The first time I calculated my “Ecological Footprint” was probably three years ago. Since that time and the ghetto student life, my lifestyle has grown to consume a lot more. According to zerofootprint.net, if everyone consumed like me, we would need 3.6 Earths. By comparison, the average Canadian has a footprint of 1.9 Earths and the average person in China or Japan has a footprint of 0.5 Earths.
Current Footprint
With this metric in hand, I can quantify how much I need to reduce my consumption to bring my footprint down to 1.0. I think that I have a head start, because I’m already a fuel conscious driver. I reuse paper. I’ve been trying to eat less meat. I take transit whenever I go downtown. And much to the distaste of my family, I like keeping the A/C off.
But these are all tiny steps. And I can definitely do more. I need to reduce my transportation impact by 90%! Considering that is purely driving to and from work, I’m either going to have to find a new job, or move to Mississauga. Since neither of those things sound very enticing, (or practical), I’m going to start by buying some carbon credits.
Target Footprint
Carbon offsets is an idea where you give some money to renewable energy generators, or tree planters, and by funding those activities, they will reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. Personally I have lots of criticisms of the idea of offsetting carbon, but I think that they are an unfortunate but necessary evil. There are three main components that I’m offsetting.
Electricity Consumption 3.0 tons for $200
My household is pretty average. In the last 12 months, we consumed 9,997 kWh - that’s an average residential customer in Ontario and about 2.6 metric tons of CO2 emitted. To offset this, I could go straight to a renewable generator - Canadian Hydro: “Canada’s premier independent developer of EcoLogo® certified low-impact renewable energy”. They sell Renewable Energy Certificates for $0.02/kWh (about $200 to power my house with renewables). A bit more expensive than other offset/tonne options, but this makes renewables 2 cents more competitive relative to cheap cheap dirty dirty coal.
Automobile Consumption 7.0 tonnes for $60
Probably my worst offender is my Mazda3. Not the worst on fuel consumption, but I drive it enough (about 36,000 km/year) to make it account for the majority of my emissions. I offset a year of consumption on Clean Air Pass mainly because I found the link on Facebook. According to their website, about 70% of my money will go towards buying emission credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange. Canada does not currently have an emissions trading system.
Air Travel 0.7 tonnes for $14
Later this month I’m traveling to Las Vegas for a week. That’s almost 7,000 km right there. Carbonzero.ca lets you offset your direct and indirect emissions from air, travel, electricity and gas usage at a cost of $22/tonne to build wind turbines in Alberta, or $36/tonne to retrofit the lighting in low-income family households. I’m sending my movie theatre admission to Alberta so that all that oil sand development can be powered by wind.
Wow so looking at all that, it’s quite a bit of money per year in emissions for no perceived benefit. I won’t even get a tax credit! Step two will involve making better use of my money with some environmentally conscious investments, and step three will involve making better use of my time with some volunteering.
Until then, read this great Daily Grist on carbon offset options in the US.