Arriving home after a weeklong adventure at one of BC's premier back-county lodges, you settle back into your daily routine in the "real world". On holiday you were reading at night by the light of green energy, eating local food and recycling. Now that you're back you notice things in your daily life that were only in your periphery before. The short drive to the corner store now seems like an easy bike ride. The fifteen-minute shower begins to feel irresponsible. And the air conditioning blasting in the office seems counterproductive because everyone has to wear a sweater.
The carbon footprint of people in developed countries is the largest on earth and the effects will be felt for generations to come. The reality is that for every product and service consumed, carbon dioxide and a host of other greenhouse gases (GHG) are directly or indirectly created. Scientists agree that we have to reduce our GHG emissions. Whether it's a business or an individual, the first step to cutting GHG is quantifying total output - the carbon footprint.
Simply defined, a carbon footprint is the total amount of GHG attributable to the actions of an individual through energy use. It's also a way to see where emissions are coming from, what they cost and where they can be cut. Directly, transportation, heating and electricity all contribute to the carbon footprint. Indirectly, products used also have an effect on the footprint due to the materials, manufacturing, distribution, and disposal of the products. It can get pretty complicated trying to figure out the GHG emissions from each apple and piece of paper consumed, so we'll stick with direct emissions (but even if they're not calculated, indirect emissions should be considered).
The first step is to calculate transportation and electrical consumption. For example, for the daily commute fuel consumption would be converted into a carbon measure using one of the standard emission calculator available free on-line (www.treecanada.ca). The same goes for electricity, reading the meter or the monthly power bill to obtain the total. Once all the information is combined, the emission calculators give a total carbon output for a year.
Now take a look at consumption habits - the indirect emissions. Basically, the further a good travels to land in your hands, the more GHGs were produced along the way. A good rule of thumb: buy as local as possible.
This basic approach makes it easy to see where the most emissions are produced and is a great place to start figuring out where cuts can be made and subsequently costs reduced. Remember, not only will the environment benefit, the bank account will too. And reducing your footprint at home will make your next visit to a wilderness lodge appear a deeper shade of green.
Sean Kerrigan is the owner of EcoPeak Consulting. He is helping companies - like WTA members - to calculate their carbon footprint and reduce emissions. He can be reached at ecopeak@shaw.ca
