C02 Outputs 2007-2009:The Numbers Are In!

OK-so the whole point of this blog is to force me to not merely talk about reducing my carbon footprint, but to actually *do* it. And I am proud to say that I have cut my driving and household CO2 emissions by nearly half since 2007!

Follows are the details:

Hyper-miling, getting an electric car and walking more are what have caused this significant drop in gallons used.

A solar hot water system, a new, triple-stage Energy Star efficient TRANE furnace, and  insulating the basement (!) are what have caused *this* significant drop in natural gas usage!  Can you imagine a December gas bill totalling only $11.71? It’s true! 

Please note that this chart reflects Jan-Feb-Mar, when the basement project was imcomplete, and the old furnace still roared. With a Dec (and  an already similar January 2010) bill so low  an amount has me looking forward to next year’s chart like you wouldn’t believe! I can already tell you that in January of 2010, the therm usage at my house was 1.1 therms for the whole month. It was *60.0* therms in January 2oo9!

I am lucky to live in Seattle, WA, where the bulk of our electricty is produced by hydro-power, a clean, mostly CO2-less  method. Seattle City Light claims to be the first zero-carbon city utility in the country. 

However, they also mention that about 1.3 percent of their energy production *does* come from coal. (The rest is hydro, nuclear, wind and solar). Thus, despite the very low percentage of coal-produced power, the fact there *is* some, tells me that we’re not quite 100% carbon neutral. Close, yes, very close, but not quite.

Even if were were, though, I still track my energy usage, although I have not included what is a small amount of CO2 outpout in my General Outputs Chart. I still do not have a reliable source of mathematical information that tells me exactly how much or not how much CO2 is produced (one formula I have, whose source I have forgotten and thus cannot cite, said that hydropower in fact, does produce a bit of CO2- .008 lbs – tiny amount, yes, but existing.)

Please note that I said “household and driving CO2 emissions” at the beginning of this post for a reason: I regret that my gains in lessening my output were unfortunaltye negated by multiple airline flights this year that were out of my control, as I had to travel back and forth from Seattle to San Francisco to care for an ill and dying parent. 

I plan to post  the CO2 outputs from those flights in my next post…since I did make them… however, be it known that I *have* purchased a pile of carbon off-sets from Terra Pass to try and  make up for the airline CO2, (whether or not I am convinced that carbon off-sets are the right thing to do…)

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Formula source: “I Wanna Go Green: Show Me The Math!”
http://www.scientificblogging.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math