A reusable cotton shopping bag can be a salve for environmental guilt, but a collection of them can be a carbon emissions and water use disaster. According to various research, it takes about 150 uses to offset the embodied carbon footprint of a cotton bag. When you account for water use and other environmental impacts, researchers in Denmark and Britain […]
Our dining choices have environmental consequences, and even the best choices can produce carbon emissions. Traditional rice cultivation, which involves flooding fields annually, releases methane, a carbon-equivalent (CO2e) gas with 28 times the warming potential of CO2. Author Mike Berners-Lee explained in The Carbon Footprint of Everything, that one kilogram of rice generates 2.2 lbs. of CO2e under average production […]
What is the most used material in the world? Concrete, the basis for building most of the modern world, was invented during the Roman Empire and remains the most used material worldwide. In 2021, cement accounted for 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally, about 4.3 % of all greenhouse gas generated that year. Meet Grant Quasha, CEO of […]
When you shop, do you think about how far what you’re buying has to travel? The shipping industry produces 2% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions annually, and we can reduce that by buying items that don’t have to travel far to reach us. Choose brands that manufacture their products in the same hemisphere you are in to reduce the […]
What is the most used material in the world? Concrete, the basis for building most of the modern world, was invented during the Roman Empire and remains the most used material worldwide. In 2021, cement accounted for 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally, about 4.3 % of all greenhouse gas generated that year. Meet Grant Quasha, CEO of […]
Changing habits is hard when you can’t see and understand the impact of your actions. In this installment of our Carbon Calculating series, learn how to estimate your driving-related carbon footprint, including how to factor in the embodied carbon emitted during the manufacturing of your internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, whether it’s a car or light truck that runs on […]
If you work out, you are not alone. The 32-billion-dollar U.S. fitness industry includes over 40,000 health and fitness clubs and about 40% of Americans currently have a gym membership. While it’s wonderful news that so many people prioritize their health, our workouts often contribute to carbon emissions. Traveling to a gym by car or other vehicle and exercising there […]
Reducing travel for business and family visits is one of the most impactful choices we can make to reduce our climate impact. When we travel, we should make it count, but we can’t do that unless we understand the consequences for the environment. In this installment of our Carbon Calculating series, discover how to calculate your carbon emissions for air […]
Today’s carbon emitted into the atmosphere adds to the future cost of living through the climate crisis, a concept referred to as the social cost of carbon. To help clarify this abstract idea, we have an idea that lets you help future generations cover the social cost of carbon for the gasoline you use. At some point, governments or private […]
Dozens of governments, nonprofits, and companies have introduced carbon calculator websites and apps that promise to help each of us understand our carbon footprint. But it is still early days for these tools, and many questions need to be answered. Are they useful? Do they provide accurate information? How can we choose the right calculator? Choosing a carbon calculator should […]