Howoftendoyoutravelbyplane?Howmuchelectricitydoyouuse?Thesedayseveryoneisworriedaboutthesizeoftheircarbonfootprint.Inordertoreduceglobalwarmingweneedtomakeourcarbonfootprintssmaller.Buthowmuch

　　Howoftendoyoutravelbyplane?

　　Howmuchelectricitydoyouuse?Thesedayseveryoneisworriedaboutthesizeoftheircarbonfootprint.Inordertoreduceglobalwarmingweneedtomakeourcarbonfootprintssmaller.ButhowmuchCO2areweresponsiblefor?

　　AnewbookbyMikeBernersLee(aleadingexpertincarbonfootprint)mightbeabletohelp.HowBadareBananas?TheCarbonFootprintofEverythinglooksatthedifferentthingswedoandbuyandcalculatestheamountofCO2allofthefollowingcreated:theingredientstheelectricityusedinthebrewerytheequipmentthetravelandcommutingofthebeerandthepackaging.It’samazinghowmanydifferentthingsneedtobeincludedineachcalculation.Andit’sfrighteninghowmuchcarbondioxideeverythingproduces.

　　Butallofthiscanhelpusdecidewhichbeertodrink.FromBerners-Lee’scalculationsit’sclearthatapint(568ml)oflocally-brewedbeerhasasmallercarbonfootprintthanabottleofimportedbeer.Thisisbecausetheimportedbeerhasbeentransportedfromfarawayanditusesmorepackaging.Thelocalbeeronlyproduces300gofCO2buttheimportedbeerproduces900g!Soonepintoflocalbeerisbetterfortheenvironmentthanthreecansofcheapforeignlagerfromthesupermarket.

　　Berners-Leehasevencalculatedthecarbonfootprintofcyclingtowork.Nothingismoreenvironmentally-friendlythanridingabikesurely?Wellitdependsonwhatyou’vehadtoeatbefore.Torideabikeweneedenergyandforenergyweneedfood.Soifweeatabananaandthenrideakilometerandahalfourfootprintis65gofCO2.Howeverifweeatbaconbeforethebikerideit’s200g.Infactbananasaregoodingeneralbecausetheydon’tneedpackagingtheycanbetransportedbyboatandtheygrowinnaturalsunlight.

　　Sodoesthismeanthatcyclingisbadfortheenvironment?Absolutelynotforastartifyoucycleyoudon’tuseyourcarandthefewercarsontheroadthefewertrafficjams.AndcarsintrafficjamsproducethreetimesmoreCO2thancarstravelingatspeed.Cyclingalsomakesyouhealthyandlesslikelytogotoahospital.Andhospitalshaveverybigcarbonfootprints!

　　Somaybeit’stimeforusalltostartmakingsomechanges.Passmeabananaandapintoflocalbeerplease.

　　66.AccordingtoBerners-Leewhichofthefoll