How to Live a Low-carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate ChangeThat climate change is happening is now all too clear. Many of us want to take action to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. Yet the lack of a consolidated source of reliable information on how to calculate one?'s individual emissions and the difficulty in assessing different options for effectiveness and cost savings has proven to be a major stumbling block. But personal actions to reduce carbon emissions, if replicated on a sufficient scale, might just save the planet.How to Live a Low-Carbon Life provides the first comprehensive, one-stop reference guide to calculating individual carbon emissions and it lays out clear plans for how individuals can reduce their emissions. Covering all aspects of modern life from transport to home heating to food sources and the vexing issue of vacations, the book provides easy-to-use tables for conducting a personal lifestyle carbon audit.Easy reference tables enable rapid carbon footprint calculations, and a companion website houses downloadable spreadsheets to facilitate a complete lifestyle carbon audit as well as up-to-the minute information on new products and carbon-reducing technologies.This is the most comprehensive guide to calculating and reducing individual and home carbon emissions. It provides all the information needed for people and families to understand their impacts on the world?'s climate. It gives us the information to enable us to adjust lifestyles and live a responsible life.Written in an optimistic tone, How to Live a Low-Carbon Life shows how easy it is to take responsibility and reduce our personal carbon emissions. |
Contents
Chapter 1 The Extraordinary Cheapness of Fossil Fuels | 11 |
Chapter 2 The Scope for Government Action | 25 |
Chapter 3 The Inadequacy of Alternative Means of Reducing Emissions | 43 |
Chapter 4 No One Else Is Doing Much So Youd Better Do Something Yourself | 57 |
Chapter 5 How Our Lives Generate Emissions and What We Can Do about It | 71 |
Chapter 6 Home Heating | 81 |
Chapter 7 Water Heating and Cooking | 115 |
Chapter 8 Lighting | 123 |
Chapter 13 Food | 229 |
Chapter 14 Other Indirect Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | 247 |
Chapter 15 Domestic Use of Renewable Energy | 255 |
Chapter 16 Cancelling Out Emissions | 275 |
Chapter 17 Conclusions | 285 |
Afterword | 289 |
Sources of the Main Averages | 293 |
Notes | 297 |
Other editions - View all
How to Live a Low-carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change Chris Goodall No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
actually air travel amount appliances average better bills boiler building bulbs calculations carbon dioxide carbon emissions cent climate change companies compared consumer consumption continue cooking cost countries course demand diesel domestic dryers economic effect efficiency electricity emissions energy estimates European example expensive figure fossil fuel global going greater greenhouse gas heating higher hot water household impact important improvements increase individual industry installation insulation internal International Energy Agency least less light litre London look lower machine manufacturing means miles million particularly perhaps person petrol possible probably problem purchase reasonably reduce renewable replace require responsible result rise savings simply slightly solar sources substantial suggest Table temperature tonnes of carbon transport turn typical wall warming washing wind