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yates9's review against another edition
4.0
Good overview and breakdown of the mechanics of carbon accounting for different everyday items. A useful book.
Now the critique:
- only a passing mention on nuclear energy, and only in a veiled suggesting that its now ok to use electricity for heating because of nuclear generation in France. The nuclear energy discussion wouldbhave done well with a chapter.
- many measures of carbon impact are in different base comparison units so you can’t tell for example how to compare planting under water to over, etc..
- little to address how unlikely we are to solve certain challenges for example air flight, by just “not travelling” / this subject would be better served by modeling the full cost of a flight if we sequester its fuel
- no discussion on a carbon tax and how it would play
Basically the book takea you only half way and in the end suggests we protest and demand but the problem with Co2 is the actions we can ask for are few and lead straight into complex ethical tradeoff.
Now the critique:
- only a passing mention on nuclear energy, and only in a veiled suggesting that its now ok to use electricity for heating because of nuclear generation in France. The nuclear energy discussion wouldbhave done well with a chapter.
- many measures of carbon impact are in different base comparison units so you can’t tell for example how to compare planting under water to over, etc..
- little to address how unlikely we are to solve certain challenges for example air flight, by just “not travelling” / this subject would be better served by modeling the full cost of a flight if we sequester its fuel
- no discussion on a carbon tax and how it would play
Basically the book takea you only half way and in the end suggests we protest and demand but the problem with Co2 is the actions we can ask for are few and lead straight into complex ethical tradeoff.
daviest's review against another edition
5.0
Barring a few small editorial errors, this is a really fun book. It's light hearted, and doesn't have to be read cover to cover. I'd recommend to somebody who's interested in the relative impact on the environment of day-to-day things.
zwyrdish's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing. Everyone should read it. Many things were not intuitive.
lottemarleen's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 stars
Pretty interesting read especially for those who wish to gain a little bit more insight in the carbon emissions they are responsible for. Found the writing style a bit too conversational at times. Probably wouldn't re-read it cover to cover but will definitely use it as a reference guide in the future.
Pretty interesting read especially for those who wish to gain a little bit more insight in the carbon emissions they are responsible for. Found the writing style a bit too conversational at times. Probably wouldn't re-read it cover to cover but will definitely use it as a reference guide in the future.
rujein's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Interesting information
- True carbon footprint includes a host of indirect emissions.
- Carbon offsets are flawed and/or limited in scope. The only true offset is removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
- Rebound effect: more efficient technology typically results in higher-carbon living because our usage generally goes up by even more than the efficiency improvement.
Tips to reduce our carbon footprint
- Flights represent a significant proportion of our individual carbon footprint. Even if we take a short-haul holiday flight just once a year, that can represent tenth of our footprint.
- Everyone's footprint is different, and you can try to reduce your footprint based on how ready you are to make different types of changes and how much effort you are prepared to make.
- Transport
- Drive less or share the journey, think before buying a new car.
- A mile on an electric bike is more carbon friendly than a mile on a conventional bike because of how the rider obtains their energy (through food, which is very carbon unfriendly)
- Do not travel first-class because the weight being moved per person increases and that means more energy is needed to move per person.
- Luxury cruises are actually worse than travelling by planes :o
- Groceries
- It is always better to reuse bags. If a disposable bag is necessary, paper bags have bigger carbon footprints than plastic bags (which actually have a pretty low-carbon footprint, though there are other bad environmental impacts) because the paper industry is highly energy-intensive.
- Do not waste food!
- Try to reduce packaging
- Best to eat local (avoid airfreighted food) and seasonal fruits, and buy imperfect produce
- Carrots, apples, oranges, bananas and potatoes are all low-carbon.
- Strawberries and juices (because refrigeration is needed, transport miles are higher) are high-carbon.
- Dairy and meat are most carbon-intensive
- Method of cooking is important: use a lid so that no heat escapes, cut into smaller pieces, use induction hob cookier or pressure cooker.
- Appliances
- Carbon-friendliness of electricity use depends on the primary source of fuel for electricity in your country. If renewable energy sources are used, most electricity appliances would be more carbon-friendly than gas alternatives.
- Turn off lights and appliances when not in use. It is a myth that turning them on and off will be as inefficient as leaving them on.
- Run washing machines and dishwashers on the lowest temperature setting.
- Drying takes the most energy!
- There is little difference between using a paper towel or electric dryer to dry our hands (although a Dyson Airblade would be much more energy-efficient).
- Technology
- Our average email traffic is equivalent to driving 10-128 miles in a small petrol car. A genuine (read: containing actionables) email has a bigger carbon footprint because it takes more time to deal with (and the footprint of an email comes from the electricity needed to power the kit needed at each stage of the process).
- Zoom calls can help to save on carbon emitted by transportation (although pre-COVID, the rise of video-conferencing had simply gone hand-in-hand with the rise in air traffic).
- Buy quality devices and look after them
- Don't have more devices than you need!
- Clothes
- Buy less often, things that last longer and second-hand
- Choose recycled and renewable materials
- Wash clothes only when need
- Pushing for big system changes is important too!
wolfsonarchitect's review against another edition
4.0
This books important that provides readers with a sense of proportion on how personal and societal behaviors affect climate change. As we are bombarded by dos and don'ts it is essential that we develop a sense of what's important versus what to not stress about. Discussion of climate change and carbon footprint can quickly get into complicated science. This author shows that quick calculations can illustrate the relative proportions of different parts of our life on our carbon footprint.
merrinsh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5!! Interesting & well written though I am not scientifically minded enough to fully conceptualize