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Hello,
Another year of calculating my carbon footprint it is for me, and this time, I am equally as shocked yet impressed with the changes. My carbon footprint is 5 tones of CO2 per year and my household's Carbon footprint is 53 tones of CO2 per year and if everyone on Earth lived the same life style as I did, the human race would survive on 2.2 Earth's. Interesting statistics this time round.
What surprised me most was my how my households food consumption carbon footprint was double our transport footprint! This is probably due to our high animal food consumption which we eat plenty of because they are aplenty locally and our culture encourages eating meat. It is weird seeing how locally grown food which reduces our transport carbon emissions as compared to overseas delivered food can all go to waste with you carbon footprint increasing because of your decided diet. Choices play a major role in carbon emissions. My emission this year year, though, was lower than those of last year (on which humanity would need 2.7 Earths if they lived like me). I think me travelling less due to less commuting over no school because of the pandemic caused that difference. This will be discussed later in the blog.
Another thing that was astonishing to me was how my carbon footprint was 0.12 tones higher than the world average but a whopping nearly (approx.) 12 times higher than the average carbon emission per person in Kenya (0.41 tones). I am more privileged than your typical Kenyan. I go to international school, always have electricity and can go on vacation outside of the country. Wealth inequality is great here in Kenya and it is the clear cause of this difference in CO2 emissions. Although it does mean our country will be easier to make 100% renewable, it also means that climate change is not the only issue our country is facing.
Moving on, I started wondering, what else could cause these varying carbon emissions apart from social standards and conditions such as poverty? I found things which involve choices and opportunity cost to be to blame. If a person would rather travel by air than buy themselves the latest iPhone, their carbon footprint would be higher, but we cannot stop people from travelling. People have personal preferences and forced preferences. For example, if travelling by air is the safest mode of transport available and it is (mostly) the fastest mode of transport, the choice to travel seems better just because of the benefits of air travel and travel itself. This draws me to one of many conclusions that a way of reducing our carbon footprints is innovation. If air travel advances to be more efficient (but remains at the same cost) their carbon emission will go down.
Carbon emissions are interesting, fascinating and embarrassing but they tell us a lot about how we can get ready for the future. Ways in which we can protect it and perhaps manage ourselves better. Thanks for reading.
