November Parish Magazine Article

How Bad is Spending £1?

“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” Luke 12:48

We live, work and shop in a carbon-fuelled economy.  So practically every pound we spend releases carbon into the air somewhere.  So it is not only the rich countries which are primarily responsible for climate change; it is also the rich individuals who are most likely to be carbon-profligate, not intentionally, but simply through living a normal middle- or high-income life. 

If you are middle-income do not despair!  Looking at the examples below you can see that some purchases are a lot more carbon-intensive than others.  You can choose to keep your pound away from the more planet-trashing activities such as flying and leaving the lights on, spending it instead on insulating your home, solar panels or, if you really want to feel good, on a rainforest charity.

Here are the numbers: (Data and inspiration from How Bad are Bananas? – The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee - pages 59 and 192))

Minus 330 kg (i.e. 1/3 ton)*CO₂e on a well-executed rainforest preservation project
Minus 70 kg CO₂e on loft insulation
Minus 3 kg CO₂e on solar panels
160 g CO₂e financial, legal or professional advice
720 g CO₂e on a car
930 g CO₂e on a typical supermarket trolley of food
1.7 kg CO₂e on petrol for your car
4.6 kg CO₂e on a flight
6 kg CO₂e on the electricity bill
10 kg CO₂e or more on budget flights

The fact that nearly every economic activity is bad for the planet has got to make you wonder whether the current accepted goal for high economic growth above all else is really the way to go.  Tim Jackson’s book, Prosperity without Growth, suggests alternative systems. According to Mike Berners-Lee, “We could do with spending less time charging around earning as much as we can to buy things we don’t really need.” Instead, let’s try to enjoy what we have got and separate our self-esteems from our salaries.
“So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'…..But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” Matt 6:31,33
Ruth Jarman

CO₂e is short for carbon dioxide equivalent which is the overall contribution to global warming of carbon dioxide plus all the other global warming gases emitted such as nitrous oxide and methane.

Data and inspiration from How Bad are Bananas? – The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee

Optimum Population Trust say that investing £1 in Family planning projects in developing countries could save 250kg (1/4 ton) CO₂e