Virtually - Global warming

Climate change convert or sceptic? Global warming is the religion of the new millennium and, in a world split into prophets, believers and heretical deniers of the faith, I have till lately been agnostic. But, before you fanatics from either side of the debate tie me up and shoot arrows at me, let me tell you about my recent road to Damascus experience.

 

I was sitting one evening, worrying about the science of An Inconvenient Truth balanced against the fact that the naysayers are funded by multinational Exxon Mobil when it suddenly became clear – it doesn’t matter! Global warming is a red herring. Whether we are on the brink of extinction or not, we should still clean up our collective act. After all, we don’t only clean the bathroom when it has become a health hazard – it is simply nicer to live with pristine porcelain every day.

First step: calculate your carbon footprint. Footprint calculators are abundant online but New Zealand emissions call for Kiwi calculators. The Ministry for the Environment and carbonzero use different methods of calculation but produce roughly the same (slightly scary) results. Trouble is, knowing how much CO2 your household produces in a year and how many square metres of planting it will take to neutralise that CO2 is not terribly useful.

As carbonzero points out, this is a three-step process: measure, manage and then mitigate.

Managing is easy: once you’ve measured your footprint, all the sites give comprehensive advice on how to reduce it. The catch is, you have to take that advice. Even then, a reduced footprint is still a footprint.

Luckily, carbonzero has the answer. For around $35 per tonne, payable by credit card, in a process not unlike the medieval purchase of indulgences for the forgiveness of sin, I can click through to buy carbon credits to offset my carbon emissions and sleep with a clean conscience. This does seem a little like a “Get out of Jail Free” card but luckily Australian site carbonplanet.com offers a two-tonne offset starter pack as “a great option for those who want to see how they feel when they buy carbon credits”.

Did you know that New Zealanders use 1.2 billion plastic shopping bags each year? From Golden Bay, www.plasticshoppingbagfree.org.nz is running an online petition to encourage supermarkets to look at their use of these bags. Progressive Enterprises (which operates Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown) already know they have a role to play. You can see their initiatives to date here .

 

Shower Monitor is a lovely little gadget designed to increase the energy efficiency of shower usage. The shower hogs in your house can use it to see how long they’ve been in there. Even better, after a preset amount of hot water has been used, a beeper will go off and the only way to shut down the irritating noise is to turn off the shower! Genius.

 

Ecologics have developed a sturdy little step-action pump for use in less-developed communities. It is easy to use, needs little maintenance, has zero operating costs and is non-polluting. TV3’s Campbell Live has started a fund to provide these pumps to communities in Swaziland – details of how to contribute are on the site.

 

There is no point in buying recycled art and craft products from overseas sites – however, I’m including these sites for inspiration. Ecoist.com makes bags from candy wrappers. Ragbag.nl turn plastic bags collected in Delhi into backpacks. Eco-artware.com makes cool stuff from old junk (typewriter-key rings, anyone?).