Now your making me laugh, if we reduced our carbon footprint to zero wouldn’t that mean we were not exhaling or perspiring ??????

I wonder if we could get carbon level labels on everything like we do for food values on packaging? It would be nice to be able to measure and compare ourselves. We all probably would reduce more if we knew the content of things.

The ending to your comment made me laugh.

I double checked the article and didn’t see any type of baseline number for our carbon output. I always assumed that we should be striving for zero carbon output, but that seems an impossible goal.

So now, like you, I’m wondering what we should be striving for. Thanks for bringing up that point! I’ll definitely have to look into it more. I’ll keep everyone updated if I find any kind of baseline number.

And to be a total pain….cows are very different from each other and therefore their diet. I raise a few dozen grass fed beef and I’m sure their methane output is less than half of what a feedlot cows would be. I wonder if I sold my cows and let the fields express themselves how much carbon would be released when they died off in the fall.

If you notice a pattern here with me it is that I want to do my part but I want to know what the trade offs are. I am willing to make personal sacrifices for the greater good but I have found that we frequently trade one evil for another.

I am definately on board with CFL’s, Tankless water heaters, Insulated Concrete Forms, Buying Local (including E-85) and recycling anything that can be recycled. But, God forgive me, I did use my hair dryer today.

keep the good info flowing,
Matt

As far as eating less meat goes, here’s an interesting quote from Planet Green (source: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/vegetarian-diet-carbon-footprint.htm ):

“Based on a study out of the University of Chicago in 2006, called “Diet, Energy, and Global Warming” (pdf): The average U.S. diet gets 47 percent of its calories from animal sources, resulting a carbon footprint of 2.52 tons per year. Eating a diet heavier in read meat — about 50 percent of a diet’s calories — results in a carbon footprint of 3.57 tons.

And from Scientific American Magazine (source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-greenhouse-hamburger )

“In 1999 Susan Subak, an ecological economist then at the University of East Anglia in England, found that, depending on the production method, cows emit between 2.5 and 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound of beef they produce. Because methane has roughly 23 times the global-warming potential of CO2, those emissions are the equivalent of releasing between 3.6 and 6.8 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere for each pound of beef produced.”

Eating less meat, or no meat at all, is a great way to just live lighter on the land (not to mention living healthier and saving money). I’ve been a vegetarian for over a year now, and for me it’s an ethical decision first, and an environmental decision second. But, I feel really good that I’m making less of an impact by my choice.

@Robyn- That’s great you don’t own a car! I’m the same way about my fridge too; it came with the house I bought, and I certainly don’t need one so big. I think most people could get away with a far small fridge than they have.

Couple of possible additions to your list, tankless water heaters, especially for people who use air.
E-85 ethanol, way better at the tail pipe and one of the few ways to “buy local” when it comes to fueling our cars.

Thanks so much for sending that link! I’ll definitely head over and have a look.

@Melissa,

That’s awesome you took the test!

The calculator (I think) automatically assumes it’s a year, so it’s taking that one month and stretching it out over 12. So, I think that you’re right and the house is off.