How to cut your carbon footprint 10% in 2010
Home » Magazine » Good, issue 10 » How to cut your carbon footprint 10% in 2010Hands up who’s sick of talking about climate change? The last thing the world needs is more hot air. So here’s how to take real, meaningful, achievable action that will cut your carbon footprint ten percent in 2010—and show those blokes in suits how it’s done. Good crunches the numbers for three archetypal Kiwis
ILLUSTRATIONS: Jo Thapa
We’ve come a long way. Just about everyone in the world agrees that climate change is real, and it’s happening now. Almost as many have accepted that humans are at least partly responsible, that it’s up to us to tackle the problem, and that we need to start now.
That’s an enormous shift in attitudes in just a few years … so now what?
It’s time to stop talking and start doing—and that means things are going to get mighty interesting. We’re already living through a time of immense environmental change, and the coming years will bring technological, economic and cultural shifts on a scale and at a pace that could feel pretty uncomfortable at times.
The realisation that the fossil-fuelled conveniences and pleasures of our lifestyles are damaging our environment, threatening the livelihoods of others and fundamentally changing the world for generations to come has been about as welcome as a bitter ex crashing your wedding, drinking the last bottle of champagne and throwing up on the cake.
We’ll all mourn for the days we could jump on a plane without the slightest twinge of guilt. But like it or not, cutting carbon is something we’ll do for the rest of our lives.
It’ll be a steep learning curve, but we’re picking up new ideas fast. Carbon offsetting, emissions trading, personal carbon footprints, even the parts per million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere … you might not be able to explain the concepts precisely, but you’ve probably already picked up a general understanding of what, just a couple of years ago, was considered specialised, technical knowledge.
Carbon is fast becoming a global currency, traded on world markets and labelled on consumer goods. Eventually, a personal carbon debit card could be as ubiquitous as Eftpos (itself introduced just 25 years ago). It’s tempting to sit back and wait for carbon budgeting to be made that easy—but when the potential cost of waiting can be measured in degrees, sea level rise, human lives, species extinctions and billions and billions of dollars, do you really want to wait for your MasterCarbon card to arrive in the post?
It’s tempting to sit back and wait for carbon budgeting to be made easy—but when the potential cost of waiting can be measured in degrees, sea level rise, human lives, species extinctions and billions and billions of dollars, do you really want to wait for your MasterCarbon card to arrive in the post?
The next international treaty on climate change is in the hands of politicians. But let’s not forget: they work for us. If we’re not happy with their targets, it’s up to us to show them we’re serious about reducing emissions. If they say it’ll take a decade to reduce our country’s carbon emissions by ten percent, let’s show them we can do it in a year.
It’s a simple idea: reduce your carbon footprint ten percent in 2010. It’s not even our idea. The 10:10 campaign (www.1010global.org) is sweeping the UK, initiated by The Guardian newspaper and Franny Armstrong, director of climate change documentary The Age of Stupid. Over 35,000 individuals, households, celebrities, the entire British government’s cabinet, 150 MPs from across all parties, 53 local councils, 850 organisations and 1,200 businesses from Royal Mail and Microsoft to the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have signed up to reduce their carbon emissions ten percent in 2010.
The beauty of 10:10 is that, honestly, it’s not even all that hard. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) reckons the average New Zealand household could easily save ten percent of its power bill, reducing its carbon emissions from electricity by the same proportion. Cutting your transport emissions ten percent is as simple as driving about 25 fewer kilometres a week.
But the really good news is that once you understand where your carbon emissions come from, and how to decrease them by small amounts, you claw back a measure of power and control over a problem so intimidating it’s had us all paralysed. By tackling your share of the seemingly insurmountable challenge, it becomes personal, meaningful and achievable. And it sends a powerful message to our leaders: we can achieve way more ambitious reduction targets than you’re setting.
Nicole
Nicole is a 29-year-old woman who lives with her partner and their toddler. She’s just returned to work full time after 18 months spent out of paid employment while caring for her child, so she’s very cost-conscious. Since she rents her home in Ngaio, Wellington, Nicole doesn’t want to make major changes to her house, but she is keen to make other changes for the future of her child. She drives her six-kilometre commute in a small 2000 Honda Civic—and she drives it fast—and eats an average amount of meat. She’s using cloth nappies, and she’s not willing to sacrifice her tumble dryer!
10:10 reduction goal—0.45 tonnes
| EASY & CHEAP | |
| Correctly inflate tyres (and check every month) | 0.12 |
| Get her vehicle tuned | 0.12 |
| Compost all food and garden waste | 0.1 |
| Open the car window instead of using air con | 0.06 |
| Replace one 100W bulb with a 20W eco-bulb | 0.03 |
| Wash clothes in cold water rather than warm | 0.02* |
| BIT OF EFFORT | |
| Halve beef consumption | 0.6 |
| or | |
| Slow down, brake earlier and more gently | 0.47 |
| A COMMITMENT | |
| Carpool to work with two others | 0.48 |
Mei
Mei is a 36-year-old woman who lives in New Lynn, Auckland, with her partner and their two children. She does what she can to leave a small footprint: she’s vegetarian, she gets the bus to work (it’s 12 kilometres to the central city), she composts and recycles everything she can, and she doesn’t own a clothes dryer. She shares a late-model Toyota Corolla with her husband, but only uses it on weekends to run errands and visit the local farmers market. She’s committed to reducing her carbon footprint every year, and believes making her home more sustainable will save her money in the long run. Her big problem is her frequent flyer miles: she has family in Wellington and good friends in Christchurch, and she usually visits them both a couple of times a year.
10:10 reduction goal—0.28 tonnes
| EASY & CHEAP | |
| Stop over in Wellington on the way to Christchurch (Mei could save 0.54 tonnes if she did this on both visits) | 0.27 |
| Reduce daily shower time by one minute | 0.02 |
| or | |
| Cut one Wellington flight | 0.28 |
| BIT OF EFFORT | |
| Work from home one day a week rather than commute by bus | 0.1 |
| Walk or cycle instead of driving a quarter of her weekend journeys | 0.09 |
| Install an efficient shower head | 0.06* |
| Visit farmers market fortnightly instead of weekly | 0.04 |
| A COMMITMENT | |
| Replace old electric hot water cylinder with a solar hot water heating system | 0.12* |
| Replace those last two 100W bulbs with 20W eco-bulbs | 0.06 |
| Install double glazing | 0.07* |
| Replace old fridge with a new Energy Star refrigerator | 0.03* |
| or | |
| Buy a wood- or pellet-burner | 0.28 |
Bruce
Bruce is a 48-year-old father of three teenagers, who stay with him at weekends. He lives in Bishopdale, Christchurch, and works in the central city (an eight-kilometre commute). Bruce is a pretty average bloke: he drives a Subaru Legacy station wagon, which gets the average New Zealand mileage of 11.2 litres per 100 kilometres, and he eats an average amount of meat. Bruce is an outdoors kind of guy, and wants to do the right thing by the land and by his kids. He goes mountain-biking at weekends, and takes off to Queenstown every winter for a skiing holiday with mates who live down there. He loves the idea that technology will solve our problems.
10:10 reduction goal—0.6 tonnes
| EASY & CHEAP | |
| Remove roof rack | 0.18 |
| Use the sun to dry clothes, rather than a dryer | 0.17 |
| Get rid of the second fridge (or just switch it off) | 0.13 |
| Use the heated towel rail only four hours a day, instead of all the time | 0.11 |
| or | |
| Go beef-free two days a week | 0.37 |
| Compost all food and garden waste | 0.1 |
| Open the car window instead of using air con | 0.09 |
| Replace two 100W bulbs with 20W eco-bulbs | 0.06 |
| BIT OF EFFORT | |
| Cycle to work three days a week | 0.61 |
| or | |
| Take the bus to work instead of driving | 0.69 |
| A COMMITMENT | |
| Install 2kW solar PV panels | 0.49 |
| Replace old fridge with a new Energy Star refrigerator | 0.11 |
| or | |
| Replace the old electric hot water cylinder with a solar hot water heating system | 0.47 |
| Install double glazing | 0.19 |
| or | |
| Buy a new small car, then sell the old one for scrap | 1.7 |
What about you?
Keen to cut your own or your whole household’s footprint by 10 percent next year? Here’s an idea of the carbon savings you and your family could make around your home
| HOME | |
| Install double glazing | 0.19 |
| Replace your old electric hot water cylinder with a solar hot water heating system | 0.47 |
| Buy a wood- or pellet-burner | 0.75 |
| Install 2kW solar PV panels | 0.49 |
| ELECTRONICS | |
| Avoid leaving appliances on standby, and turn off lights and heated towel rails when not in use | 0.16 |
| Replace your old fridge with a new Energy Star refrigerator | 0.11 |
| Wash your clothes with cold water rather than warm | 0.07 |
| Use the sun to dry clothes, rather than a dryer | 0.17 |
| Install an efficient shower head | 0.17 |
| Use your heated towel rail four hours a day, instead of all the time | 0.11 |
| Get rid of the second fridge (or just switch it off) | 0.13 |
| Replace one 100W bulb with a 20W eco-bulb | 0.03 |
| FOOD | |
| Go beef-free two days a week | 0.34 |
| Halve beef consumption | 0.6 |
| Compost all food and garden waste | 0.1 |
| CAR | |
| Cut your annual mileage in half | 1.69 |
| Carpool to work with one other | 0.58 |
| Carpool to work with two others | 0.77 |
| Work from home one day a week rather than commute by car | 0.23 |
| Take the bus to work instead of driving | 0.75 |
| Work from home one day a week rather than commute by bus | 0.08 |
| Walk or cycle for 10% of average annual travel distance | 0.34 |
| If your car is old and inefficient, buy a new small car then sell the old one for scrap | 1.7 |
| Remove roof rack, correctly inflate tyres (and check every month), have vehicle tuned | 0.42 |
| Slow down, brake earlier and more gently | 0.69 |
| Open car window instead of using air con | 0.14 |
Notes on the maths
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are truly shocking. At 18.8 tonnes per person in 2005, we’re the 11th-highest emitters in the world. The good news? That figure’s a tad misleading. It takes all the emissions for the entire country, including agriculture and industry, but not subtracting the benefits of new forestry, and divides that figure by our population. An individual New Zealander has very little influence over most of their 18.8-tonne footprint.
We decided to base our calculations on just the measurable elements of our carbon footprint that are within our direct control: electricity use, transport and meat consumption (specifically beef, since it is by far the biggest dietary contributor to most people’s carbon footprint).
The carbon footprints calculated don’t include other food or drink, water use, entertainment, goods or services, since New Zealand-specific carbon data are not available in these areas. Nor do they include indirect emissions, such as individual shares of national building, health, education and roading emissions.
The following assumptions were made:
- The average New Zealand home houses 2.7 people and uses 7,833 kWh of electricity per year
- The average New Zealander uses 2,908 kWh of electricity per year
- One kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generates 0.21 kilograms of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases
- One litre of regular petrol generates 2.33 kilograms of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases
- The carboNZero Household Calculator (good.net.nz/2/carbonzero) was used to calculate carbon footprints, transport and waste emissions. We assumed all home energy was supplied by electricity, and all personal transport fuel was regular petrol
- Annual mileage is estimated to be 14,000 kilometres per year
- The average New Zealand car uses 11.2 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres travelled (by comparison, the average new small car uses 6 litres per 100 kilometres)
- Where not otherwise stated, we estimated 8.5 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres travelled (average emissions for a new, medium-sized family sedan) or selected ‘medium car (1.5–2 litre)’ in the carboNZero calculator
- Where not otherwise stated, we estimated daily commuting distance as ten kilometres
- Average consumption of beef (including veal) in New Zealand is 34.2 kilograms per year (94 grams per day)
- One kilogram of beef embodies 35 kilograms of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases (estimate based on overseas study matched to known New Zealand data)
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