Wow. I Am One Big Ball of Emmisions…and Not The Fun Kind
Yesterday Bubanmom posted about her emissions…..and I decided to take a real whiff of my own. Now… it took some working to get my brain cells together and figure out where I and the family rank so don’t be too hard on me if I overlooked something.
Transportation….not shabby. 12% of average usage. OK. I live in a huge city and driving isn’t really required. I won’t pat myself on the back too hard, especially because we are still over the goal usage. We had to calculate for public transport and our car, which we use mainly for leaving the city. (Yes, I have a car in NYC. Let the hate mail roll.) Also, we fly at least once a year. I didn’t see any way to calculate that into my number. (The subways actually run on electricity,but that is probably a bit nit picky.)
Electricity… 50% of the average usage. Better than I thought considering we have 3 laptops and a desk top, plus the sewing machine and iron. On the positive side we did install all energy star appliances last year when we did a kitchen remodel. Our actual number is probably a little higher due to the power the building uses. We definitely can do better on this. We just switched to about 1/2 CFLs, which weren’t part of the last bill. We are also looking into using a type of green switch to shut down the electronics more completely at night. My guess is this number is on its way down a little already.
Heating & Cooking…1% for cooking. I am going to have to guesstimate that our heating is close to average based on our maintenance bill. Heating isn’t separated from taxes, staff salaries, etc. Our building is hot. And I don’t mean that in the do you wanna come see my etching kind of way. We are trying, as a collective, to find a way to solve the heat problem.
Garbage… 31%. I think we are actually a little better than this, but I rounded up. The garbage usually goes out 2 to 3 times a week. I went with 3 as to not cheat.
Burbanmom would be so proud; I actually weighted it. Well, one bag and did a little math. I am hoping the plastic reduction steps will bring this down to a solid two bags a week, which would drop our number a solid 10 points.
Water…I have no idea. I assume we are between optimum and average usage. No lawn, low flow toilets, wash the kids together. But…run the dishwasher everyday, although I hear that is more efficient than hand washing in terms of water. My husband and I both shower everyday. We live in a building that uses water for landscaping and washing the garage, etc.
Consumer Goods… 104%. Yikes. Again this is a little tricky to figure out. Our credit card bill is usually about 2-3000 a month, which we charge almost everything and pay it off each month so I thought it represents pretty fairly where our consumer money goes. I also included all of the fabric for my bags…not sure where else to put that. I also put wine, and services like Netflix and DVR here. Without business expenses, services, and spirits we came down to 68%. I’m sure somewhere between there is the right number. Higher than I would have guessed. ****I have a real problem with how this category is figured. No….I am not just whining because the number makes me look like a huge stuff piggie. How much you spend doesn’t seem as relevant as the quantity of stuff you are getting. If I spend $100 on a shirt and my neighbor spends $100 on 10 cheap shirts I would think her impact was far greater. The fabrics I buy are expensive BECAUSE they are lower impact. Some one could spend the same amount and get 4x the amount of chemical laden fabric, causing much more of an impact on the environment than my little organics. This category would be better evaluated with an extended stuff index.****
Food: My best guess is we are about 25% relatively local and 75% everything else. Way off their goals. This would really be the toughest for us to alter. Our CSA goes from April until October. For the rest of the year I choose organic over local. We could be better about tracking down dairies, egg farms, and chicken sources. (Our CSA does offer an egg share that would be an easy switch.) Other changes would require time to make; making bread, yogurt, etc.
There were definitely a few really hard categories to factor: traveling, restaurants, business materials that will be passed on to customers, and other energy consumption that happens outside the home. Also, where do recyclables fit in? I didn’t count them with garbage- but all recycling still takes a bit of energy to collect and process. Were do services fit in? Class fees? Repair fees? Netflix? DVR? There is no product, but obviously they require energy. Not sure where they fit into the equation.
Also, and most importantly, can I count wine as a food group? (Not that it would save my sorry ass numbers…I don’t buy local or even organic. Those Frenchies stomp themselves a mean grape. )
My thought would be to count the business as its own entity. So all the stuff you buy and energy used for the businesses counts on its own. Makes it more fiddly, but might make your numbers a little better.
Wow, great post. Really nice level of detail and very inspiring. And I totally agree about the consumer goods thing.
That is a good idea Heather. Besides making my personal numbers a little less pathetic, it would also give me a clearer understanding of the impact of the business as a separate entity. How green is it really? Hmmmmmm…..interesting.