Green Page

Our cool climate team got together last weekend and reported on calculating our carbon footprints. Some folks had trouble finding the information required. We coached each other on calling our utility companies, looking at on-line accounts, consulting utility bills, and determining gas mileage. Most of our team had completed the assignment. Some were shocked at what they found. Even though most of us thought of ourselves as pretty green, there was still plenty of room for improvement.

I hadn’t checked my gas mileage for years so decided to do it again just out of curiousity. I’m keeping a notepad on my dashboard and logging how many miles I drive and where. I don’t drive much. I take the bus to work 4 or 5 days a week. I live in town so I can walk or bike to do most of my errands. Most of my driving was to go on longer trips or occasionally haul things around. I estimated my car use and mileage for the carbon calculator and was satisfied with my results.

But wait! I share my house with a man and a dog. I had to add theirs to mine for a total household equation. The man works at home most of the time. But while I’m at work the two of them go out for long walks in the big woods.

Webster was a 7 month old stray when they brought her to the shelter.  We got her last winter and tried to walk her around the neighborhood on a leash. However, she’s a hound dog and if you’ve ever known a hound dog you know they have to run. If she doesn’t get out and race through the woods for at least an hour everyday, she goes crazy and drives us crazy, too. Trying to keep her on a leash is like trying to hold on to the Tazmanian Devil. 

When the man of the house left for a week, I took over dog duty and began to realize how much driving my dog requires. We drive her the shortest distance to a trailhead where we can let her loose and still it’s at least 4 miles a day. On the weekends we take her and ourselves on different trails for variety which might double the distance. It adds up to 30-40 miles a week!   Short trips are the hardest on your car and the most polluting for the environment. Could we teach our dog to ride a bike? Maybe we should get an electric bike with a trailor for the dog.

Then I started wondering where her food comes from. I checked the dog food bag. The ingredients were corn, wheat and meat biproducts. It was distributed by a company in Tennesee. She recently enjoyed some locally smashed pumpkins  and occasionally scores some local seafood on beach walks. But the bulk of her meals come from far away fields and cost alot of carbon to get to her bowl.

The next step in the Low Carbon Diet, after calculating your carbon footprint, is reducing garbage. So last week, just before I took it out to the street, I weighed my garbage. Just a pound for me, mostly plastic. I have a compost pile, worm bin and a large cart for recyclables. I’m trying to reduce the flow of junk mail and to shop wisely so I don’t bring home extra packaging.

My dog’s waste however, outweighed mine. Pet waste has horrific bacteria and pathogens that are harmful to wildlife and human health.  I pick up her poop, bag it and collect it in a larger plastic bag which I tie shut and add to my garbage can each week. Her contribution more than doubled mine and smelled much worse. A scientist I know has been experimenting with treating pet poop so it’s less toxic and can be composted. But he has yet to attain the desired results. I’m cheering him on.

Other cool climate team mates struggled with different members of their households. One had asked his teenage son to take 5 minute showers. When he checked back later his son said he wasn’t taking shorter showers but he was taking fewer of them.

Some team mates said they don’t use their driers anymore, even in winter. They just hang their clothes on a line in the basement or on a rack in the guest room. That’s where mine are now.  Group guilt is a powerful tool.

A retired couple in our group who have a very green lifestyle realized their air miles added significantly to their carbon footprint. They considered traveling by train or buying carbon offsets. Figuring our carbon calculation got us all thinking, considering small changes we can make that will add up to a big difference.

So even though my dog has a significant carbon paw print I can think of a few ways she helps reduce mine. She loves to reduce waste and cleans the floor at the same time. She makes sure I stay in shape for walking and biking. And I can keep the heat low because after dinner each night she climbs into my lap and keeps me warm. 

Calculate your own carbon footprint at www.empowermentinstitute.org

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