Comments on: Walk A Mile In My Carbon Footprint

By: Sally

Sally — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:09:22 +0000

Hi there! I just wanted to say that this entry was incredibly informative! The workshop sounds amazing, but you did a great job of getting across a lot of really helpful points in text. Thanks so much, especially for the links to the dairy ratings!

By: Evangeline

Evangeline — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:08:35 +0000

Eleanor,
Wow – what an informative comment! Thanks. Once again, it has been proven that Europe is setting the standard for sustainability. We are really behind the ball when it comes to government mandates for reducing energy – which is what needs to be done for real change. This class was a huge eye-opener for me.
I am amazed that no one in Germany uses clothes dryers. I’ve been hanging my clothes up on a line in our building, and I always feel slightly subversive. Like I’m in some kind of strange neo-ludite cult or something. Then after I get over that, I pat myself on the back for saving all that energy. I had no idea that in Europe, this is par for the course. Once you’ve done it a few times, you realize how ridiculous dryers are -especially in So. Cal when clothes can dry in just a few hours! Also didn’t know about the ban on the old type of bulbs. That make so much sense. I wish the same thing would happen here. Maybe then we wouldn’t be blowing the tops of the Appalachian Mountains! Did you read about that? Jetsetting is the real killer, in more ways then one. I go back and forth from here to New York a couple times a year and that threw my score off big time. Not sure how to get around that. I have heard of the Google widget – and it looks like they are firing it up here in the states, so to speak. http://www.google.com/powermeter I’ll look into options for apartment renters. What an adorable pastime Armin has developed!

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:12:06 +0000

Hey Evanne – Thanks for all the great resources. I just took the footprint test. There would need to be 2.3 Earths if everyone lived like I did (I took the one for Switzerland) and the average Swiss person needs 2.4 Earths. Some slam dunks were: We have no clothes dryer, like most Euros we dry everything on the line, We have no car and walk or bike everywhere, and when we do use a car,we use the fabulous car-sharing scheme that we have here in Munich. Also all of the heating in our building comes from natural gas, and for the rest of our power needs we use a company that uses 100% renewable energy generated in Europe (some of it locally in Munich – solar panels on schools, river power, kind of cool). Lastly, as you may know, as of 2010 you CAN’T buy the old type of light bulbs in the EU – you have to get the Energy efficient kind. They aren’t too bad…but take some getting used to (when you flip the light on they take 10 seconds to go from dim to fully bright)

Now, before I start breaking my arm patting myself on the back, here is what jacked my score back up: Jetsetting! I easily fly 50 hours a year going from Europe to Cali (and other places) 2-3 times a year (maybe with the wedding-mania coming to a close that will wind down) the second: not unplugging appliances when they’re out of use – time to get a smart strip.

On a related note: Armin just called our power company to come install these new devices they have that go on your power meter that you can somehow use with a Google widget to monitor your power consumption real time. So every time you turn a light on or off, you can see it jump on a graph. However, I think the main motivation on his part was the geekery involved more than any eco-concern! Hey, whatever works.

Sorry this comment is so long. This stuff is just so fascinating – and the bit about the chemicals…I’ve gotta say again, so glad I got my Euro green card (no pun intended.)