Questions tagged [carbon-footprint]
a measure of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced directly and indirectly by a person, an organisation, an event or a product.
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1answer
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Discretionary Carbon Footprint vs. Per-capita footprint
Are there any published academic studies which compare per-capita carbon footprint against discretionary carbon footprint (ie. lifestyle-connected emissions)?
per-capita footprint is the result of ...
4
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1answer
36 views
Which climate change mitigations take longer than 12 years to see a net benefit?
The recent IPCC SR15 Report has garnered a lot of press coverage because it warns that we must dramatically reduce CO2 emissions by the year 2030, less than 12 years away.
Global net anthropogenic ...
3
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1answer
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What is the energy and greenhouse gas footprint of Skysource/Skywater water generator?
The Water Abundance X-Prize was recently awarded to the Skysource/Skywater alliance for:
... developing an easily deployable high-volume water generator that can be used in any climate, meeting the ...
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0answers
57 views
Solar cell phone charger a sustainable choice?
So I bought this handy and mobile solar charger for my cell phone. I wonder if it's a sustainable buy and looking for a report or similar that compares the production cost(carbon dioxide and resources)...
2
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0answers
59 views
Life-cycle assessment of software products?
I'm a software engineer, and lately I've been thinking whether it's possible to delineate the environmental impact of a software product - say a web service, a website, an app for your phone, etc.
It ...
4
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2answers
105 views
Carbon footprint of soy milk versus cow's milk
I am wondering about a specific carbon footprint comparison (i.e. total global warming potential per litre) between soy milk and cow's milk.
This would of course depend on where and how they are ...
4
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1answer
44 views
How much increase in GHG emissions is caused by Amazon Prime?
From Wikipedia:
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service offered by Amazon that gives users access to free two-day delivery (one-day in some areas) [...] and other benefits for a monthly or ...
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0answers
22 views
Use Ebooks or normal books? [duplicate]
Ebooks and normal paper books both contribute to environmental damage in some way.
I want to know, which of those two contributes to less environmental damage, on average?
7
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1answer
66 views
What should I do with coal that I have been given?
My wife and I recently moved from London to a lovely old cottage in the countryside with electricity, no gas and a wood-burning stove. We are incrementally improving insulation to make the house more ...
5
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1answer
60 views
How to compensate past CO₂ emissions
How would I compensate 250 tons of CO₂ emissions that I've created in my life? Is there a sustainable way?
I know trees can absorb a lot of CO₂, but once they die, the absorbed CO₂ is back in the ...
4
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1answer
78 views
How much, if any, does resolution effect the net power consumption of watching online video?
I watch a lot of online video. I'd assume that for example videos on Youtube in 720p use less power than the same videos in 1080p. I think this might be because:
more power is used by sending network ...
3
votes
1answer
208 views
Which has a smaller footprint — canned or frozen vegetables?
When fresh vegetables aren't an option, many sources indicate that frozen vegetables are generally better than canned (see here, here, and here, for example).
However, how do the environmental ...
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1answer
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What's the carbon environmental footprint of good old cash?
It's known that bitcoin has a high carbon footprint [1].
Some have started to compare the environmental footprint of a bitcoin transaction and a standard visa transaction [2].
What is the carbon ...
9
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5answers
193 views
How can I make my family understand my CO2-emissions-related hesitation to fly in order to spend time with them?
I live in another country, approximately 2000 miles away from my family. Now, my parents have really hard time understanding the kind of personal sacrifices which are necessary to keep the world a ...
5
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1answer
142 views
Is heating with candles economically and/or ecologically worthwhile?
Considering my home doesn't have a heating system nor chimneys, I wonder if it's worthwhile to heat using only candles. There are multiple dimensions to consider:
Does it cost less than electric ...
5
votes
1answer
100 views
Carbon footprint of CNG vs. Diesel as a vehicle fuel
What is the benefit, in terms of carbon footprint, of replacing a diesel fueled vehicle with an identical one with a CNG engine?
I'm not convinced I can simply take the carbon intensities of these ...
5
votes
1answer
925 views
What are the carbon emissions from the manufacture of the hybrid components of a Prius?
For simplicity, I will assume that the manufacture of a Prius is essentially the same process as that of a non-hybrid ICE, plus the extra environmental impact required for the hybrid components (...
6
votes
3answers
401 views
What type of cheese has the lowest carbon footprint?
An answer to a question about the carbon footprint of cheese inspired this question.
According to Wikipedia, cheese can be made from the milk of several animals:
cows
goats
sheep
buffalo
reindeer
...
23
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3answers
2k views
Why does cheese have such a high carbon footprint?
(Source of information here)
As you can see, cheese has the third highest carbon footprint. Only beef and lamb have a higher footprint.
Several other sources (such as this) corroborate this.
Why is ...
7
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1answer
137 views
How much could the US reduce its electricity demand if people moved from Texas back to Ohio?
I have a theory that I am trying to develop empirical support for. I believe that the migration of people from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt has caused an increase in overall electricity usage and ...
3
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1answer
86 views
Should we leave all fossil fuels in the ground and not use them?
I get the feeling that there is such a strong backlash against fossil fuels that there is an irrational movement to purge them completely. Maybe because people are transferring their worries about ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
How much CO2 do I cause with one Google search?
Is there any data about the CO2 emissions per individual Google search?
Or are there none because Google is moving towards 100% renewable energy supply?
Scope:
Just the search query, no lifetime ...
5
votes
1answer
116 views
Hotel communal living
I want to purchase a hotel and sell rooms that have been renovated into tiny apartments that can accommodate one couple.
Living together will reduce costs for all and the rent can reinvested in green ...
9
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3answers
136 views
What is the environmental cost of encrypting your communications?
I am concerned by people's privacy in the Internet age, and the security that communication software and services offer, which is why I try to promote encryption in different everyday activities (...
9
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2answers
544 views
What is more sustainable, using a mechanical pencil or a pen?
I was considering to use the same device for writing from now on and I was considering two alternatives: a mechanical pencil or some kind of refillable pen.
Which of these two options is more ...
4
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1answer
59 views
What is meant by Global-warming Potential (GWP)?
I was under the impression GWP (global-warming potential) is the measure of a gas' impact on global warming, in comparison with CO2.
E.g. methane has a GWP of 86 over 20 years - Wikipedia
Comparing ...
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1answer
96 views
Why is the private car still around in the US: do our elected officials know more than we do? [closed]
Depending on whom you trust, sort of, up to two thirds of all the oil we consume in the U.S. is burned in our engines. If you added the section of the infrastructure that directly supports ...
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2answers
250 views
Do Christmas trees have a positive or a negative impact on carbon emissions?
In this era of growing concerns about global warming, the tradition of chopping down millions of trees each year only to discard them a few weeks later, might strike some people as bizarre.
But does ...
5
votes
2answers
79 views
How can one accurately estimate their carbon footprint?
After taking a few different "tests," I have realized that results may vary quite significantly.
Is there an online, comprehensive carbon footprint "test" that is both precise and accurate?
5
votes
1answer
46 views
Sources for the carbon impact of US corn ethanol?
I am struggling to find recent sources on the carbon intensity of corn ethanol. I find many sources from around 2007, but I want something a little more recent (preferably from this decade). This is a ...
13
votes
1answer
72 views
Co-firing fossil fuels use in waste incineration
I know from shop talk among previous colleagues that waste incinerators often need natural gas to sustain firing. AFAIK this is mostly because mixed household wastes have a high moisture content, ...
15
votes
6answers
730 views
What life-style decision can I make to reduce my carbon footprint most efficiently?
I'm interested in the sustainability, especially the carbon footprint, of life-style decisions regarding:
transportation (i.e. get an electric car, use bike and public transport)
dietary: going ...
7
votes
1answer
77 views
What is the carbon footprint of energy transfer across power lines?
I've been doing some reading up on the full cycle carbon footprint of energy production and consumption, and realising there's a lot of aspects that are frequently overlooked. One of these I'm ...
11
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1answer
162 views
What's the carbon footprint of stackoverflow?
Inspired from What’s the carbon footprint of an email? and other recent questions that made me reconsider the "immaterial" internet usage.
I am curious about updated statistics about the carbon ...
4
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2answers
677 views
How much energy costs do portable solar panels save in a house?
Our Houston area HOA does not allow roof top solar panels and I doubt they would survive our hurricanes too. I discovered NRG Energy sells these portable solar panels under their goal zero brand.
If ...
6
votes
3answers
151 views
tree for carbon sequestration in temperate climate
I want to plant some trees so that I end up having a negative carbon footprint.
I'm looking for a tree that can be used for carbon sequestration, which is not very tempting for illegal deforesting.
...
9
votes
2answers
170 views
Green social media to connect with nearby people to help reduce carbon footprint
I find that it's difficult to associate with other sustainable thinkers, especially with the biggest sustainability challenge of them all - global warming.
Is there some really famous green social ...
5
votes
1answer
56 views
Comparative impact of individual airlines
Are there any significant differences to the ecological impact of flying based on which airline you choose? The Guardian seems to suggest that maximizing economy seats per plane could help determine ...
2
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2answers
254 views
Less energy consumption when we stop using fossil fuels?
What's the best way to find out how much less energy we would use if we would quit fossil fuel usage altogether?
What would be the percentage entailed?
I know it's easy to find out with electrical ...
3
votes
1answer
117 views
The best comparison of the relative ecological impact of personal choices?
What is the best existing non-interactive comparison of the ecological impacts of different personal lifestyle choices? The obvious domains might be housing, transport, food, personal consumption and ...
17
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2answers
157 views
What’s the carbon footprint of an email?
E-mail is often regarded as cheap and more environmentally friendly than paper. But is this really the case? I suspect that loads more emails are sent nowadays than paper letters were sent before the ...
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1answer
82 views
Move to electronic documents [closed]
It has occurred to me that no one has thought about this issue, so I thought I would pose the question. Why, in the modern electronic age are we still using paper? Just to give you an idea, at my ...
2
votes
1answer
82 views
5 Questions to indicate carbon impact
It looks like I will have the opportunity to add a few (probably only 5) questions to a questionnaire to get an indication of the persons carbon footprint. The questions I am think of are:
1) How ...
6
votes
1answer
397 views
Relative carbon footprint of gas or electric heating (UK)
Inspired by this question:
Given the current UK (2014) generation mix, would changing a house from gas to electric heating increase or decrease its carbon footprint? The original question was about ...
9
votes
2answers
219 views
How much wood can I burn sustainably, carbon neutral and in an ecologically responsible way from a forest?
While wood can - in theory - be a carbon neutral fuel, in practice burning wood creates a huge carbon debt and it may take a long time for all the carbon released by logging, soil degradation and so ...
4
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1answer
310 views
Carbon footprint and embodied energy of argon, krypton, xenon?
Noble gases such as argon, krypton and xenon are used to fill the gap between panes in some double- and triple-glazing sealed units.
What's the embodied energy, and carbon-footprint, of such gases? ...
11
votes
3answers
462 views
What has a lesser carbon footprint? Continue to drive my current car until it is no longer useful or to buy a new car?
I have 2003 Honda Accord. It gets ~20 MPG CITY (8.5 km/liter). I'm trying to figure out if it is more sustainable in the long run to:
continue to drive the Accord until it dies (it's still in great ...
5
votes
1answer
284 views
How does yerba mate stack up against tea and coffee?
Caffeine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system - as most coffee drinkers will attest, it provides a boost to our productivity and creativity. It has also been associated with lower ...
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1answer
378 views
Offsetting with Solar, over what period do you measure the carbon offset
I'm looking to offset the carbon footprint of my wedding.
I'd like to do it by helping out some local community solar projects.
I've calculated that the weddings footprint will be about 23,000 KG of ...
12
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2answers
1k views
How do I determine what my biggest personal impact on global warming is?
This question is basically a follow-up question on something EnergyNumbers mentioned in his answer to this now closed question. He wrote that
together, our impact (on fighting global warming) can ...
