carbon footprint. Here are a few to try:

No measurement will be 100 percent accurate. Our carbon footprint highlights areas in our life we can change. We can also compare ourselves to the Canadian average, which is currently about 12 tons per person.

Here are 10 carbon-cutting habits we can adopt to reduce our footprints

1. Wash clothes less.
Wash clothes in cold water and use energy-efficient appliances to save energy. However, an even better way is to not wash clothes at all.

Sound gross? Well, how dirty are your clothes really? Unless you frolic in mud all day, they’re probably fine. Use your nose to test or scan for obvious stains. You don’t want to display yesterday’s mustard stains on your work pants, but if they look clean then they’re good to go.

Tip: 90% of the energy used in washing clothes goes to heat the water,

2. Use your local library.
You may love to read, but you don’t have to buy every bestseller on your list. Visit your local library where you’ll find one of the richest resources of knowledge in your community. If it doesn’t have the book you want, your library can always request it from another branch. You can also indulge in the latest newspapers and magazines without costly subscriptions.

3. Don’t leave water running.
Use an energy-efficient dishwasher (if you have a full load) instead of washing dishes by hand to save even more.

Water conservation isn’t the only issue. Water companies use energy to treat our water before and after use, as well as to pump it to and from our homes. Less water equals less energy being used.

Tip: 95 litres of water can be saved each month by simply turning off the tap while brushing.

4. Turn down your thermostat.
Always turn down your thermostat when you leave home. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to turn down for a period every day.

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Antoine Giraud is a Vancouver writer and editor.

Source: alive #322. August 2009

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