The Sexy Green Car Show
Yesterday saw the opening of the first ever "Sexy Green Car Show" at the Eden Project, Cornwall, UK. The show will not be devoted to the usual posturing over speed and luxury, rather it will be the green credentials exhibited by the cars that will be the star attraction.
If you are in the Cornwall area you can find more details about the show at the
Sexy Green Car Show web page.
Amongst the line-up of green cars are the following top performers as highlighted by The Independent newspaper -
- VW POLO BLUEMOTION 102g of CO2 produced per km
- CITROEN C1 109g of CO2 produced per km
- VAUXHALL CORSA 1.3CDTI 124g of CO2 produced per km
- VAUXHALL TIGRA 1.3CDT 16V SPORT
- 124g of CO2 produced per km
- CITROEN C3 1.4I 16V STOP AND START 135g of CO2 produced per km
- SAAB 9-5 ESTATE BIOPOWER 214g of CO2 produced per km(reduced by 50-70% if run on E85 bioethanol)
- SMART EV Zero if run on renewable electricity
- FORD FOCUS FLEXI-FUEL 167g of CO2 produced per km (reduced by 50-70% if run on E85 bioethanol)
- SAAB 9-3 CONVERTIBLE BIOPOWER 203g of CO2 produced per km (reduced by 50-70% if run on E85 bioethanol)
- TOYOTA PRIUS 1.5 VVT-I HYBRID 104g of CO2 produced per km
- LEXUS GS450H 186g of CO2 produced per km
We all have them… What’s your carbon footprint?
There has been a huge amount of press about the ecological damage being done to the environment by the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Regardless of how eco-friendly we think we are, we are all guilty of contributing (directly or indirectly) to the release of CO2 on an individual basis. This eventuality has been coined as our "carbon footprint".
To help determine whether you are a green goddess or an above average polluter, take the Carbon Footprint challenge. You will need to have a basic grasp of your energy usage patterns and perhaps a calculator. Here goes:
Central Heating
Determine whether your house is small, medium or large and use the following figures for the amount of energy expended using gas to heat the home -
- Small house: 10,000kWh per year
- Medium house: 20,500kWh per year
- Large house: 28,000kWh per year
Once you have the amount, multiply by 0.19 to obtain the carbon output and divide that amount by the number of inhabitants in your home.
If you use coal, found out the total weight burned and multiply by 2 to find the carbon emissions.
Electricity
Determine whether your house is small, medium or large and use the following figures for the amount of electrical energy expended in the home -
- Small house: 1,650kWh per year
- Medium house: 3,300kWh per year
- Large house: 5,000kWh per year
Once you have the amount, multiply by 0.43 to obtain the carbon output
Transport
To obtain your carbon footprint for car travel you will need to obtain the carbon emissions (per gram) specific for the model of your car per kilometre and multiply this amount by the number of kilometres you travel in one year. If the car is shared, take this into account and divide the total by the number of passengers.
If you are using public transport, again, work out the total distance over the course of a year and multiply by the following -
Km travelled by train - Multiply by 0.11 for the carbon emissions
Km travelled by bus - Multiply by 0.09 for the carbon emissions
Km travelled by ferry - Multiply by 0.47 for the carbon emissions
If you have flown anywhere in the given year, this will add amounts to your carbon footprint. The easiest way to work this out is to visit the site http://www.chooseclimate.org/flying that will work it out for you.
Services/Manufacturing/Retail
This section basically covers all of the other areas in which carbon emissions will be produced during daily life. The amount will vary hugely dependent on individual outlook and lifestyle, however, they can be broken down into three areas
- For heavy shoppers who eat mainly convenience foods add 3,000kg
- For average shoppers who mainly buy groceries from supermarkets add 2,000kg
- For individuals that have opted out of the capitalist society in favour of an entirely organic, agrarian lifestyle add 600kg
Once you have added up the carbon emissions from all of the sections above you will be left with a final figure. Let's see how you've done.
Total
1,000-3,000kg Exceptionally eco-friendly
3,000-6,000kg Very much below the UK average for carbon emissions. Well done.
6,000-9,000kg Approaching the UK average.
9,000-12,000kg Just over the UK average. Room for improvement!
12,000-15,000kg Getting towards the higher end
15,000-18,000kg Need to cut back for the good of the planet
18,000-21,000kg Huge carbon footprint. Try not to fly as much, sell your fleet of cars and buy a bicycle
For greater detail on counting your carbon emissions see Mark Lynas's book "Carbon Counter" published by Collins.
For information on how you compare with the UK average as a whole and to check how our carbon emissions are generated per sector, see the breakdowns below.
UK consumers use a range of products and services that consume a combined carbon footprint of 648 Mtc (million tonnes CO2 per annum)
Mtc (million tonnes CO2 per annum) generated by sector
Recreation and leisure 116 Mtc
Space heating 88 Mtc
Household 82 Mtc
Food and catering 82 Mtc
Hygiene and health 80 Mtc
Clothing and footwear 59 Mtc
Commuting 48 Mtc
Aviation 40 Mtc
Education 29 Mtc
Other government 18 Mtc
Communication 6 Mtc
For addition information on the figures see the Carbon Trust
On a per person basis, the Carbon Trust state that the average Briton has a carbon footprint of 10.92 tonnes of CO2 per annum, which is almost half the carbon footprint of the average American at approximately 19 tonnes of CO2 produced per year. The figures can be broken down as follows -
Tons of CO2 generated per person per annum in the UK
- Recreation 1.95 tonnes
- Heating 1.49 tonnes
- Food 1.39 tonnes
- Household 1.37 tonnes
- Hygiene 1.34 tonnes
- Clothing 1.00 tonnes
- Commuting 0.81 tonnes
- Aviation 0.68 tonnes
- Education 0.49 tonnes
- Phones/Communication 0.1 tonnes
If your total carbon footprint has shocked you by its enormity, try these tips to lessen your carbon emissions.
Tips for lowering your carbon emissions
Walking to work rather than driving - over the course of a three mile car journey you will save 2kg of carbon emissions if you choose to walk.
Switching the power off at night in your home can save 30kg of CO2 emissions.
By lowering the thermostat on your home central heating system by one degree you will save 25kg of carbon emissions per year.
If you take showers rather than baths, you will save 50kg of carbon over the course of a year
36kg of carbon is emitted via the use of tumble driers over a year - use a clothesline to dry clothes instead
Offset your carbon emissions
It can be incredibly difficult to eradicate ones carbon emissions entirely, however, it is easy to "offset your carbon emissions". Bascially, this would involve calculating the amount of CO2 emitted and charities such as The World Land Trust will work out how much money would need to be spent on green projects such as such as renewable energy solutions or reforestation in order to cancel out the carbon emissions. You can use the method detailed above to calculate your carbon emissions or you can use the carbon calculator at Carbon Balanced and make a donation towards offsetting your carbon emisssions.
