A Present and a Shock
Two very interesting outcomes from our Birthday shramadana.
My present from Devi and Matthew was a carbon sequestering tree that they had paid to have planted. More details to follow.
Looking into the issue of carbon sequestration led to an interesting page from the Union of Concerned Scientists – Ten Personal Solutions. One striking example they give is that if every family in the US changed one light bulb for a low energy version, this would be the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. This is staggering – but I guess they are scientists. If this is right, it’s well worth emphasising. We’re now using 23 watt bulbs which are better than 20s but still rather dim.
The other thing I turned up was a cutting from the Times. It reported a study from Greenpeace claiming that “stopping global warming would be such a big task that it is impossible in practical terms.” It would take a 70% cut in fossil fuel consumption over the next 30 years in order to bring it under control.
And what was so chilling was that this report was dated February 1990. So we’ve already used up half that 30 years with little or no effective progress made.
February 27th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
One of the best presents we received for our wedding was the carbon offset of the event. The gift was a total surprise and very much in keeping with our eco-principles – which we both thought was very heart warming. As the gift was bought through The Woodland Trust, http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/plantatree/index.htm we know that our present is both local and sustainable. One of the best things I like about our present is that in years to come we can go and visit our wedding trees, which have been planted in Northumberland, to see if they appear to be healthier than our marriage.
Oh before I forget, great to read about the challenge of becoming green in the UK and some great info on your site. Thanks.