If you can’t bike or walk, you can always offset your greenhouse emissions by using Greenfleet’s emissions calculator and tree-planting service.
Christine thinks it’s a way of appeasing your guilt some you can go ahead and live anyway you like and the buy a few trees to make up for it. I hear her point and would say that this is not instead of changing and challenging your lifestyle.
I did this test and discovered it I needed to buy 63 trees to offset the carbon in my lifestyle, particularly this year with the crazy amount of flying I am doing.
The worlds greenhouse emissions rose 17.4% between 1990 and 1999. Domestic power consumption, including car use, accounted for one-third of the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Jetsetters should be aware that, typically, flying uses the same amount of fuel per person as each individual would use if they drove to their destination alone. However, the fuel emissions are dispersed high in the atmosphere, where their impact is roughly 3 times greater than those created by earthbound forms of transport.
We can make a difference in all this…here is just one small way – when shopping look for things that have not had to flown here, always by local where at all possible.
We have just made a decision that we will try to walk and ride for things inside a certain zone around our house…we did say rain hail or shine…we will see how well that works!
No Guarantees 
Did you see today’s article in ‘The Australian’ by Sarah-Kate Templeton in London? The summary of the article stated:
“HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour in the same way as frequent long-haul flights, driving a big car and failing to reuse plastic bags, says a report to be published today by a green think tank.”
Yes this book has a lot to say on that topic. They have make a decision to on reproduce them self, that is to say, 1 child per adult.
She quote good old David Attenborough, “Instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the population we should be controlling the population for the sake of the environment”
Controlling the population for the sake of the environment is a very consumeristic notion. Who will that kind of thinking affect the most?
If that book has a lot to say on that, which it naturally would since it calls the air we breathe out as a pollutant, then that tells me all I need to know about that book.
Yes, well, maybe not ‘a lot’, but enough to make me feel uncomfortable, Christine made the same reflection. But certainly not enough to make me throw out all the good just as a result of a single area I disagree in. That would be like writing off a speaker completely just because he preached one point on what sounded like prosperity teaching…woops!
Touche’ Looking forward to seeing you at Hirsch’s thing mate.
If you took a purely clinical view, eliminating 50% of the world’s population might do wonders for the environment.
Sadly though it would do little to change the attitudes that have gotten us into this pickle.
It makes sense to approach this problem from as broad a perspective as possible and limiting population growth is generally seen as one path to reducing negative impact – however it should never be sold as the solution. That would lead down a very dangerous path.
nothing to do with this item!! i have a question?
i cant move or add any page elements at the moment in my blog?
i know heaps of people read your blog so hopefully i will get some answers???
please help??
sorry for using this space
Scotty
p.s Go you mad green machine 🙂
Will you be getting a solar panel considering the new rebate with the proposed budget out last night? They seem pretty good.
Also, question. Are you going to post about all the chemicals and what not that go down our drains? Stuff like shampoo, soap, and cleaners? Just wondering…
I agree Bek re: chemicals etc. When Scott? If u look in2 it 4 us it will save us all doing the research. Most products we use 4 grey water on our garden r “Earth Choice” but I’m still unsure about soaps & toothpastes & stuff like that which we use in the bathroom which also end up on the garden.
I have not done too much research into the chemical side of it all, but the one you suggested Susan is one we use, but I am told some of the Amway products particularly the washing powder are very good in this department…there is an Amway meeting at my house tonight for all interested…JOKING I am not a seller…or a user for that matter!
As for solar panels, I am looking into a way by which I will be converting our whole house over to solar at no cost, I met with local government last week…stay tuned!