Celebrating Family &
Friends
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Lisa & I continue to track our carbon
footprint each year ("you can't manage what you don't measure"; ref).
We made more progress in 2020 by reducing our
dependence on Natural Gas (methane) in our home and
by driving only electric vehicles. Total emissions were up just a
bit from 2019 due to a big trip to New Zealand in January.
If not for this one long plane ride, our GHG
emissions would have been below the target set by the UN for
2050:
less than one metric ton of CO2e per capita. The massive reduction
in our carbon footprint over the past 15 years has
had little impact on our quality of life, and we hope to hit the
UN target -- without exceptions -- soon.
It has proven to us that very low carbon
lifestyles are completely attainable.
Emissions
factors used
1 kWh of SVCE electricity = 0.0 lbs
CO2e
1 therm of natural gas = 13.5 lbs CO2e
1 gallon of gasoline = 20 lbs
CO2e
1 passenger mile of air
travel = 0.5 lbs CO2e
1 CCF (748 gallons) water in Bay Area = 2 lbs CO2e
1 passenger mile of train travel = 0.25 lbs CO2e
1 serving of Beef = 12 lbs (and 1 CCF of water); Cheese: 5.4 lbs;
Pork = 4.8 lbs; Poultry = 2.8 lbs CO2e