Reducing my carbon footprint
When I recently went for my hiking trip in Yosemite park, I had the lowest possible carbon footprint. I walked only, used no electricity and I also slept in a tent (without heating) despite the cold.
But being able to do this 4-day low carbon footprint hike came at a high (CO2) cost, as I had to fly from Singapore to San Francisco and back.
According to the Guardian, flying from London to New York and back generates about 986kg of CO2 per passenger, so a flight from Singapore to San Francisco must be around 2500kg, if not more. That would correspond roughly to leaving the light on in my room for three and a half years (using a traditional 100watt light-bulb), or driving in a taxi for three and a half days continuously (at 90km/h).
That means even though I took the taxi to the airport (because I always run out of time before flying off) and drove all the way from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park and back, the carbon footprint of taking the car was relatively minor compared to taking the airplane. Nonetheless, traveling through California made me realise how ingrained the problem of a high carbon footprint is linked to our existence, since basically everyone drove to any destination they needed to go to, and many people in SUVs (see also this link: SUVs second biggest cause of emissions rise, figures reveal).
Of course, this can easily lead us to resignation that it is pointless to do anything, as it won’t make a difference because everyone else is carrying on as before. But there are some arguments in favor of taking action yourself:
1) If one day things get much worse (and it looks like it will), the next generation will ask the older generation, why did you let it go this far? One day, your children might ask you what did you do to stop this? What will you say?
2) By leading with example we can influence others.
3) There is a threshold level at which there will be a shift in public opinion to reach a state where it becomes discouraged and unpopular to do environmentally unfriendly things. Each person changing brings us closer to that threshold.
What that means is that everyone should really start in their own life. Of course, it would be even better if we also take actions that influence others, but none of these efforts would be convincing if we did not also take sacrifices ourselves.
Which brings me to the important question, what can I do?
I guess my biggest carbon footprint is flying. On average I fly three to four times a year, twice to visit my parents and once or twice to go on some holiday or attend a conference. It would be difficult to eliminate or substitute flying to visit my parents in Germany. But I should consider if I can travel to regional places for holiday or conferences using alternative transport means, given that short time flights actually have a very high relative carbon footprint due to the disproportional CO2 emission during take-off. I would therefore hereby commit to flying only three times a year, twice to visit my parents and once for other reasons (with the exception of emergencies). It think I can achieve this by trying to combine work and holiday when flying.
But this does not really solve the more general problem in our society that when it comes to flying, there are certain expectations. I think it is great that Greta Thunberg traveled across the Atlantic by boat instead of an airplane to set an example. However, most employers would not be very open to the idea that their employees go on overseas holiday or work related trips via boat. If you go on holiday, it is expected that you fly back and forth to minimise lost time. Organisers of conferences assume that scientists will just fly anywhere. It would take a complete change of mindset to accept that people travel by more environmentally friendly means or that people would want to participate in conferences via telecommunication.
But as with everything, someone has to make a start. And I think it is ultimately up to organisational leaders to take responsible measures that encourage employees to refrain from flying. One option would be to give people who abstain from flying during their holiday bonus off-days. For conference, the organisers could give registration discounts for attendees who travel by train (where possible) or experiment with telecommunication sessions as part of a conference.
Are there other things that I can do to reduce my own carbon footprint? Although I don’t drive, rarely use taxis and don’t eat meat (although cheese and eggs products from livestock farming do have their carbon footprint, too), there are still things I can do for sure!
#1: Buying clothes! Clothes in fact have a very high carbon footprint, if one considers the whole process from manufacture, distribution, retail and disposal, which all result in CO2 release. The amount of clothes that is being produced and sold is staggering. And the ‘majority’ that makes up for this mass consumption carbon footprint are cheap clothes that get discarded after a few wears.
And I have to admit that the amount of clothes that I buy and never or rarely wear is staggering, too. Most of it I have gotten rid of now, but for some reason this still does not seem to stop me from wanting to buy new things.
One way to not feel tempted to buy things is obviously to not go shopping. But the problem is that even if we don’t go shopping, we are still surrounded by people wearing fashionable and trendy clothes every day, at least as long as we live in an urban environment. And even if we don’t, fashion is everywhere, in movies, television or the internet. So how do we stop following all the latest fashion trends?
First of all, we should ask why do we follow fashion trends? This may vary from person to person, but one reason is that we want to stand out. Thinking that we can stand out by following trends is obviously a major fallacy in our thinking. By following trends we blend in, and hence if we want to stand out, the logical consequence would be to not follow trends. Nonetheless, most people follow trends, including myself most of the time.
Another reason of why we follow trends is to be accepted by others and considered cool. When considering this, it helps to think about how we look at how other people dress. Actually, we care very little about how other people dress, and most of the time don’t even notice what they are wearing, as we are far too concerned with our own appearance. But if we do notice what someone else is wearing, then we probably feel envy if the person is very trendy, and perhaps pity if the person is late in following the trend or if the trend does not really fit the person’s physique.
In contrast, how do we feel if someone generally dresses uniquely and has his own style. I usually feel some level of admiration, whether I like the style or not. If I like the style, it inspires me. And if I don’t like it, I still think that that person has their own character, and he or she must be a very unique person.
So how do we want to be perceived by others, with jealousy and pity, or with admiration as a person that inspires and is unique.
Although thinking about following trends in this way may help, there must be more practical things that one can do? As usual, when I don’t have good answers to a question, like how to stop buying new clothes, I start reading on the web. And I must say that I have done most of the recommended things that are out there (look at your wardrobe to discover how much already have, throw the clothes that you don’t wear to be able to enjoy the clothes that you do like to wear, don’t go shopping, etc.). But there were a few tips that I found quite helpful.
The first tip is to determine your “personal uniform”, which should be somewhat unique, timeless and not go out of fashion. If we have our personal uniform, we won’t feel tempted to follow trends and other people. By wearing different clothes we don’t become a different person, but by wearing our own brand we can become a person that inspires others. Hence, although it is difficult, we should try not to be influenced by others.
This idea was well put here:
“Don’t follow trends find your own style, wear what suits you and never deviate from it. When you try to keep up with the latest fashions the best you can do is come second because there is always going to be someone out there who did it first.”
or
as Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
And when in doubt, it is good to remember that other people don’t look up to you because you are following the trend, but because you have your own style.
Another tip that I find really helpful is the #30Wears question – Are you likely to wear this item 30 times or more? This is really effective. I already tried this when deciding whether to keep or to throw some clothes, and it really works!
“Make a wishlist” – I think this is another great suggestion. You write down what you want to buy and only buy if it stays on top of your wishlist for long enough.
Being in control of my money and myself is a state that I want to achieve. And therefore, I have now committed to only buy maximally one piece of clothes per month. Maximally. Ideally it is none. But of course, sometimes we do need to buy some clothes for specific reasons. And the things that I am buying must be on the top of my wishlist for at least one week.
And while I am at it, I would also only buy one non-clothes item per month. This excludes things that I need to replace, like personal hygiene stuff, essential broken electrical devices.
I feel that this change is necessary for a number of reasons. The first is that it is a way to break a habit. I also want to feel that I am working because I enjoy it and in order to be able to help others, and not that I must work in order to afford my lifestyle. It also seems to be an interesting experiment. And lastly of course, I get to reduce my carbon footprint.
Another obvious thing to reduce our carbon footprint is to reduce our usage of electricity. Living in a tropical country, I guess the use of air conditioning is the major contributor. In fact, air conditioning is a major contributor to the temperature hike that has occurred in Singapore over the past decades. Although I don’t have air conditioning in my home, I do stay in air conditioned environments for most of the time, be it at work, in cafes or the gym when I do exercise (although most of my exercise is outdoors). I am also renting an air conditioned storage place for my records and other stuff (which I am trying to drastically reduce!). But what I can do is to really limit unnecessary electricity usage (turning off lights) and also limit going to shopping malls (there are really too many in Singapore), which must have a huge aircon bill.
But the most important thing we can do is inspire others to be more carbon conscious, by living by example and explaining to others the rationale for what we are doing.