Thinking about carbon footprints…

Posted by jerry as Environment, World, politics

While in the gym yesterday, I got to thinking about all of the talk recently about reducing one’s carbon footprint.  At first, I pondered about how my decision to work out would impact my carbon footprint - it clearly doesn’t help.  I eat a LOT more, I create more waste, I convert more O2 to CO2, I waste water in showers, etc, etc.  In a way, my decision to be healthy has negative environmental consequences.

I’ve really not been one to be overly concerned about that, though - I drive gas guzzlers, live in a really big house, that’s a really long way from my office - the American dream if you will.

 I got over my guilt quickly and started to think about people who really do care about the environment and really are trying to reduce their carbon footprint.  I started to wonder - do they really - and I mean really - understand the impacts of their decisions?  For instance - riding your bike to work might save 1 gallon of gas, but causes you to need an extra 500 calories of food.  We know that the impact of burning a gallon of gas releases 20 lbs of CO2 into the air.  But, what did it take to make that 500 calories?  It might not be 20lbs of CO2, but it’s not 0, either.

My point is not to throw eggs at people who have decided to try to live more environmentally responsible, just to make sure it’s being done in a sensible way.  I do believe that our society as it is today is wholly unsustainable.  My issues is that on one side, we have people saying “free market enterprise will solve the problem”, and on the other you have people saying “stop driving, move closer to your work, live in denser communities, etc”.  Both groups are so out of touch with reality that the last 2 people on Earth will be arguing with each other as they succomb to some manmade environmental disaster. 

Free markets will continue doing whatever is most profitable until it is no longer profitable.  If I come up with a way to make electricity that is environmentally nuetral, but it costs 15 times normally sourced energy, I will be out of business in no time.  Even if all the ice at the poles melts and we have lots of lucky new beach front owners, there won’t be a “free market” force that makes something that’s 10x more expensive more attractive.

On the other hand, people want their cars.  They want their houses.  They want a yard, privacy, kids, a dog, the minivan, and so on.  That’s not going to change.  I know we live as in a society of sheeple, giving up our liberties for security - so long as it doesn’t interfere with “Dancing with the Stars”, but I believe there would be hell to pay if we start taking away people’s house in the country and making them live in a small highrise condo so they don’t have to have a car.  And furthermore, the beloved government this group tends to align itself with is so blatently inept at civil engineering projects, that the infrastructure to support the commuter-less utopian city-state is out of reach.

What we need are practical solutions.  One I saw that made lots of sense was the algae oil concept.  It uses algae to remove CO2 from powerplant exhaust, then the algae can be processed into bio deisel.  But, I’m skeptical that even this has the ability to rise to a level of profitibality.