Can somebody tell me about carbon footprint?

On the topic of CO2 sequestration, anything natural is going to be a gnat's fart in the hurricane of anthropogenic fossil CO2 release - artificial CO2 sequestration will be necessary. One really promising technology is a BECCS power plant, where biofuels are burned for energy and some of that energy is used to run a carbon capture system on that same plant - making this a *carbon-negative form of power generation.*

This would also seem to be an ideal way to mitigate the increased risk of wildfires - burn the old dead trees in a BECCS plant before they all go up together.

Grizz said:

Stop using keurigs. Not using single serve, stupid bullE36 M3 designed to be chucked into a landfill once you're done with it is the easiest way to reduce that crap.

 

I use compostable only cups and compost them. 

So what I'm taking away from this that actually addresses the question is this...

Don't use straws, Styrofoam, or plastic bags.  Recycle as much as possible.  Stop buying crap.  Drink beer from the tap or growlers.  Don't drive as much.  Buy used good quality non plastic stuff.

I should probably stop racing too.  But, I wont.

Thanks yall.

wvumtnbkr said:

So what I'm taking away from this that actually addresses the question is this...

  Drink beer from the tap... .

I'm getting conflicting information.  I tried this at my local bar and, well, let's just say that they frown upon it.

"Carbon Footprint" was coined by someone to monetize the process by which man is terra forming this planet.

aircooled said:

CrustyRedXpress said:

...WE are now the stinky roommates...the rest of the world has committed to cleaning up it's act...and is making progress in doing so. 

Well....

CoalSwarm published a report on September 26 warning that 259 gigawatts of coal power capacity – equivalent to the entire coal power fleet of the United States – is being built in China despite government policies restricting new builds

https://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/10761-China-is-building-coal-power-again/en

 

Like I mentioned, the realities of the world and how it operates.  Countries (let's be blunt... China), like people, are ultimately selfish in general .

1. It is precisely because they are selfish-and fear the realities of climate change-that countries like the US and China will change. 

2. Coal power in China vs. US isn't really relevant as we have been lowering our reliance on coal for a while now. A better comparison is per capita CO2; In 2014 the US was at 16.5 and China was at 7.5. If we could cut our per capita C02 rate to China's we'd be well on our way to solving the problem (Data from worldbank https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/en.atm.co2e.pc)

3. China has showed it is more serious than we are about climate change-putting in place a cap and trade system, signing the paris accord, and more. Even if they had no intention of lowering their emissions it would still be in our best interests to drastically lower ours, and encourage our partners to do the same.

Again, perhaps the best thing we can do is avoid falling into the trap of nihlism. Climate change is a problem, like any other, and it can be solved.

Just to get technical, and I am no expert.

Citing the US's carbon output and China's carbon output in terms of "per capita" seems a bit flawed. More people in China, lots more, and I'd be willing to bet more of them live in relative poverty and consume less/produce less simply by living the only life available. Again, I could be way off since I really don't know the population layout of china i.e. whether more of the population lives in cities vs rural. Anyway, a population of 1.4b that puts out X pollution per capita I don't think can be reasonably compared to a country of 300m that puts out 2X pollution per capita. Again, no expert.

Climate change happens. It will continue. The best use of resources to deal with it is to find ways to adapt. Regardless of climate change, be a good steward of your environment and resources. Waste is wasteful, pollution is unhealthy and ugly. Altering a personal 'Carbon Footprint' won't change the world, but if it makes you feel good, it's worth it. So is picking up someone else's trash as you walk across the parking lot.

AAZCD said:

Climate change happens. It will continue.

Not like this it hasn't.

Also, everyone altering their personal carbon footprint is exactly what will change the world...or, more to the point, keep it from changing. If everyone tells themselves that they're individually powerless, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

How about this:  Take care of your E36 M3.

We bought a house that was a short sale.  We've hauled literal dumpsters of trash to the landfill- recycled all the metal, burned all the non-pressure treated wood- and STILL hauled DUMPSTERS of stuff to the landfill.  We've consumed hundreds of kilowatts of electricity and tons of building supplies- most of them new- simply to restore a house to habitable condition.  Why?  Because the dunceheads who lived there for half a dozen years before we did did literally zero maintenance on the house, and took off without shutting off the water so E36 M3 froze and broke.  

As far as I'm concerned, those motherberkeleyers' carbon footprint is eleventy billion times bigger than mine will ever be.  

Take care of your E36 M3.  

AAZCD said:

So is picking up someone else's trash as you walk across the parking lot.

Anyone else do this? I do this regularly; in spring, summer, and fall the wife and I take an evening walk about 4 times a week and I probably come home with trash 3 of those times. 

my wife is from Illinois (and we live in illinois currently) but she has a few friends from college and me who are all from colorado. She swears that only people from colorado - and everyone she knows from colorado - pick up trash while on walks. 

makes me proud of my homestate!

Robbie said:

AAZCD said:

So is picking up someone else's trash as you walk across the parking lot.

Anyone else do this? I do this regularly; in spring, summer, and fall the wife and I take an evening walk about 4 times a week and I probably come home with trash 3 of those times. 

my wife is from Illinois (and we live in illinois currently) but she has a few friends from college and me who are all from colorado. She swears that only people from colorado - and everyone she knows from colorado - pick up trash while on walks. 

makes me proud of my homestate!

My mother is so gung ho about picking up trash that she carries a disposable shopping bag when she goes hiking to collect any and all litter in the woods.  And has trained the grandkids to run and fetch each bit of litter as if it was gold so they are proud and excited to leave each path cleaner than they found it.

wvumtnbkr said:

  Drink beer from the tap or growlers.  

Yet there has been a push by micro-brewers to go away from growlers and towards "crowlers" - big, 32 oz cans they fill and cap when ordered.  Because they believe it's "better for the beer".  That may be the case (apparently I'm not enough of a beer-snob to notice), but it seems rather wasteful to me.

Ian F said:

wvumtnbkr said:

  Drink beer from the tap or growlers.  

Yet there has been a push by micro-brewers to go away from growlers and towards "crowlers" - big, 32 oz cans they fill and cap when ordered.  Because they believe it's "better for the beer".  That may be the case (apparently I'm not enough of a beer-snob to notice), but it seems rather wasteful to me.

The brewery just down the street from me does growlers. We have two. My issue is they are way too big - unless we are having a party (or I want to get plastered) I won't drink the half-gallon in one night. If I could fill 6 12oz glass bottles instead, that would be swell. 

red_stapler said:

and who, in your vast journalistic expertise, would you say buys the stuff that those 100 corporations produce, Adam H Johnson?

GameboyRMH said:

 

Also, everyone altering their personal carbon footprint is exactly what will change the world...or, more to the point, keep it from changing. If everyone tells themselves that they're individually powerless, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That's exactly the way I approach it. I have no control whatsoever over what mega corps do, or governments, or my neighbors, or my spouse. I can only change what I do and teach my kid so that he can hopefully have less of an impact than I did. If you want to change the world start with yourself. 

red_stapler said:

While this is technically true it's misleading to simply blame the companies for it. This story goes into more detail:

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change

Many of these 100 companies sell fossil fuels. They don't just burn these fossil fuels directly for fun or profit in some secret volcano lair. Regular people like you and me buy those fossil fuels and burn them in our cars. Or we buy them indirectly and have them burned in planes and power plants etc. on our behalf.

Those fossil fuel companies deserve blame for a laundry list of things, funding massive climate science disinformation campaigns being possibly the worst thing, but selling people the fossil fuels they want is not something they should be blamed for.

Nick Comstock said:

GameboyRMH said:

 

Also, everyone altering their personal carbon footprint is exactly what will change the world...or, more to the point, keep it from changing. If everyone tells themselves that they're individually powerless, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That's exactly the way I approach it. I have no control whatsoever over what mega corps do, or governments, or my neighbors, or my spouse. I can only change what I do and teach my kid so that he can hopefully have less of an impact than I did. If you want to change the world start with yourself. 

Michael Jackson is starting with the man in the mirror. 

Robbie said:

Ian F said:

wvumtnbkr said:

  Drink beer from the tap or growlers.  

Yet there has been a push by micro-brewers to go away from growlers and towards "crowlers" - big, 32 oz cans they fill and cap when ordered.  Because they believe it's "better for the beer".  That may be the case (apparently I'm not enough of a beer-snob to notice), but it seems rather wasteful to me.

The brewery just down the street from me does growlers. We have two. My issue is they are way too big - unless we are having a party (or I want to get plastered) I won't drink the half-gallon in one night. If I could fill 6 12oz glass bottles instead, that would be swell. 

Assuming your brewery's growler is 64 oz, do they offer a "grumbler"?  - a 32 oz mini-growler. 

On a side note, how long will a growler full of beer stay fresh? 

1988RedT2 said:

On a side note, how long will a growler full of beer stay fresh? 

 

I've never tried to keep it in the fridge un-opened... but I can tell you the leftover goes flat overnight if you don't drink the whole thing. I bet it would be just fine for 3-4 days if you didn't open it. 

GameboyRMH said:

Many of these 100 companies sell fossil fuels. They don't just burn these fossil fuels directly for fun or profit in some secret volcano lair.

LOL!  Thanks for pointing out how that is misleading.

Robbie said:

1988RedT2 said:

On a side note, how long will a growler full of beer stay fresh? 

 

I've never tried to keep it in the fridge un-opened... but I can tell you the leftover goes flat overnight if you don't drink the whole thing. I bet it would be just fine for 3-4 days if you didn't open it. 

Sounds about right, although I tend to lean towards stouts and whatnot that don't have a lot of carbonation.  So I don't really notice when they go flat.

ShawnG said:

Don't have kids.

 

that was our solution. This way I can have a fossil burning 400hp C10 that gets 10mpg.