REDUCING YOUR ECOLOGICAL IMPACT Peter Harper Centre for Alternative Technology.

REDUCING YOUR REDUCING YOUR ECOLOGICAL IMPACTECOLOGICAL IMPACT

Peter HarperPeter Harper

Centre for Alternative TechnologyCentre for Alternative Technology

THE BASIC ARGUMENT• We can recognise two basic strategies:

• “Technical” measures, usually instituted on a large scale

• “Cultural” measures, usually entailing changes of personal or organisational behaviour, aspirations and lifestyle

• But there are drawbacks on both sides, e.g.

• Technical solutions tend to suffer from ‘rebound’ effects

• Cultural solutions suffer from poor take-up

• R = S x T where R is the overall reduction of impact, S is the specific reduction and T is the level of take-up

• Is there an optimum mixed strategy?

The Broad and the Narrow Way

How can you sell rectitude and restraint in the modern world?

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Plausible trends for per capita carbon emissions

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Possible trends in UK GHG emissions

Figure 2. Carbon emissions per head attributable to various household processes. For the example households in the text the whole-household levels would be four times the per capita levels here. For context, the UK 2050 target is around 4t per head, the IPCC target 2t.

APPARENT ‘NON-NEGOTIABLES’ FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION

• Automatically warm house, around 20°C• Private family vehicle• Meat and dairy products at all meals• Annual holiday abroad (by air)• New consumer goods• Lots of washing, hygiene

THE SEMI-SECRET ‘NON-NEGOTIABLES’ OF THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS?

• Generously-sized house, – with character – with garden – In a pleasant location – In a suitable neighbourhood

• Compliance with family obligations– Including visits to relatives– And advantageous choices for children

• Having children is OK, many as you like• Pets are OK too• Having a ‘good’ job irrespective of environmental

considerations• Work doesn’t count • The right to spend whatever income you have • Travelling

– to South America, or maybe far east….somewhere untrodden….

'The Ideal Home' according to students from Portsmouth University, 1995

Nice climate. Quiet. Nice scenery.Loads of space. Several acres. HorsesBig, detached, 5-6 bedrooms.2+ childrenCentral heating. Nice log fire. Double glazingWood-panelled kitchen. Aga. Fridge-freezer. Dishwasher. Dryer.Domestic staff.Indoor swimming pool. Games room.Garage. 2 cars, one a 4x4.

Regular holidays abroad, mostly tropics.

‘The Ideal Home’ according to a mixed group of adult Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Cypriots, 2001

in a village near a city, preferably on the seasecond home to an inner city 'pad'spaciousdetached, surrounded by plenty of landmore than one carmore than one bathroomswimming poolfridge/freezerwashing machineTV & videocomputerdishwasher extensive lawns

'The Ideal Home' according to students from St Petersburg, 2002

On the bank of a river by the sea, near a forestIn the country with a town nearby --- like Brighton5 bedroomsLiving room 25m2, round big low table, wool carpet, cushions, fireplaceKitchen big freezer, microwave, dishwasher etcMusic roomBathroom 5-10m2, shower, mixer taps, WC2 compost toilets Small library/study, computer etcGames room, pool, table tennis, casino, coffee machineVerandah/conservatoryGarden, golf course, sheep, fountain, flowers, pond, fish, swans, horsesBicycles, eco-friendly car1 long-distance plane-trip per year

'The Ideal Home' according to mature students of Green College, Korea, 2002

Rural, in mountains by lake, south facingNice views, balcony2 floors 100m2 plus basement6 rooms, underfloor heatingSolar panels + gas, oilLibrary, books, TV, computer, music systems, piano2 bathrooms, saunaKitchen/dining room, fridge-freezer, kimchi fridge, dishwasher etcGarden 160m2, dog, chickens, pond, flowers, food forestGarage, SUV, small family saloon2 long-distance plane trips per year300km by car once or twice a month

HOUSEHOLD A 2 ADULTS, 2 CHILDREN

6-bedroom 18th century home

£20,000 recently spent on improvements, damp-proofing, roof-lights, panelling etc

Double income

Large garden, lawn, conifers, herbaceous borders, patio

Gas central heating with thermostatic radiators

Service durables: automatic washing machine, fridge-freezer, vacuum cleaner, microwave, motor mower, shredder etc

Hobby durables: cameras, binoculars, telescope, bicycles, piano and other instruments,

Multimedia computer, internet, e-mail etc

HOUSEHOLD A 2 ADULTS, 2 CHILDREN(continued)

Scandinavian furniture, plenty of wood

Much food from mainstream supermarket, including frozen and pre-packaged

Advanced (and very expensive!) Swedish toilet suite

Very wide range of toys for children, books, CD-ROMs etc

Original paintings, sculptures, antiques

Common medicaments in use include painkillers, antibiotics, migraine pills

Leisure activities: opera, theatre, sailing, amateur dramatics, astronomy

HOUSEHOLD B (2 ADULTS, 2 CHILDREN)

Urban terrace, ‘eco-retrofit’ Roof and walls insulated Eco-friendly materials and finishes 95% of building waste recycled or re-used on site Mixture of small income sources, including LETS Garden used for vegetables and waste treatment Wood-burning stove Temperature kept below 16 degrees C; thermal underwear and heavy sweaters Low-energy lamps, no TV, video, dishwasher Much furniture & clothes 2nd hand; 'hand-me down' culture Low-flush 'urine-separating' WC in house, composting toilet in outhouse Rainwater collected for garden

HOUSEHOLD B (2 ADULTS, 2 CHILDREN)continued…

Vegetarian, largely organic/wholefood diet Shower instead of bath Low-flush 'urine-separating' WC in house, composting toilet in

outhouse Rainwater collected for garden Grey-water and urine collected for garden use High rates of composting and recycling No car, members of vehicle share scheme Most journeys by foot, bike, train or bus Family holidays camping, within 100 miles of home Leisure activities: folk music, circle dancing, roller blades, bird-

watching, rock climbingUse of complementary medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture,

chiropractic etc

WELL?

Which household is the greener, and how are we to measure the differences?

The two households compared

6-bedroom 18th century home Urban terrace, ‘eco-retrofit’

£20,000 recently spent on improvements Roof and walls insulated; eco-friendly materials and finishes; 95% of building waste recycled or re-used on site

Double income

Mixture of small income sources, including LETS

Large garden, lawn, conifers, herbaceous borders, patio

Garden used for vegetables and waste treatment, wildlife

Gas central heating with thermostatic radiators

Wood-burning stove Temperature kept below 16 degrees C; thermal underwear and heavy sweaters Low-energy lamps Shower instead of bath

Service durables: automatic washing machine, fridge-freezer, vacuum cleaner, microwave, motor mower, shredder etc

No TV, video, no dishwasher

…continuedHobby durables: cameras, binoculars, telescope, bicycles, piano and other instruments, Multimedia computer, internet, e-mail etc

Scandinavian furniture, plenty of wood

Much furniture & clothes 2nd hand; 'hand-me down' culture

Advanced (and very expensive!) Swedish toilet suite

Low-flush 'urine-separating' WC in house, composting toilet in outhouse

Rainwater collected for garden Grey-water and urine collected for garden use High rates of composting and recycling

No car, members of car pool scheme

Most journeys by foot, bike, train or bus

Family holidays camping, within 100 miles of home

Much food from mainstream supermarket, including frozen and prepackaged

Vegetarian, largely organic/wholefood diet

Very wide range of toys for children, books, CD ROMs etc

Leisure activities: folk music, circle dancing, roller blades, bird-watching, rock climbing

Original paintings, sculptures, antiques

Common medicaments in use include painkillers, antibiotics, migraine pills

Use of complementary medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic etc

COMMUNITY-LEVEL APPROACHES

PASSIVE SOLAR WITH EARTH SHELTERING

MUNKSØGAARD, Denmark 1995

Rural location

300 inhabitants

Co-housing model

Mostly new-build, around existing farmhouses

5 distinct clusters with different ownership and occupants

CHP/District Heating

TRANSPORT

Inter-modal guides, maps and timetables

New cycle routes

Car club• 20 households, 3 cars• Biodiesel initiative

MACHYNLLETH CAR CLUBA FEW STATISTICS

• 25 households share three cars, used when other modes are not suitable

• There are three sizes to choose from, giving much greater flexibility

• Driving costs 35p a mile, covering all expenses including fuel, administration, tax, insurance, repairs, and buying new vehicles

• Average mileage per head is about 1000 a year, costing £300. Average cost of running a UK car is £5000 a year

• The vehicles are run on 50% biodiesel from waste catering oils.

• Carbon emissions per head are less than 10% of UK average for car travel, and there are 17 cars less on the street

• If the cars were run on 100% rapeseed oil the land required would be 0.1ha per household

• There are lots of possible models, from really basic to advanced IT-based

COULD THIS HAPPEN?

BRO DDYFI COMMUNITY RENEWABLES LTD

• First installation 75kW via CAT• Second machine 500kW direct to grid• Expected output 1GWh per year

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Net emissions

Figure 3. Here the basic and ‘enhanced’ annual emissions from the two hypothetical households are shown, with the effect of offsets purchased with 1% of gross household income.

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THE END

OR IS IT?