Kate's emissions as estimated by the Government of Canada
Friday, January 28, 2005
One Tonne Challenge
Have you taken the one tonne challenge yet? I did. I was shocked at my results. While I am below the Alberta average of 8 tonnes of CO2 per person, at 6.69 tonnes I am well above the national average of 5.5 tonnes.
Why am I shocked? I live in a downtown apartment and as a result put less than 6000km per year on my car. I keep the thermostat low, I strive to minimize waste (natural for a Scot), I bring my own bag, and I recycle. I am on the community tree committee- but the Challenge doesn't account for trees planted. The emissions calculator has its limitations and I think the estimates are high to motivate people. I am now motivated. Take a look at my stats in the 5:39 PM post to see what I can do.
Forty-two percent of my emissions are generated by appliances: a fridge and a dishwasher. The building managers just put in a new fridge which uses about 25 kWh per month less power than the old clunker. Sadly, this does not get me any points in the Challenge because the new fridge is not an Energy Star appliance. I have asked for a new dishwasher as the dishes don't come out clean unless I run the dishwasher half full. The building manager said no. It seems that I can't control this huge portion of my emissions.
Next on the list is heating and cooling at 23%. The Challenge tells me I have done all I can here: lowered the temperature setting, no air conditioning, live in an apartment building.
In third place is transportation. I already strive not to drive so I am doing two things differently this year. First, I will be filling up at full serve Husky stations with up to 10% ethanol blend. I'm not yet convinced that the emissions reduction from burning ethanol is significant. I am doing this largely because I was sprayed with gasoline from a leaking pump at a self-serve Esso gasoline station on Christmas Eve. No more Esso for me. The second thing is reducing my gasoline L/100 km. I will drive at less than 90 km/h on the highway (when safe to do so), stick to the speed limit in the city, accelerate slowly, and reduce braking by thinking ahead.
The only other significant items are lighting and household waste. I'm not sure how the Challenge calculates emissions from lighting. I am doing all I can here. I only have one light on at a time. The one light in the house that is ever on for more than 3 hours at a time is now a compact fluorescent bulb. I will do a study on how I can reduce my household waste. The most significant change will be to start composting. This really is a challenge in an apartment as vermicomposting is the most convenient option. I'm not sure how I'll sleep knowing red wriggler worms are chomping away in my apartment.
In the eyes of the challenge, which isn't sophisticated enough to include all of my reductions, I will fail to reduce my emissions by one tonne. Failure should not be an option. I have thought of only two ways I can meet the challenge. I can move to a smaller apartment or I can get a roommate. I do think a roommate is a good idea.
One of the main reasons emissions are so high in Canada is that everyone wants to have their own massive box to live in. Individual before community. Five people living alone in 2000 square foot houses who use energy star appliances still use about 4 times the energy of the same five people living in one house and sharing appliances. If we ever want to meet the Kyoto targets, the first thing we must do is become closer to each other. Share houses, apartments, and rooms. The image that comes to mind is Dr. Zhivago coming home from the war to find dozens of people sharing his home. What makes all of the difference in Canada today is that we won't be starving and freezing so we have a chance at getting along. Cutting my rent in half won't be a bad thing either.
Making a major lifestyle change like this sounds extreme but it is time we realized that recycling pop cans just doesn't cut it any more. I resolve to find myself a roommate this year. Doing this will help the environment, decrease my cost of living, and (if I am lucky) provide a greater sense of community.
Why am I shocked? I live in a downtown apartment and as a result put less than 6000km per year on my car. I keep the thermostat low, I strive to minimize waste (natural for a Scot), I bring my own bag, and I recycle. I am on the community tree committee- but the Challenge doesn't account for trees planted. The emissions calculator has its limitations and I think the estimates are high to motivate people. I am now motivated. Take a look at my stats in the 5:39 PM post to see what I can do.
Forty-two percent of my emissions are generated by appliances: a fridge and a dishwasher. The building managers just put in a new fridge which uses about 25 kWh per month less power than the old clunker. Sadly, this does not get me any points in the Challenge because the new fridge is not an Energy Star appliance. I have asked for a new dishwasher as the dishes don't come out clean unless I run the dishwasher half full. The building manager said no. It seems that I can't control this huge portion of my emissions.
Next on the list is heating and cooling at 23%. The Challenge tells me I have done all I can here: lowered the temperature setting, no air conditioning, live in an apartment building.
In third place is transportation. I already strive not to drive so I am doing two things differently this year. First, I will be filling up at full serve Husky stations with up to 10% ethanol blend. I'm not yet convinced that the emissions reduction from burning ethanol is significant. I am doing this largely because I was sprayed with gasoline from a leaking pump at a self-serve Esso gasoline station on Christmas Eve. No more Esso for me. The second thing is reducing my gasoline L/100 km. I will drive at less than 90 km/h on the highway (when safe to do so), stick to the speed limit in the city, accelerate slowly, and reduce braking by thinking ahead.
The only other significant items are lighting and household waste. I'm not sure how the Challenge calculates emissions from lighting. I am doing all I can here. I only have one light on at a time. The one light in the house that is ever on for more than 3 hours at a time is now a compact fluorescent bulb. I will do a study on how I can reduce my household waste. The most significant change will be to start composting. This really is a challenge in an apartment as vermicomposting is the most convenient option. I'm not sure how I'll sleep knowing red wriggler worms are chomping away in my apartment.
In the eyes of the challenge, which isn't sophisticated enough to include all of my reductions, I will fail to reduce my emissions by one tonne. Failure should not be an option. I have thought of only two ways I can meet the challenge. I can move to a smaller apartment or I can get a roommate. I do think a roommate is a good idea.
One of the main reasons emissions are so high in Canada is that everyone wants to have their own massive box to live in. Individual before community. Five people living alone in 2000 square foot houses who use energy star appliances still use about 4 times the energy of the same five people living in one house and sharing appliances. If we ever want to meet the Kyoto targets, the first thing we must do is become closer to each other. Share houses, apartments, and rooms. The image that comes to mind is Dr. Zhivago coming home from the war to find dozens of people sharing his home. What makes all of the difference in Canada today is that we won't be starving and freezing so we have a chance at getting along. Cutting my rent in half won't be a bad thing either.
Making a major lifestyle change like this sounds extreme but it is time we realized that recycling pop cans just doesn't cut it any more. I resolve to find myself a roommate this year. Doing this will help the environment, decrease my cost of living, and (if I am lucky) provide a greater sense of community.
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