Contents
Introduction
A quick guide to carbon and carbon footprints
Under 10 grams
A text message
A cup of tap water
A web search
Walking through a door
An email
Drying your hands
A plastic carrier bag
10 grams to 100 grams
A paper carrier bag
Ironing a shirt
Cycling a mile
Boiling a quart of water
An apple
A banana
An orange
An hour’s TV
100 grams to 1 kilo (2.2 pounds)
A mug of tea or coffee
A mile by bus
A diaper
A basket of strawberries
A mile by train
A 500 mL (16 oz.) bottle of water
A letter
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of carrots
A newspaper
A pint of beer
A bowl of porridge
A shower
An ice cream
A unit of heat
A unit of electricity
Spending $1
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of trash
Doing the dishes
A roll of toilet paper
Driving 1 mile
A red rose
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of boiled potatoes
A pint of milk
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of cement
1 kilo to 10 kilos
(2.2 pounds to 22 pounds)
A paperback book
A loaf of bread
A bottle of wine
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of plastic
Taking a bath
A bunch of asparagus
A load of laundry
A burger
A quart of gasoline
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of rice
Desalinating a cubic meter (260 gallons) of water
A pair of pants
A steak
A carton of 12 eggs
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of tomatoes
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of trout
Leaving the lights on
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of steel
10 kilos to 100 kilos
(22 pounds to 220 pounds)
A pair of shoes
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of cheese
A congested commute by car
A night in a hotel
A leg of lamb
A carpet
Using a cellular phone
Being cremated
100 kilos (220 pounds) to 1 ton
New York City to Niagara Falls (405 miles) and back
Christmas excess
Insulating an attic
A necklace
A computer (and using it)
A mortgage
1 ton to 10 tons
A heart bypass operation
Photovoltaic panels
Flying from Los Angeles to Barcelona return
1 ton of fertilizer
A person
10 tons to 100 tons
A car crash
A new car
A wind turbine
A house
100 tons to 1 million tons
Having a child
A swimming pool
A hectare (2.5 acres) of deforestation
A space shuttle flight
A university
1 million tons and beyond
A volcano
The World Cup
The world’s data centers
A forest fire
A country
A war
Black carbon
The world
Burning the world’s fossil fuel reserves
More about food
How the footprint of food breaks down
Low-carbon food tips
Further information
Assumptions revisited
The cost efficiency of selected carbon-saving options
Where the numbers come from
Notes and references
Acknowledgments
Index