Lets Do This!

Everything Matters. Some Things Matter More

Do I really need to unplug my phone charger?

Should I heat my water on the stove or in the microwave? Should I use hot water from my tap or start with cold water?

Everything matters, but some things matter more.

A quick look at residential energy use suggests that space heating, water heating, and space cooling are the top three energy users. This means that if we want to reduce our energy/emissions, we need to focus on those three. Changing your thermostat settings just a couple of degrees for a few hours a day can make a difference. (See Measure It).

But you will notice that things like iPhones and TVs don't even make the list. Most of our electricity use falls into the "Other" category.

This means that Everything Matters - we need to pay attention to small things as well as big things but our focus should first be on the big things.

As per our pledge goal of a 10% reduction, the low hanging fruit is the thermostats. Unplugging your refrigerator to get you a 5% reduction is not an option. But, what about unplugging the garage refrigerator that is not being fully utilized?

Finding Baseline Emissions

If your goal is to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%, the first step is to determine your carbon dioxide emissions or Carbon Footprint.

But some background is needed. There are two broad categories of carbon emissions: direct emissions and indirect emissions.

Direct emissions refer to the energy (and subsequent emissions) you purchase and use directly. This is the electricity and natural gas used in your home, and the gasoline you purchase and burn in your vehicle.

Indirect emissions are the emissions related to the food you eat, the purchases you make (clothes, gadgets, appliances), and the emissions from data centers and AI computers when you are using social media or watching Netflix or other streaming services.

Carbon emissions for an average person in the US is about 10,000 kg per year* or about 30 kg per day, but these emissions vary widely based on income and lifestyle choices.

The easiest way to calculate your carbon footprint is to use a carbon footprint calculator. There are many calculators available and each has a slightly different method of entering data and makes different assumptions. I prefer CFCalc calculator because it is the one I created :) and I have verified that the results are reasonable.

For an average person, the breakdown of emissions for the different categories might be something like this:

Direct Emissions

• Transportation 4000 kg/yr or 11 kg/day

• Electricity 1300 kg/yr or 3.5 kg/day

• Natural Gas 2000 kg/yr or 5.4 kg/day

Indirect emissions

• Diet 1500 kg/yr or 4.1 kg/day

• “Things” 1500 kg/yr or 4.1 kg/day

Calculating Your Reductions

Please don't fear the word "Calculating". We will make this easy.

Transportation Emissions

Transportation is likely your largest source of emissions. This is where you will have the most impact.

Home Emissions

Home emissions make up about 1/3 of your emissions. See what the big contributors are and what changes are most meaningful.

Buying stuff has many impacts, one of them being the carbon emissions. These emissions are harder to track. Learn how here.

Consumption Emissions