Earth hero. When a friend suggested ‘i might like it’, i first raised my eyes (🙄) and then decided I should at least give it a try. So, I downloaded it. The first step is to calculate your ‘emissions’ - this is done through a couple of very vague question and.. mine apparently exceeded massively italian averages.
Yet I said I had only driven <10.000 km in a year (maybe i know people who drive too much, but i have friends who could triple that or more, even much more…). Maybe it’s my flying, yet it never asked me the length of those, and I do purchase the emissions reduction for what is worth. Food wise I said I eat meat monthly, fish maybe weekly. Energy wise, I used the ‘standards for the country’ in terms of how much is clean. To be fair, energy is a massive issue, especially in the city, where becoming ‘independent’ and fully clean is not possible, and even the providers that say they are clean actually still only provide a small percentage from fully renewables and are still a bit shady. Plus, they are the privatised ones that also happen to be raising their bills a lot, whereas the more ‘public/state-affiliated’ (however that works, I am still confused, and I promise I will study more) provider, which has a very small percentage of renewables, is at least being consistent with their pricing. Even in these weird times.. so, switching seems way too risky for a little benefit. If you ask me, I’d be happy living on the sailing boat out of 12V battery power (charged on solar and wind), pumping with my foot to get water out of the tap.. but i live in a city where you can’t even add solar panels to roofs, so.. This to say, that the first step brings a lot of climate guilt - you can go then refine it: here you can input total km traveled with each transport method (also trains, biking, bus..), and it’s a great exercise. You can input the different kinds of animal products you may consume (frequency rather than quantity..) and how you manage your waste. Still. My emissions are nearly double the global average and a third more of the global average. And looking at the breakdown that’s just due to those flights trips (and i think i underestimated the number of those……). It’s interesting that it compares it against the 2030 target and, frankly, i am > 3x off! Here I am writing on this ‘sustainable’ blog and.. ugh.. The app also gives you points for actions, and then it gives you the quantity of ‘saved emissions’. Looking at some of these actions, they seem unlikely to lower one’s emission though. Maybe they are useful and good practices to do, for example watching documentaries and listening to podcasts about climate change. There actions focused on voting, and writing to representatives (yes to that!) as well as becoming familiar with the investing jargon and then investing in the right things and divesting from fossil fuels. Some other actions as slightly more ‘greenwashy’ , as if using a reusable cotton swab is really going to save the world (in theory we shouldn’t use them at all and ears should be able to look after themselves, although mine thinks differently) , or ‘adopting a forest’ (it really depends on what how when where why) , and frankly what the heck has a ‘deep time walk’ got to do with emission reduction? (plus you need another app for it, and internet is not emission free… ) . I don't really understand how can 'emission reductions' be calculated in terms of actual weigh of co2 for these actions though, so it's borderline for my tolerance of these 'imprecisions'. On the other hand, it may be a useful exercise for everybody to do, to see where they stand, and to get inspired by some of the 'suggested actions' . Probably time better used compared to mindless instagram scrolling (yes yes I am also speaking to myself...). So overall the app isn’t a total ‘reject’ and has the pro of making you think about it, but then again, i am starting to think that we are all heading for extinction, so might as well enjoy that trip as long as you make the most out of it n
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