It All Starts At Home: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Part I
dventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 66
It All Starts at Home Part I
As the result of my association with several groups and forums focused on sustainability I have begun to see trends in the types of questions that people ask. One of the most common questions that comes up is “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?”
Maybe I’ve spent way too much time over the last 3 years examining and dissecting my own life because I’ve gotten to the point to where I think the answer to that question is obvious. But perhaps that is not the case after all.
As individuals, there are three big areas where we produce our greatest environmental impact. In this three part series called It All Starts at Home I am going to cover each of those areas. So stay tuned if you want to listen to Part I of It All Starts at Home.
Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E66 which is part one of a three part series called It All Starts at Home.
Over the last 3 years I’ve spent a considerable amount of time make improvements on my homestead. Despite living off the grid for 25 years, I am still learning new things. With advances in technology and equipment, I find new ways to be more efficient. This is especially true when it comes to sustainability.
As a result of starting this podcast I spend a lot of time dissecting and analyzing my own life simply trying to gain new insight and streamline my lifestyle as much as possible. Perhaps I spend too much time living in my own head because when someone ask the question “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?” the first thing that comes to mind is to answer with the question “Is that not staring you directly in the face?”
But as talk about climate change becomes increasingly serious, more and more people are starting to ask questions about what can be done.
One trend that I see with the general public is that so many people feel as if it is up to big business and big government to turn things around. In my opinion this sort of attitude is not entirely unfounded. This is because in many cases we are not given affordable, easily accessible, alternative choices too many of the things we do.
For example, we are told that we should all be recycling. Yet I cannot tell you just how many communities I visit while working with different hospitals that there simply is no option for recycling. Yet when I visited Costa Rica a number of years ago, there were so many street side recycling bins around that I really had to look hard to find an actual trash can.
But to get things rolling here I want to point out that as individuals there are three bigs areas where we produce our greatest ecological footprint. And those areas are how we travel, how we live, and what we eat.
In each of these three areas much of what we do is a matter of choice, a matter of habit, and much of the time a matter of a cultural norm. Some of this behavior is engrained to the point that we think that is what we are entitled too. And I think that much of what is being called “pandemic rage” that we see in the U.S is a perfect example of how a lot of people respond when they do not get what they think they are entitled to. But such an attitude is not what leads to meaningful change.
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of one of my favorite books called Outliers.This is a book about men and women who do things out of the ordinary. It really is quite a good book if you have not read it. One of the points that is brought out in this book in the very beginning is the fact that, and I am quoting directly, “ the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.” End quote.
This is similar to the saying that “We are the sum of the 5 people we spend most of our time with.”
I am a firm believer that if you find yourself in agreement with 90% of the people around you, you should run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. I say this because the vast majority of people suffer from what I call “sheepeople syndrome” meaning we all follow each other around like a bunch of sheep and never really question what is going on.
But I think it is quite obvious to many of us the people that have made history, and perhaps even changed the world, did not do so by sitting at home, being good, and doing what they were told. A year or so ago at what was likely the beginning of the pandemic, I was at a gas station fueling my truck. Someone had placed a sticker on the side of the gas pump that had a small sheep on it and it simply said “Just shut up and obey.”
Instead of shut up and obey, maybe what we need is a few more outliers, perhaps a whole group of outliers, perhaps a whole community of outliers. Because that is what it is going to take to make changes in our culture.
What it comes down to is that we cannot depend on big business and big government to adjourn from their never ending board meeting in order to make the changes necessary for a more sustainable culture. If we do this, we will be waiting until the middle of the next century before we see meaningful results. While I do agree there are many things that will have to be left up to big business and big government, there is a lot that the average everyday person can do. That is why I believe that it starts with individual action. In fact, It Starts at Home.
So how do you decrease your carbon footprint?
Of the three areas mentioned above, how we travel, how we live, and what we eat, I want to focus this episode on how we travel. And I am not referring to airline travel. I am referring to our automobile culture.
The automobiles that we drive accounts for about 30% of our carbon emissions. That could be resolved by switching to all electric cars. The technology is there to make it happen. Yet this will most likely not happen in the near future, at least not in the U.S. Presently there are not nearly enough electric charging station across the country. Furthermore, the cost of electric cars is well beyond reach for the average person. Most Teslas start at about $62K.
Although making the switch to all electric cars would reduce our carbon footprint by 30% yet we are not given appropriate, affordable, easily accessible alternatives. That is going to have to be worked out by big business and big government.
At least in the U.S. transportation emissions, both per capita and per household, have continued to rise. This trend is despite a 30% improvement in fuel economy and significantly reduced tailpipe emissions. This type of progress was the result of mandates and standards such as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy at the federal level and Zero Emissions Vehicle at the state level.
So, what exactly is the problem?
People in the United States love to travel. As a culture we are more likely to own more vehicles per household compared to the rest of the world. Part of this is because owning a vehicle in the United States tends to be more affordable than in most countries.
There is an old joke that says “In America 100 years is a long time. In Europe, 100 miles is a long distance.”
As I like to frequently ask, how did this happen?
Between the 1920s and 1960s many policies in the United States resulted in cities being adapted to car travel. At the time, this served as a role model for Western Europe. But by the late 1960s European cities started refocusing their attention to reduce the use of the automobile and promote walking, cycling and the use of public transportation. And if I may point out this was about the same time frame when many European countries were making policy changes that have resulted in countries such as Germany now generating over 60% of their electricity from renewable sources.
If you look simply at the numbers, there is obvious need for change. With suburban sprawl coupled with our car-dependent attitude, and an increasingly unsustainable transportation system, our emissions production is going up.
Now just looking at statistics from 2010 what we see is that American drove 85% of the time for their daily trips compared to travel share 65% of the time in Europe. Approximately 30% of daily trips are less than one mile in the U.S. and Europe. For those trips that are less than one mile, Americans drove 70% of the time while Europeans walked, used public transportation, or rode a bicycle.
So why is this? How is it that we have become such a car dependent culture.
Ease of Ownership
The first reason is that owning a vehicle in the U.S. has always been easier than in other countries. The development of assembly line production brought the cost of vehicles down and by the mid 1930s fifty percent of U.S. households owned at least one vehicle. But this was also the result of greater personal wealth in the U.S.
Development of the Interstate System
In the 1950s the federal government offered a significant subsidy for the development of the interstate system that soon penetrated most urban areas. Simultaneously, European governments offered subsidies but at a much lower level.
Road Standards
Very early on when car ownership became more common in the U.S. , city planners and engineers developed standards for roads, bridges, tunnels, intersections, etc that were adapted to car usage within the cities. What this meant is that cities were developed with a focus on people getting around in a vehicle. On the opposite end of the spectrum, many European cities were focused more on public transportation, cycling, and walking.
Vehicle Taxes
Car ownership and usage in Europe has almost always been higher compared to the U.S. Vehicle taxes and the price of gasoline are considerably higher relative to the U.S. In fact, as I pointed out in my episode on the most sustainable countries, this was one of the early strategies commonly implemented by European governments that forced people to use more sustainable means of travel.
Technology Changes
In the United States we have always focused on using technology and money to solve our problems instead of encouraging behavioral changes. For example, air pollution and traffic safety issues were solved with the development of cleaner fuels, catalytic converters, seat belt laws, and air bags. This allowed people to continue driving as they always did. On the other hand, European countries implemented the same technology but also reduced speed limits, reduced the availability of parking, and created car free zones that forced a change in behavior.
Public Transportation
European governments have long offered subsidy for public transportation systems. This has helped to sustain this means of transportation despite an increase in the use of automobile. However, in the U.S. government assistance has often come too late and many public transportation systems have simply shut down.
Walking and Cycling
There are only a few U.S. cities that have made strong efforts to provide amenities to cyclists and pedestrians. In contrast, many European cities have a long history of providing entire networks of sidewalks and bike paths that connect every portion of a given city. Consequently, walking or riding a bicycle is easier and safer. Additionally, European laws provide much stronger protection for pedestrians and cyclist relative to the U.S.
Now I am sure there are other reasons that we’ve become such a car dependent culture. These are just a few examples. But maybe you can now see how a culture, an engrained behavior, develops over time and it gets to the point that we feel that is what we are entitled to do. The idea of individualism is strongly engrained in American culture. This sense of individualism coupled with consumerism helped to drive the demand for automobiles.
However, it is not only culture, but to some extent geography that plays a part in our dependence on automobiles. Let’s take for example the city of Venice. This city has significant challenges when it comes to any sort of infrastructure for roads. Tokyo also has significant challenges because the city essentially has no way to expand. On the other hand, the United States is an expansive country with more than enough space to have an interstate system.
So as you can see, it is a combination of individualism, consumerism, and geography that has created a car dependent culture in the U.S. But most of us accept this as a normal thing because we have never experienced anything else.
But what I found after visiting several countries for prolonged periods of time is that I was able to live just fine without a car. First of all renting a car for months at a time was cost prohibitive. Secondly, the ease and availability of highly organized public transportation made having a personal vehicle completely unnecessary. Quito, Ecuador is a perfect example. I spent 4 months working there and never had a car. Their public transportation system is highly organized and efficient. Bus fare was anywhere from 10 cents to 25 cents. I even traveled cross country a couple of times and never spent more than $5 USD.
As I stated above, there are three areas in which we produce our greatest ecological impact: how we travel, how we live, and what we eat. In each of these area, much of what we do is a matter of choice. So exactly how do we start making changes in our car-dependent culture?
From personal experience I can say that from the perspective of sustainability, the first step toward making meaningful change is to look at your lifestyle. Humans are creatures of habit and often times there are so many things we can learn to do differently. But we just never stop to think about it. So the first step is to look at your lifestyle.
Now if statistics hold true that 83% of Americans now live in urban areas, then it should be relatively easy to make some changes to your car-dependent lifestyle. Unlike most people, I live in the middle of the forest. The nearest gas station is 10 miles away. The nearest supermarket is 22 miles away. My work commute is always a minimum of 70 miles per day, often much more than that. Yet I was able to get creative and reduce my commuting by more than 50%. So if you live in an urban area, I know for a fact that this is something you can accomplish as well.
What I want to do now is give you a few tips on how you can reduce the time you spend in your vehicle and reduce your dependence on your vehicle. This will require some changes to your lifestyle. And some of this may mean that you do not always get what you want when you want it. But after going over all of these tips, I am going to share with you just what I did.
Plan Ahead
One of the easiest things you can do it plan ahead and leave 15 to 30 minutes earlier for work. Doing so will eliminate the additional time spent dealing with rush hour traffic, you will spend less time in your vehicle and thus reduce your environmental impact.
Streamline Your Tasks
The next easiest thing to do is to streamline your tasks and errands. Never leave home with only one thing to do. Wait until you have several things to accomplish and make one trip instead of three or four. This even includes going to the supermarket.
Think About Riding a Bicycle
In both Europe and the United States, 30% of our daily trips are less than one mile. Think about riding a bicycle instead. If riding a bicycle to work is not an option, then think about combining that with vehicle. This is something I used to do all the time. I would drive to town, park my truck at a park-and-ride location or at the trailhead of a bike path, and then use my mountain bike to finish the trip. It made for a pleasant morning and I got a little exercise.
Public Transportation
Most large cities have public transportation systems. This is often a combination of buses and and a light rail system. Do your homework and see if it is possible to combine multiple modes of travel. If you can get dropped off close to home or close to your work place then you can finish up by walking.
Consider Car Pooling
Another possible alternative is to consider car pooling. Find out if some of your coworkers live in the same area or travel the same general route to work. You can even meet at a parking lot and leave one vehicle behind. I have several friends that work in the veterinary profession and travel like I do and this is one way they manage to reduce their travel costs and save miles on their vehicles.
Telecommuting
More and more these days people are choosing to work from home. Not only that, more companies are going to this option for many employees due to the continued pandemic. If it is not possible to work from home all the time, talk to your employer and see if it is something you can do one or two days per week. If you have to attend meetings regularly considering video conferencing instead. Many companies in todays mobile world are more than willing to give their workers more autonomy and flexibility. So, talk to them.
What I Do
Holding true to my belief of practicing what I teach, then I want to share will my listeners exactly what I did to dramatically reduce my commuting. I started by looking closely at my lifestyle and my personal habits.
The first thing I did was plan ahead and start leaving for work one hour early. Yes I often arrived at work quite early. But I spent the additional time doing meditation exercises, reading science and nature articles, National Geographic, etc. I turned the frustration of dealing with rush hour traffic into productive personal time. Since I was spending less time in my vehicle, I reduced my environmental impact.
The second thing I did was to stop leaving the cabin for errands on my day off. I started grouping my errands together and would get those tasks accomplished on my way to and from work. Things such as purchasing hardware or building materials, grocery items, going to the post office, etc were accomplished while going to and from work. I even started loading my water tank on my truck and would haul in a load of water on my way home instead of having to make an additional 1 mile trip down the mountain on my day off.
Even when it came to meal time, if I had a particular recipe in mind and did not have all the ingredients, then I cooked something different because a round trip to the supermarket for me means 44 miles. Getting organized and combining errands is easy for anyone to do. But for me, these days once I am at home I typically stay at home.
The next thing I did was to look at how and who I work for. Since I make my best income by traveling for work, that is not something I was willing to give up. So what I did is to limit how many hospitals I worked with and focused on some of my better clients that were much closer to home.
But, there are plenty of times I get offered lucrative work that is further from home than I typically want to travel. Since I have one truck with a camper shell, I spent a very small amount of money and turned that camper shell into a light weight mobile camper complete with bed, cook stove, and heater. By doing this, I would at times commute 140 miles in one week instead of 560 miles.
And the last thing I did was look at how much money I was spending per year in travel expenses such as gas, hotels, and meals. It was in the thousands. Since some of my more lucrative work is found outside of Colorado, I had to find a way to still be able to take that kind of work, limit my travel, and still save money.
I made the decision to purchase a small travel trailer. Payments on the travel trailer were 70% less than my monthly expenses for all of the commuting. Now what I do is travel to one location, take the travel trailer, find a place to park it close to where I work, and spend a couple of weeks and sometimes a month or two at that location. By doing this, at times I’ve been able to reduce my commuting to as little as 10 miles per day, and sometimes I am even able to walk to work.
And finally, I now spend one or two days per week working at home. I take advantage of the fact that I have satellite internet. Many of my personal business activities can simply be performed with telecommuting. While working at home, my total commute consists of walking from the coffee press to my desk. And that is truly a fantastic feeling.
As you can see from this despite the fact that I live in the middle of the forest and I have a long commute to get to anything, I have managed to reduce my commuting by 50%. If I can do that, then so can anyone that lives in an urban area.
As I said earlier in this episode, there are three main areas in our lives where we produce our greatest ecological footprint. And those areas are how we travel, how we live, and what we eat. Much of what we do in these areas of our lives are a combination of culture and engrained behavior.
How we travel accounts for roughly 30% of our individual environmental impact. While none of us may be able to change the city planning or the infrastructure that heavily favors car travel, we can change our own habits and behaviors. All it takes is a little personal evaluation and some changes to your lifestyle in order to take some easy steps toward something more sustainable.
So look at your lifestyle, plan ahead, and streamline your errands. Considering riding a bike, walking, car pooling, using public transportation, or combing any of the above. And lastly, speak to your employer is see if you can actually spend some time working at home.
By reducing your fuel consumption and your heavy dependence on a vehicle it is not only good for the environment but also good for your health and good for your bank account.
In closing, this three part series called It All Starts at Home, is being produced in response to one of the most common questions I hear which is “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?” There are indeed so many ways to do that very thing. Ultimately, I truly believe the best approach is for all of us to take individual action and not wait on big business and big government to step in and save the planet.
So that’s it for this week folks. It All Starts at Home Part II is going to focus on how we live. Ultimately how we live and how we choose to operate our homes accounts for another 30% of our total environmental impact. So stayed tuned for next weeks episode It All Starts at Home Part II. And don’t forget to take advantage of the additional resources listed in the transcript of today’s episode.
This is your host Patrick signing off until next week. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.
Resources
9 Reasons the U.S. Ended Up So Much More Car-Dependent Than Europe
How to Reduce Your Dependence on a Car
History Behind Car Dependence in the U.S.
Patrick
