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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-2673179,prtpage-1.cms
You can offset your carbon footprint
4 Jan 2008, 0111 hrs IST,Namrata Singh,TNN
SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates
MUMBAI: If you've not had a carbon-neutral New Year's eve, you still
have a chance to offset your environment degrading greenhouse gas
emissions like carbon dioxide (CO2) which arise from your daily travel
by car to work and usage of comfort-enhancing durables like
air-conditioners.
Take a cue from what Emmanuel D'Silva, Antonieta Noronha and Narendra
Jindal have done to get a zero-carbon footprint. They do not own big
industries which belch out greenhouse gases that are harmful to the
environment.Nevertheless, as individuals they are concerned about
their daily lifestyles contributing in some way or the other to the
aspect of climate change.
They have calculated their carbon footprints and offset them by
donating money to a cause of growing trees whose seeds can generate
biofuel.
Carbon footprint is the total quantum of carbon emissions of an
individual or a household as a result of air travel, car travel, usage
of electricity and other household appliances. There are many ways by
which individuals could reduce these emissions and offset them, like
planting trees, switching to compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs, or
simply by purchasing carbon credits from the voluntary market.
D'Silva, who is an environmental economist, has a chock-a-block travel
schedule throughout the year. Of his total carbon footprint of 25
tonne of CO2 per annum, 24 tonne of CO2 comes from travel alone. To
offset this, he donates Rs 10,000 to a village to plant trees.
Said D'Silva, who has previously worked as a staff economist at World
Bank in Washington, DC: "I believe that individuals should take
responsibility for the pollution they generate from their cars,
flights, and general lifestyle. It is not enough that we pay for the
emissions, we should also take steps to reduce our carbon footprint."
D'Silva, who advises individuals, companies and NGOs on how to reduce
their carbon footprint, has changed his household lights to CFL bulbs.
He has set up a vermicompost pit in his housing complex in Mahim where
he recycles about 1.5 tonne of waste every two months.
For Antonieta Noronha, headmistress, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,
Cortalim, Goa, the usage of petrol per week is 16 litres. She travels
11 km everyday by car, and feels guilty about the emissions generated
in the process. "To offset my carbon footprint, I donate around Rs 600
per year to a village which grows biofuel trees. This makes me feel
better, as otherwise I was polluting the atmosphere," said Norohna.
The calculations used here: An emission factor of 0.00222 per litre of
petrol. For diesel, the emission factor is 0.00228 to get one tonne of
CO2.
Jindal, a manager (department of supervision), Nabard, too has
calculated his carbon footprint. His usage of petrol runs into 35
litres per month. This, along with his other household emissions,
comes to an around one tonne of CO2 per annum. In order to offset his
carbon footprint, Jindal contributes Rs 250 per annum to the cause of
planting biofuel trees in a village in Andhra Pradesh.
One could also calculate carbon footprint on electricity consumption
based on the following calculation: The emission factor for the
Southern grid is 750 tonne of CO2 emissions for 1 million units of
electricity consumed. There are many carbon footprint websites which
help calculate carbon footprint.
