Carbon footprints

**Birdie Wife** · 28-09-2007, 10:41 AM

Three words, Grow Your Own!

And for the times when you need veg from the supermarket, try to buy as local as possible - we saw apples in the supermarket the other day from New Zealand, I mean, apples are in season, why do we need to fly them in from New Zealand??

**scared55** · 28-09-2007, 11:14 AM

Absolutely. We only ever buy French apples - and shall do so until our trees start producing.

Apparently, the energy cost of manufacturing CFLs is higher than for incandescent bulbs, but I haven't seen any figures to compare the relevant costs or the payback time.

KK

**Two_Sheds** · 28-09-2007, 01:51 PM

you inspired me to find out my carbon footprint
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.html
I know there are several such sites, and they all vary, and they may not be accurate anyway... my footprint is 6 tonnes of CO2 annually, the average is 10.9. I thought it would be less as I don't have a car, or holidays, or anything really.

**greenlung** · 28-09-2007, 02:15 PM

Hi - My footprint comes in at just under 3 tonnes of CO2 annually: I don't drive, haven't flown this year and get electricity from windmills (If I'm to believe NPower) Can't really get it any smaller, unless I turn the heating off completely this winter.

To reduce your footprint, you simply need to stop consuming so much, which I know goes against a capitalist market economy which believes in perpetual growth and the acquisition of stuff.

By the by...
1.8 tonnes of CO2 per person in India
8 tonnes per person in France - due to reliance on nuclear power

**HappyMouffe** · 28-09-2007, 02:29 PM

We've stopped using the tumble dryer, except when absolutely desperate (once in last 4 months or so), although I did think I'd got away from laundry strewn around the spare room when I stopped being a student; energy saving bulbs; hot water only in the evening (there's enough left for a good wash in the morning), growing our own. I have to drive to work (40 mins by car, 2 hours by public transport) but my husband takes the train.

Wwe must be reducing our energy usage: electricity bills have gone down 40% on this time last year, and gas around 30%.

On the negative side, we do fly abroad (Europe) twice/year. we've looked at taking the train, but it takes up an extra day of travel at least.

Birdiewife, I too have seen NZ apples this week - that's just bonkers!

**greenlung** · 28-09-2007, 02:32 PM

..New Zealand, Peru, Brazil, South Africa.... should be illegal !

**Winged one** · 28-09-2007, 02:41 PM

Don't know what my footprint is - must check sometime soon when I get a chance at home (all those sites are banned at work).

But I think it's crazy that we can't get any local apples in our supermarkets. In M&S I did manage to get some nice UK apples, and there are a few french ones around. But most of the apples I have found recently have been NZ, Sth Africa and Peru. I even asked in T***o, if they had or were going to be getting any Irish or UK apples and he said no! So I have been buying Irish strawberries and blueberries instead (which are unfortuneately a LOT more expensive).

And Irish meat is getting scarcer on the shelves too....no wonder the poor farmers are always complaining......

**Two_Sheds** · 28-09-2007, 03:04 PM

I've got UK apples...off my lottie! Only a tiny tree, espalier. I get about a dozen apples a year (I don't like them that much). If I did, I'd grow a whole fence of them.

UK fruit is a real problem - no nectaries, kiwi or bananas, which is all the fruit my OH will eat. We get blackberries, strawb, rasps, plums and greengages, but the season is short and you can't get your five a day like that. What to do?

**Alice** · 28-09-2007, 04:04 PM

My footprint came out the same as the UK average - 10.75. Guess we'll all have to try harder !

**Seahorse** · 28-09-2007, 04:25 PM

From the site linked above, our household footprint is 7.04 but that doesn't appear to take account of how much I recycle (lots!) or where I buy clothes etc (charity shops). I would prefer to use less energy on heating but when you're at home all day with a small child, you do need to be reasonably warm!

Claire

**pigletwillie** · 28-09-2007, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by greenlung View Post

By the by...
1.8 tonnes of CO2 per person in India
8 tonnes per person in France - due to reliance on nuclear power

But nuclear power is carbon free so it must be the much larger consumption of goods that bumps up the French footprint, not their electricity useage.

We compost everything that we can and recycle what we can. We have wood burning stoves which are carbon neutral (as well as traditional central heating), have massively insulated under our floors as we have no carpets. I drive a diesel car which gives more mpg than petrol and as we generally holiday moslty in France, dont fly much. In addition we are 80% self sufficient in veg et al and have few food miles to explain.

All of our lights are either led, 12v halogen or energy efficient compact fluros.

All in all we do our bit, however, the council insist on having every streetlight blazing away all night, Why not knock half of them off after midnight.

**Nicos** · 28-09-2007, 08:46 PM

Strange how things have changed over the years ( and I'm not really THAT old!!!!!)
When I lived with my parents and had a coal fire, we had to close all the doors inside the house,turn off the lights, and put 'sausages' under the doors to prevent draughts....

Then I bought my own little place and started to enjoy leaving lights on around the house and had central heating on in most rooms because it felt more homely ( ie - like a constant summer) ..and because, at a pinch , we could afford it.
Now we have student kids who leave every electrical appliance on and turn the central heating turned up with the window open for fresh air at the same time...
Can't believe we have brought them up to be so wasteful in that way- and yet they both are studying environmental issues at Uni!!! ( but learning every minute!!!!)
Our parents couldn't afford to waste their money - we could...and no... the planet can't cope.
How selfish have I been ?

**valmarg** · 28-09-2007, 08:52 PM

Originally posted by scared55 View Post

Absolutely. We only ever buy French apples - and shall do so until our trees start producing.
K

I can only assume that the french keep their decent apples for themselves. I would never ever buy french apples - golden delicious = tasteless waterbags, grannie smiths = tasteless leatherjackets.

valmarg

**Nicos** · 28-09-2007, 08:56 PM

Must say that now we also have a 2nd home in France( ....yes I know......

)we only have 9KW for the whole house so we have to be careful incase we trip the electricity ( our choice).
There is no way I could use the washing machine, tumbledrier ,dishwasher,hob, microwave,extractor fan,self cleaning pyrolitic oven, central heating, freezer, 2 fridges 3 computers, hot water,TV's etc etc as I do here.
2 very different lifestyles...and I would choose the French one anytime!
Thank goodness we GYO and recycle ++
Oh and yes....all the fruit we grow there is MUCH tastier than here - goodness knows why though????? ( especially the apples!!!!)

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