Buildings in the U.S. are our largest source of green house gas emissions, accounting for over 43% of our country’s CO2 totals. Our homes make up 49% of the that total or about 21% of total CO2 emissions. When you look a bit deeper at the data, about 60% of those emissions can be traced back to purchased electricity from coal fired power plants. So, every time you switch on a light you’re most likely drawing power in whole or part from one of this country’s coal plants. Largely due to our umbilical cord to coal, the average home emits more than twice as much CO2 than the average car!
Answer excerpted from Our Homes and Global Warming on The Sustainable Home Blog.
Image Edu Wagtelenberg, www.sxc.hu
This post made me remember a
This post made me remember a really interesting profile on Amory Lovins in The New Yorker from January of this year, titled "Mr. Green." Lovins coined the term "negawatt"-- meaning "a watt of electricity that does not have to be generated" because an energy-saving measure has made it unnecessary. The story notes that negawatts produce more negawatts, so for example, "a house lit with compact fluorescents requires less air conditioning, since fluorescent bulbs emit a fraction of the heat of incandescents." Pretty cool.
Data and New Yorker
Good data and perspective.
The New Yorker really has been a true friend of the environment hasn't it? I remember a 3-part series they did in early 2005 on climate change that made me realize how real and imminent this problem is. I have a vivid vision of their explanation of how glaciers refract sunlight, so when the ice melts, the sun heats the water, which in turn melts more ice. A pretty nasty cycle to be sure. In typical New Yorker style, the series is also packed with lots of scientific findings and observations from their fieldwork, and provides real visibility into places and lives that are being affected by these changes.
I tried looking for the articles online-- they have only abstracts posted but there are directions for ordering the archives.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/04/25/050425fa_fact3
I guess it's good news that so much of this damage is coming from our homes, at least that means we have the power to do something about it. Thank you for helping to show the way.