A tree, 375 dollars and a tank of gas
Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 01:52:42 PM PDT
That's what I'm saving every year by making one simple change in my lifestyle.
Earlier this year my family made a pledge, cut our carbon emissions by 50% in 5 years. We are going to shoot for 80%. This year we made a lot of progress. All light bulbs in the house now are CFs, we insulated our home ala Mem in Somerville, our double-paned laminated windows are going in this week, we now carpool (there is no bus to her school) our daughter to school 3 days a week (working towards 5), I bought a grocery cartand walk to do most grocery shopping.
We still have that hybrid to buy (I really really want the aptera), solar panels to install, etc. Those will have to wait.
But this month I made a simple change that is actually going to have a large impact in comparison to other changes I could have made.
I use a reusable mug for my daily coffee.
I drink about two cups of coffee a day. One in the morning and one after lunch. Because my partner doesn't like coffee or the smell, I go to the local cafe (1 1/2 blocks away) to get my coffee.
It's always been served to me in one of those throwaway paper cups with a sleeve to keep from burning my hands and a plastic lid.
I was aware that these paper cups were not great for the environment, but under the principle of "one step at a time," (where we change our habits one focused step at a time and we've been focusing on keeping the heat off, getting insulation, etc), I hadn't given it much thought.
Till I emptied my trash a couple weeks ago.
I noticed how many cups where in it. In fact, it was the largest, by volume, amount of trash in my trash can. ANd I started doing some calculations.
I work about 250 days a year. On work days I drink at least 2 cups of cafe coffee. That makes for 500 cups I throw away a year, along with cup sleeves and plastic tops.
I weighed a few cups w/ sleeves (without the plastic lids). They weigh about 1.75oz each (I get a large coffee). That's about 50lbs of paper a year. According to this site (link added! sorry...), that's about .72 trees. Ok, so it's not a perfect calculation and doesn't save exactly a tree, but close enough.
The next calculation is simpler. My neighborhood cafe charges 1.75 for a large cup of coffee. If you bring your own cup, it's 1.00. That's 75cents a cup savings! I had no idea. I brought my cup into the cafe and they said "that'll be 1 dollar." I had to ask to make sure. Yep, the price of coffee without the cup is 75 cents cheaper. Now, I did a little bit of looking around, most places like Starbucks and Peets, only offer a dime discount. We'll, so for those of you going there, that's still 50 dollar saving a year if you drink as much as I do. Still, 50 dollars isn't something to sneeze at. I'm lucky though, for me it's a 375 dollar annual savings!
So starting last week, every time I buy a cup of coffee I put 75 cents into a piggy bank. Every few months or so I'm going to break it and invest the money or donate it.
The tank of gas I think is an huge underestimate. Based on the fuel used to manufacture, transport and dispose/recycle the paper cup and plastic lid, I'm sure I'm saving more than a tank's worth of fossil fuel and the pollution and greenhouse gas that is producing.
This isn't rocket science or anything that earthshatteringly new, just do a google search for 'bring your own cup' or visit site like "bring your own", a million people have made that change.
And now so have I. We are well on our way to >50% reduction in our carbon footprint.
Make it your habit starting this week. Bring your own cup and save a tree, some money and some greenhouse gases.
Permalink | 65 comments