Living A Carbon-Lite Lifestyle
by Laurine Brown

“Yes, I want to cook the planet.” I've never met anyone with these intentions, have you? But we (Americans especially) are told our lifestyles are gassy, belching excess pounds of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air, raising the Earth's temperature, shifting climates, coastlines, and potentially the fate of humankind as we know it. That's a heavy bite to swallow.

One problem is that our CO2 habits are invisible. What if the gas were visible? Like if big black balloons representing our emissions hovered over our habits? The Green Guide did some visual math for us: “One pound of CO2 would fill a balloon about 2 _ feet wide, and the amount of energy each of us uses every day, just to power our homes and drive our cars, would fill 47 of them. Imagine that for each member of your family 47 of those balloons are added to your home each day. In a week, a family of four would pack in 1,316 balloons, in a month 5,703, and in a year 68,432-enough to fill a building nine stories tall and 100 feet on each side. You wouldn't be able to find your house in it.” It's no wonder we're smothering our planet in greenhouse gases. The more balloons of CO2 in the air, the more heat they trap in our atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels to feed, clothe, transport, house, and entertain us is a major culprit.

Fortunately, climate action plans are heating up around the world. In December 2009 leaders from nearly 200 nations will gather at the Copenhagen UN Climate Summit to craft a treaty that would curb climate change. And to try to ensure that the treaty meets the latest science, a global grassroots campaign called “350” is organizing an International Day of Climate Action on October 24 bringing attention to the issues. The odd but clever name represents the number organizers want us to remember: 350 parts per million (ppm) which is considered the “safe upper limit” of CO2 in the atmosphere to maintain a stable climate. Currently we're at 384ppm. To achieve 350ppm, requires both individual and political shifts in the way we deal with food, energy and waste.

Find out ways you can be a part of the Climate Change movement, burst those big black CO2 balloons and live a more carbon-lite lifestyle. Check out these resources:

10-Step Carbon Diet - http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/energy-saving/lose-carbon
Want to loose 142 pounds (of carbon) a week? Follow this “diet” and you'll keep 7,000 gassy balloons of CO2 yearly from entering the atmosphere (or 3.5 tons off of the average 8.6 we produce from our homes and cars.) For example, washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot - bursts 9 ballons filled with 1 pound of CO2 per week. Wrapping your water heater and turning down the temp - bursts 16 weekly. And biking to work - bursts 12.

350: www.350.org
Founded by ecologist Bill McKibben, 350 is the worldwide campaign, described above, calling for an International Day of Action on October 24. Make it a point to do something good for climate this day. The website has news, scientific resources, and info on how to spread the 350 message, including “Ten Things You Can Do to Stop Climate Change” with ideas ranging from more sustainable transport to eating better foods, unplugging, and, electing climate champions.

Climate Culture: www.ClimateCulture.com
People are raving about this website. Appealing especially to youth, it transforms learning about your carbon footprint into a game, incorporating the best elements of carbon calculators, eco-product reviews, and community forums. You first create an avatar (your personalized character - mine looked rather smug). As with other calculators, you plug in your electric bill, yearly flights, and eating habits, and it spits out your footprint. But the neat thing is you get to play on a virtual island that reflects decisions you make in real life. You learn that eco-friendly habits - like eating a vegetarian diet - will stock your island with lush vegetation, wind turbines and even a wave-hopping catamaran. But your gassy habits - like heavy meat eating, driving everywhere - will create an arid island smothered in smog.

Carbon Footprint: www.CarbonFund.org
This is also a favorite site. A whopping 50,000 pounds. That's the average American's carbon footprint which includes emissions from your home, car, air travel and everything you use. The site has simple carbon calculators for individuals, businesses, and even for weddings (want to plan a zero-carbon wedding?). Reduce what you can, and offset what you can't is their message. They offer lots of simple doable tips, for example on reducing the footprint of your car, home, and office. For what you can't reduce, you can learn about purchasing carbon offsets - these represent a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce. Carbon offsets are the only way to get your carbon footprint to zero today.

Ecological Footprint: www.MyFootprint.org
and Consumer Consequences: http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/
Of course, there's more to your environmental impact than carbon emissions and climate change. Calculating your ecological footprint is a more holistic method, and these two sites are a good place to go (sponsored by Redefining Progress and the Center for Sustainable Economy and American Public Media, respectively.) Both ask you a series of lifestyle questions, calculating how many “Earths” of natural resources it would take to sustain all 6.6 billion human if everyone lived like you (mine was 3.1 to 5.2 planets, depending on how much I use my car - yikes!). And they offer lots of ideas for reducing your footprint.

Will you be part of the carbon-lite movement needed to bring us from 384 to 350ppm of atmospheric CO2? Every little bit you contribute counts.


References
o 350 @ www.350.org, viewed September 30, 2009.
o Carbon Footprint @ www.CarbonFund.org, viewed September 30, 2009.
o Climate Culture @ www.ClimateCulture.com, viewed September 30, 2009.
o Consumer Consequences @ http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/ sponsored by American Public Media, viewed September 30, 2009.
o Ecological Footprint @ www.MyFootprint.org sponsored by Redefining Progress and the Center for Sustainable Economy, viewed September 30, 2009.
o McRandle P. Lose 142 Pounds (of Carbon) in a Week. The Green Guide, National Geographic, March 1, 2008 @ http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/energy-saving/lose-carbon, viewed September 30, 2009.