My Carbon Footprint for 2014

My Daily Impact for the Year 2014

I am over a month late in posting this; things just got a little busy.

2014 was a good year for my reduction efforts in my carbon footprint. There were no long driving trips or airline flights. I rode my scooters and motorcycle a lot, and drove my cars much less. I rode my bicycle a lot, and did quite a bit of walking. On the down side, I still eat meat, and still care for a large dog. I am doing more each day to reduce my meat consumption, and Astro is well worth the reduction in carbon emissions from other sources. The occasional release of Methane from both me and Astro cannot be quantified!

Power use this year was a total of 4601 KWh. This is an increase of 29% from 2013. This figure includes the use of power for two people, and having an extra person share my home actually reduces the total power consumption as compared to two people in separate dwellings. It is an increase of power use for two years in a row, and I intend to reverse this trend in 2015.

As mentioned earlier, there was a big reduction in gasoline use as compared to 2013. I drove my least efficient vehicle, my 1997 Plymouth Voyager, only 736 miles last year. Because this mileage was mostly flower delivery, the miles per gallon for the van this year was only 18.8. I do not consider this bad because it was almost all city driving with the A/C on. The EPA ratings for this van are 16 city, 22 highway, and 18 combined. I am satisfied that I drive this van as efficiently as possible.

My second least efficient vehicle is my 2000 Toyota Celica. I drove it 5318 miles using 153.2 gallons for an average MPG of 34.7. The average MPG fell this year because there was no big road trip, and I towed my 760 pound camping trailer quite a bit. This figure still is well above the published figure of only 27combined MPG as per the EPA. The highway rating for this car is only 31. I am really pleased with this number. I get better than 31 MPG towing my camper!

A new vehicle in my fleet is a 2005 Ninja 250 motorcycle. This bike is not known for its fuel efficiency, but mine does quite well. Most people who own this type of bike only report between 50 and 70 MPG. There are some other people like me who get mileage like the 81.7 that I average with mine. I did change the gear ratio shortly after I bought it to reduce the RPM at highway speeds, and that raised my average from 72 to the 81.7 that I get now. I also coast and sail (coasting with the engine off) as much as possible, and I almost always shut the engine off at red lights.

The most efficient group of vehicles I used in 2014 was my Honda Elite scooters. The least efficient, but most reliable is the 1988 CH-80. I rode it 2554 miles, and averaged 88.9 MPG. I have stopped riding this scooter because I find the Ninja to be much more fun.

I revived that 1988 Honda because my 2007 Honda CH-80 died on me, and I could not figure out why. I drove it a total of 1538 miles, and got 100.5 MPG. If this scooter was still running, I would have kept it, and used it for the fuel mileage advantage over the Ninja.

My most efficient scooter was one that I originally bought for parts. It was a 1985 Honda Elite with a 50cc two-stroke engine. I drove it only 348 miles before it too died, but it averaged 110.9 MPG. I would have kept it had it lasted.

My total carbon dioxide footprint for 2014 was:
                Gasoline:             280.50 gallons x 19.4=5441.7 pounds CO2
                Electricity             4601 KWH x 1.22=5613.2 pounds CO2
               Total                    11055 pounds or 5.53 tons
I used 1.22 lb/KWh for my house per Cotap.org, and I used 19.4 lb/gal for gas in my vehicles per the US Energy Information Administration.

The best transportation option I used this year is my trusty Raleigh Technium 12 speed racing bike. I often ride it to Ikea for breakfast, and run short errands with it too. I pledge to ride this bike even more this year for the two benefits it gives: no carbon output, and great exercise for me.

This year, 2015, I will do some things to improve my over-all impact. I will reduce my consumption of meat, further reduce the use of my cars, and increase the energy efficiency of my house. I recently took advantage of Ikea’s 50% off sale on LED light bulbs; I spent 50 dollars for 100 dollars worth of very efficient bulbs. I am to the point where there are no incandescent bulbs in my house, and fewer and fewer florescent ones. I will also re-whiten my roof with fresh coating this spring, and insulate the wood floor above the crawl space. I look forward to even better news next year.

My Carbon Footprint for 2013

This is the 45th post to this blog.

I have just completed the calculations for my carbon footprint for 2013. I now have a second person living in my home, so the numbers will not be directly comparable for the electricity use for the last several years. I am glad that the power use only went up by 32 percent.

I also did not use air travel at all this past year. That saved almost 1/2 ton from 2012. I did take a long road trip with Astro (my awesome dog) in the Celica. This added almost 9200 miles to my total for the year, but I do not know how I could be more efficient traveling with my dog.

There are only two small unknowns for this year. I used some propane for my camp stove, and I lit two campfires during my trip.

Here are my 2013 carbon calculations:
I used 1.22 lb/KWh for my house per Cotap.org, and I used 19.4 lb/gal for gas in my vehicles per the US Energy Information Administration.

My house:
3554 KWh = 4336 lb (this is an increase of 32% from 2012)

The 1997 Voyager van:
1252 mi, 58.33 gal (21.46 MPG) = 1131 lb (this is a decrease of 23% from 2012)

The 2000 Toyota Celica:
13731 mi, 362.3 gal (37.9 MPG) = 7028 lb (this is an increase of 62% from 2012)

The 2007 Honda Elite scooter:
4687 mi, 48.81 gal (96.0 MPG) = 947 lb (this is an increase of 90% from 2012)

The total:
13,442 pounds or 6.72 tons CO2.... an increase of 23% from 2012

I drove a lot in 2013, and this really increased my impact. My goal is to use my bike and public transportation much more in 2014.

My Carbon Footprint for 2012

This is the 44th post to this blog.

I just did the calculations for my carbon footprint in 2012. There is good news, and there is bad news.

The good news is that my electricity use fell from 3039 KWh in 2011 to 2690 KWh in 2012. This number denotes an 11.5 percent decrease even though I had overnight guests through AirBNB for about 100 total days.

There is more good news. I only drove the van 1522 miles in 2012, and even though the average MPG dropped to 20.9, the overall footprint was smaller. I also purchased a 2000 Toyota Celica from my friend Rick. Even though it is a sporty car, it gets great mileage (see the calculations below). I sold the electric S-10 truck, and I hope the purchaser gets good use from it.

The bad news was posted in my 43rd posting. It was the air travel to Costa Rica. The flight was responsible for almost 1/2 ton of CO2. I also rented a car, and drove it 1059 km, but the car did very well on fuel, so that was not too much of an impact. I also rode the ferry to the Nicoya Peninsula with the car, and I do not know how to calculate that impact, so that will be an unknown.

Here are the final Carbon calculations:

My house:
2690 KWh @ 1.22 pounds/KWh (Cotap.org) = 3282 lb

The 1997 Voyager van
1522 mi, 71.73 gal (20.94 MPG) @ 19.4 pounds/gallon (US Energy Information Administration) = 1392 lb

The 2000 Celica
8473 mi, 230.79 gal (36.71 MPG) @ 19.4 lb/gal = 4478 lb

The 2004 Honda Elite scooter
3724 mi, 35.7 gal (101.4 MPG) @ 19.4 lb/gal = 499 lb

The rental car 2012 Toyota Yaris
1059 km (658 mi), 60.45 liters (15.97 gal) 41.2 MPG..... 15.97 @ 19.4 lb/gal = 310 lb

The flight from Orlando (MCO) to San Jose (SJO)
1266 total miles @ .7425 lb/air-mile (Carbonfund.org) = 940 lb

The grand total = 10890 pounds or 5.45 tons CO2

I am proud of this small number, but would like to improve it for 2013.

My daily impact: January 16 - January 29, 2012

This is the 43rd posting to this blog.

I have been traveling, so I have not updated this blog in a while. I went to Costa Rica, and it was beautiful.

There were large carbon costs to this trip, so let us get those out of the way. According to Carbonfund.org, my flights totaling 2566 miles round-trip contributed 940 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. There is also an effect from the condensation trail and the emission of the gas at such a high altitude which make the emission equal to 2540 pounds of CO2 at ground level. That is a lot! There was also the rental car. I used just over 15 gallons of gas for a total output of about 300 pounds of CO2 from that. That is the bad news.

The good news: I was able to turn the grid power completely off at the house while I was gone. It has actually been off since I got home Thursday night. Thanks new solar panels and Florida sunshine! While I was in Costa Rica, I ate only local food. It is easy to do there if you like fruit, and I do! I also had chicken (not so great for the environment) with locally produced beans, rice and plantains. This is referred to as "Comida Typica" meaning typical food.

The car was a mixed blessing. I rented the car because I wanted the extra security of having my own transportation in a place I had never been before. The car served me well, but now that I have been there, I would not rent a car again. It was expensive, and because of the good bus system, unnecessary. There is a bit of good news; the Yaris got 41 MPG, and proved to be a very comfortable and quiet car. It was a brand new 5-door model, and at least I was able to take two housemates on an excursion to Poas Volcano.

I will be returning to Costa Rica soon, and look forward to doing the adventure by bus.

Daily Impact: January 5 - 15, 2012

This is post number 42.

As you may see by the title, it has been 10 days since updating this blog. There is good news, and some old challenges to overcome.

The good news is that there is now 40 percent more solar power generation on my roof. The new panels came quickly, and I hooked them up in the front yard on the second day that I had them. I then got a frame together and welded, and put them up on the roof. I am excited at the prospect of more free power!

Each of the panels produce 195 watts of power, and I placed them to get the most sun possible. They were really a good deal too. There was no shipping charge, and each panel was only $ 220. This is less money per watt than I have spent on the used panels, and I had to drive to pick those up. There is the impact of manufacture and shipping from Germany. There is less impact because the panels came mostly by ship, and only between Georgia and Orlando by truck. These panels also have a good score for the manufacturing process.

There has been some use of my van lately for basic transportation. It has been too cold for me to ride the scooter too much, and I have put almost 100 miles on the van in the last three days. I have been driving it very gently, and hope to be getting about 24 MPG or more.

There has also been more consumption of meat and chicken. I have been trying to avoid this, but probably end up having meat 6 or 7 times per week. Darn that free bacon at Ikea!

I got my power bill for December 7 - January 9, and it was very low for this time of year. I used 93 KWh for a total bill of $21.60. I can not take all of the credit for this low bill; the weather has been very mild. The solar space heater has been doing pretty well, but on the second cold day it is not enough to warm the house to a reasonable temperature. Part of that is that my house looses heat like a sieve through the walls, floor, and ceiling. Don't worry though, this will be addressed soon enough.

My Daily Impact January 3 and 4, 2012

This is post number 41.

The new year is starting off cold. It is the perfect time to try out the solar space heater, and the results are good. I can run the fan on high between 10 AM and Noon, and at reduced speeds at other times, and it keeps the house nice during the day. The high yesterday was about 50, and the house got up to about 70, and stayed there until evening. This is a great result from a box that cost less than $ 100.00 to build.

There was a good, steady wind Monday night and most of the day yesterday, and I got confirmation that the wind generator works. By 11:00 the batteries were completely full, and I had to find ways to use the excess power for an hour or so. A grid-tied system does not have this issue, but I like the thought of having power even if the grid is down.

Food wise, I am doing better to eat local food. I had some nice Florida squash and onions last night, but then had packaged bar-b-q chicken with it. Progress, not perfection! I was treated to a nice mushroom and onion omelet yesterday courtesy of my neighbor Peggy. She also made fried sweet potatoes, and it was all yummy.

Today it is off to Ikea for breakfast with my friend Michael. I will still have the bacon, but will ride the e-scooter over there to try to offset that a little.

Stay warm!

My Daily Impact, December 20 2011 Through January 2, 2012

This is the 40th posting to this blog.

I must confess again to letting a lot of time pass between postings to this blog. I fully intended to keep track of all of the little things which make an impact on our planet. I will endeavor to do better at this during 2012, and will start by a recap of 2011.

I completed my carbon footprint calculations, and I did pretty well keeping that to a minimum last year. The biggest single contributor to my footprint this past year was a flight to Chicago last May. That was a trip to the National Restaurant Show with the student group at Valencia College. I really enjoyed the trip, but there was a definite carbon cost to flying. According to Sightline Institute, the 2320 mile round trip is responsible for 2250 pounds. I am glad I only flew once!

Better news from the transportation side of my footprint comes from the van and the scooters. I only drove the van 5941 miles last year and used 252 gallons of gas. The miles per gallon average was 23.5 which was lower than previous years. There was an issue with the starter that made the computer reset too often, and that problem was resolved. I will be replacing the spark plugs soon, and hope to get the average MPG back up above 25. I still can not complain about a 14 year-old van with 156,000 miles on it getting such good mileage while having so much interior room.

My van in Nevada in 2009. A full-sized mattress fits easily in the back.
This is my mini camper.

The two Honda scooters did very well. The 1988 Honda averaged 95 MPG for 2595 miles and only 27.3 gallons of gas. The 2007 Honda averaged 108 MPG for 3372 miles and only 31.2 gallons of gas. All the gas total was 310.6 gallons for 6057 pounds of CO2 at 19.5 pounds per gallon of gas. I am happy with this number.

The best news this past year was the decrease in grid power use from 2010. In 2010, power consumption was a total of 4908 KWh. That was a decrease from 6887 in 2009 and 10126 in 2008. For 2011, my total KWh use from the grid was only 2832. This is a 42 percent decrease from 2010, and I am really proud of that number. One of the biggest reasons for this decrease was driving the truck only 1378 miles last year. I also shut power off to the whole house quite often.

The carbon dioxide release from power use is hard to estimate. It fully depends on the type of fuel used to generate the power in the first place. I use power from Progress Energy, and the percentage of power generated from various sources changes monthly. I may go through my bills, and perform the long calculations, and then again, I may not! I am just glad that the overall power and fuel use is down from last year.

What is ahead for 2012? I have some new weapons against power use in use and coming soon. My solar space heater is working well. I still have to see how effective it will be in really cold weather, but early results are good. The interior of the box gets above 160 degrees even when it is only 55 degrees outside. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow when 49 will be the high!

There is also more solar power on the way. I ordered 380 watts of new panels and a second charge controller, and the extra generating power will be added to my system shortly. This extra power should allow more days of zero grid use, and more use of the solar powered window A/C in the summer.

I thank you for reading this blog, and hope that it does not bore you too much with all of the numbers; I tend to be a numbers kind of guy.