The last Eco Hub of the year asked: How can we work out our carbon footprint? at a workshop at the Library. And the first CAPS talk of the new year will be on raising awareness of climate change and what we as individuals can do to help to the East Devon Luncheon Club.
This is one of the key aspects of the CAPS project: what choices we can make as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint. But it’s not that straightforward.
For example, there is a question around ‘eco-lighting’: Are LED lights making us ill? – in that the blue light from LEDs in smartphones and streetlights can interfere with sleep patterns in both humans and animals. In other words, we need to choose a ‘warmer light’ when looking at energy saving light bulbs and lighting.
Another example is that we might want to have solar panels on our homes, but, addressing concerns about these things, there is the question of disposal: the materials most panels have been made with have a life expectancy of less than 50 years and are difficult and expensive to recycle, raising the prospect of discarded panel mountains leaking dangerous heavy metals… However, the technology is improving, with this further question coming from today’s Independent: How long do solar panels last and can you recycle them when they’re dead?
Many of the problems are due to lack of political will, as we do have to ask: Why did a future of clean-energy abundance fail to arrive in the 1970s? And so we also have to ask what we really can do as families and individuals which will make a real impact on our carbon footprint.
Well, there are lots of websites that not only offer us practical guidance but show the real effects of any steps we might take. Here are a couple of examples from the last couple of months: Going Green: Simple Lifestyle Changes That Make a Big Impact and Worried about climate change? The evidence shows these are the most impactful actions you can take – BBC Future.
Ivy Harrington of the marketing agency ProGoNow in the United States has got in touch with a piece on How to Make Your Coffee Habit More Sustainable. As she says, Small changes, when done at scale, can make a measurable difference 🙂 And as the piece says:
Every step in the coffee process, from farming to brewing, has an environmental cost. But with thoughtful adjustments, that cost can be reduced. Whether you’re buying beans or choosing a brewing method, opt for options that reflect your sustainability goals. Over time, those decisions add up.
This is just one example of those choices we (can) make.
Finally, for more practical advice, have a look at the pages on Carbon Footprinting @ Climate Awareness Partnership Sidmouth.
An illustration of “the annual carbon emissions (measured in tonnes CO2e2) emitted as a result of the different activities that residents within your parish’s boundary engage in – from heating to eating.”
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