Day Ninety-Three: Carbon Neutral?

Well, I think a giant BP sized slap on the wrist is in order for me. I have not blogged for nigh on six weeks. Shame on me. This project, to go 'carbon neutral', was always going to be a struggle. I knew that from day one. I was under no illusion that I could make a few small changes and I would suddenly become some beacon of eco-wonder. It's testament, I think, to how difficult this whole subject is.

I've continued to behave in as 'eco friendy' a way as possible. I've been recycling, composting, growing my own veg and have made a conceited effort to make those little, arguably easy, changes that we can all make. What does it all add up to? A slight underwhelming feeling, to be honest. We do like to see results, don't we?

I've come to the realisation that's it's all about context. Had I started this journey as an abysmal planet hating 'throw away' kind of guy, there may have been more of a dramatic change. I am, of course, not that kind of person. I harbour the same sort of middle class guilt that I think many of us share - I recoil at my neighbours who still do not recycle, at people who continue to buy unethical produce from the supermarket - but then who am I to judge? So I think it's time this project changed it's destination. A modest, humble acceptance that I am not going to become carbon neutral, but that I can continue to strive to improve my lifestyle within certain, boring, constraints.

An improved understanding and awareness of the world around me has opened my eyes to issues I was previously blind to, so I can only hope for a slow but definite upward trajectory to something resembling an environmentally 'sound' lifestyle. As and when I stumble across groundbreaking information I will continue to share and discuss them here on this blog, but I want to avoid the preachy 'do this, do that' mentality and focus more on the reality of the environmental state we're living in, and how the big stories and events around the globe affect us on a smaller, more personal level. I promise, therefore, that the next blog should be day ninety-five, or thereabouts, and not in another six weeks.

By the way, my compost is looking wonderful.

- James

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The Carbon Neutral Project - What's the 'Big Idea'?

What is my 'Carbon Footprint'?

Up until recently, I would have said minimal, negligible, maybe even (dare I say it) neutral. How do I know this? Why do I care? What affect can I really have on the environment, and can 'we' really make a difference?

I have always considered myself fairly low on the list of carbon criminials, for one simple reason: I do not own a car - but does that really make me exempt from all this? The short answer is, of course, a big fat no. I may nag my friends to recycle, and despair at those who refuse to take a look at the mounting evidence that we're all going to be screwed in a few years time; but can I really call myself an environmentalist? I decided to take a step back and look at my personal impact on the planet and try to lead as eco-friendly a life as I possibly could. I will follow the guidelines that we are bombarded with almost on a daily basis and, more importantly, find out why I'm following them and ascertain the impact (or lack thereof) my actions will have.

When I came to planning this project, I hit a wall: how long should this go on for? The answer? I really don't know. You could argue that by living an eco-friendly life for, say a month, would be enough to show how easy or difficult, how effective or ineffective and how necessary or indeed unnecessary it all is. It's mid-May though and I know that, given the bright sunny weather, I'm going to be far more interested in growing my own food, walking to the shops and all the other eco-friendly things that are, let's face it, much more alluring with the chance of a suntan, than I would be in November.

This project then, will last as long as it lasts. I have no 'yard stick' to go by and no means of comparing any results I may come across to any sort of reliable 'control' experiment. This is all, you might say, a work in progress.

To avoid losing all but the already converted 'Green' people amongst us, here's the crux of what I want to find out: can I lead a 'Carbon Neutral' life, and what impact will it have?

So as to give as accurate a picture as possible, I will be blogging as often as I can. I will let you in on all the nitty-gritty details that you don't often hear about and tell you what it's like, in all aspects of my day to day living, to lead a 'Carbon Neutral' (or as close as I can get to it) life. I would also really appreciate any feedback and ideas from those whom stumble across this blog, I'm firmly of the belief that the more issues like these are discussed, the better educated we all become.

Wish me luck,

- James

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