The Call to Become Carbon Neutral

Global climate change is already altering our world. From water stress and wildfires, to stronger hurricanes and sea level rise, to ocean acidification and habitat change, climate change is affecting the resources we need to live and thrive.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we can reduce the worst effects of climate change by limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

This is still possible if we cut global carbon emissions in half by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon emissions around 2050.

Because of human activities, global temperatures have already increased by 1°C since the pre-industrial era.

The time to act is now.

I study earth systems, and as I studied, I became painfully aware that while I worried a lot about climate change and talked a lot about it, the way I used energy and resources didn’t line up with my values. To feel at peace about my life and choices, I can’t just talk about climate action; I have to live it.

The world can be carbon neutral by 2050. Since I’m only one person, I believe my home life can become carbon neutral by 2030.

What is carbon neutrality?

For every ton of carbon emitted, another ton of carbon must be saved or absorbed from the atmosphere.

The best way to achieve net-zero carbon emissions is to reduce my overall carbon emissions. Since it may be difficult to reduce emissions down to zero, I will fund renewable energy projects to offset any carbon that my activities produce.

By 2030, I plan to reduce my carbon emissions by 80% (from a 2019 baseline) and offset the other 20% by funding renewable energy projects.

Why blog about this?

Many of the big changes I’ve made in my life have been the result of public accountability. (In 2011, a friend of mine bet that I couldn’t go without eating chicken or turkey for a whole month. I’ve been pescatarian ever since.) This blog will keep me on track while I reduce emissions.

And perhaps you, reading this blog, will be inspired to start your own journey to carbon neutrality, and together we’ll make the world a healthier place.

How will I do this?

The first step: to get an accurate estimation of my carbon footprint. I am not considering the resources I use for my research (my employer has its own sustainability goals), but my home energy use, transportation, food, and the products I buy all have a carbon cost. I’ll calculate my carbon footprint and use it as the 2019 baseline.

Next, I’ll research the best ways to reduce my carbon emissions, build them into my routine one by one, and calculate the carbon savings. I’ll share my struggles and successes as I work toward carbon neutrality with a limited budget and limited free time. To get to 80% reduction, I’ll need to rethink the way I interact with everything: my car, the food I buy, the clothes I wear, what I throw away or recycle, my hobbies, my lifestyle.

I’m looking forward to the journey. Thank you for walking along with me.

Or, why I’m not using the EPA’s carbon footprint calculator

Today’s the day; you’re going to calculate your carbon footprint! Where do you begin?

The obvious things come to mind first: the gas in your vehicle, maybe the gas you use to cook. Then there’s the electricity you use–but wait, how much of that is powered by coal and how much by nuclear, solar, or wind? That’s something to look up.

What about food waste? That emits carbon as it decomposes. What about the bagel that you bought for lunch? Carbon was emitted to produce that. What about the jacket in your closet? Or the ibuprofen in the cabinet, the toilet paper, the shoes? The plastic packaging on your groceries? Your groceries themselves?

This is exactly the problem that I ran into when trying to calculate my total carbon footprint. My solution is: think like a business.

When calculating their total carbon emissions, many businesses use a framework developed by Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a partnership that creates international reporting standards for greenhouse gas emissions. In the GHG Protocol, carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions are broken down into three classes.

Scope 1: All direct GHG emissions
Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased energy, heat, or steam
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, such as the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by you, electricity-related activities not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc. (Thanks to the GHG Protocol Frequently Asked Questions page)

I like this framework because it breaks down carbon emissions in terms of how direct they are. If I apply this to my own life, it looks something like this:

Scope 1: All direct emissions from transportation (car, flights, bus, etc.)*
Scope 2: All emissions from electricity use (appliances, water heater, A/C and heat)
Scope 3: The emissions that it takes to make, deliver, and dispose of everything that I buy (products, food, medicine, services, events, waste, etc).

*Under the GHG Protocol, emissions from flights or buses would be in Scope 3, since I don’t directly own them. I’m rolling all transportation into Scope 1 for simplicity’s sake.

There are many carbon emissions calculators online that are free to use, and one that I’ve often heard referenced is the EPA’s Carbon Footprint Calculator. It mainly deals with Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with only waste considered for Scope 3.

For me, this isn’t going to cut it. While reducing your transportation and electric emissions is a worthy first step, I’m looking to reduce ALL of my emissions.

Instead, here are two calculators that I’ve been impressed by:

CoolClimate Calculator by CoolClimate Network

The CoolClimate Network at University of California, Berkeley is researching carbon footprint analysis and human behavior, then taking that knowledge and developing software and social programs to let people make informed choices about their footprints. Their method of “consumption-based greenhouse gas accounting” lets you estimate your shopping carbon footprint based on how much money you spent on certain categories (data provided by CEDA 3.0 Climate–not the latest version, but definitely better than gathering the data and coding the whole thing by myself). By entering the number of calories from different types of food, you can calculate your food footprint as well. To top it all off, the site lets you see the average carbon footprint of the households in your zip code, and lets you compete by pledging to take actions to cut your emissions.

Carbon Footprint Calculator by Carbon Footprint

This UK-based consulting and carbon offsetting group has a free, individual carbon calculator with a good methodology section. This calculator also uses dollar amounts to estimate indirect carbon footprints from shopping, though the factors that are used are based on numbers in the UK and might not apply to the United States. While I’ll probably use the CoolClimate calculator for greater accuracy, I like the layout and documentation of this calculator.

The next step is to gather all of my records for 2019 to get the data I need for the calculator. This will provide a 2019 baseline for my carbon reduction calculations!

The next post will detail the calculations for the 2019 carbon baseline. See you then!