do you know anyone in this affluent area that has altered their lifestyle to reduce CO2 emissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many kids do you have OP? More than 1? Then you and your spouse and kids and their kids will always be impacting the environment for decades to come, far more than you could have...regardless of having a car and riding a bike.

OP here. We have one child. Climate change wasn't really a factor in our decision to have a small family, but obviously reducing population growth -- and perhaps even entering a long period of negative population growth -- would make it much easier to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like anything I do is a drop in the bucket compared to the changes that need to by implemented in the form of government policy and / or corporate decisions. My not taking an international trip barely registers compared to the emissions by China or India.

OP here. A significant % of the emissions in China is caused by the manufacture of products that we import to the USA. So in a sense, those emissions belong to us. Our consumer behavior here has an impact on emissions output overseas.

[Anonymous]

My husband nixes ideas for trips that involve plane travel!

[Anonymous]

I hear you, OP. I feel like this about so many environmental issues and wonder, even if the people making such selfish choices care about nothing else, how can they not be concerned about the world that their own children and grandchildren will inherit?

I know some people say that individual actions make little difference compared to the big changes that are needed, but that doesn't relieve each of us of responsibility. Plus individual actions can make a difference collectively -- and the more people are educated, the better chance of societal change.

Anyway, it's great that you are doing so much, OP. If you are not already part of any environmental groups, maybe you could consider joining? You'd have more contact with like-minded individuals and help support change on a broader level.

[Anonymous]

There is a certain selection bias in the DMV. Many people have the choice to pick between MD and VA. Some people pick MD because they feel like VA still has too many conservatives. Some people pick VA because they feel like MD has too many sanctimonious liberals.
I can say that in my MoCo neighborhood, I see a lot of solar panels, compost bins, electric cars, and very few SUVs, and many people limit their meat consumption for environmental reasons. I agree with PPs that travel is one that I think everyone has trouble giving up. I don’t know many people that do weekend trips to Europe or the west coast but a lot of people have family far away and do go visit annually, and do summer and spring break vacations in a wide variety of places. We haven’t been outside North America in over 20 years and we’re splurging and taking 2 such trips in the upcoming year. Is that bad? I guess, but maybe not as bad as some others. I think we do what we think we can, and we all draw different lines about what sacrifice is more than we are comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, passenger vehicles of all types make up only about 7% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. All residential energy use is something like 11%. So you can try all you want but the reality is that industry is responsible for almost all global emissions and you're just making your life harder to not even put a dent in this.

Renewables now account for a higher percentage of US energy than coal. That happened through millions of individuals making the decision to pay more to make it happen, not through legislation.

This is true with many changes that take place in society, and it's a common error to think that individuals can't make a difference. In some cases, it's the only way change happens. One person at a time deciding they care more about the common good than about their own personal pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, passenger vehicles of all types make up only about 7% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. All residential energy use is something like 11%. So you can try all you want but the reality is that industry is responsible for almost all global emissions and you're just making your life harder to not even put a dent in this.

It's an all-round effort, PP. We have a highly energy-conscious home, for example. You can't really curtail energy use in your house while continuing to gaz-guzzle every time you use your vehicle - it makes no sense. We need to change hearts and minds by modeling energy conservation, alternative energy use and lower consumption of plastics, in all aspects of our lives. I'm not saying you need to suffer! But if you're informed and aware, you can make choices everywhere that are better for the environment and the long-term health of humans. And if your kids and your community sees your efforts, they'll be more likely to make them too. It needs to become a societal reflex. It's the only way people are going to prioritize voting for environmentally-conscious representatives at all levels of government, and the only way companies and businesses will understand they cannot risk the wrath of public opinion by continuing to pollute.

We've outsourced our pollution to east/south Asia. You can pretend all you want but our "local communities" can't do jack to meaningfully impact global emissions. Keep dreaming though

Your cynicism is unfortunately shared by many, and it ensures a snail's pace toward change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree, I don’t know anyone who has really altered their lifestyle. The biggest issue is international travel. All the liberals and democrats I know air travel as much as they can afford.

Not true for everyone, but unfortunately there are still quite a few who haven't made the paradigm shift yet from 'can I afford it?' to 'do I really need it?'

[Anonymous]

Hmmm...
- We drive hybrid cars that we charge using solar energy.
- Obviously, we have solar panels
- We do not use bottled water.
- We do not use fertilizer on our lawn or water it. Mainly have been seeding it with clover
- We have a butterfly garden and only plant native plant
- Rainscape gardening. We slow down water in our yard.
- Compost all kitchen waste
- Recycle plastic, cans, bottles
- Use Trash Nothing and Green Drop to get rid of stuff
- Mainly vegetarian
- Mainly eat local
- Do a lot of environmental charity
- Create habitat for wildlife in our yard
- Don't use cedar mulch so that turtles can lay eggs in our flower beds.
- Plog

[Anonymous]

I know lots of people willing to limit their conspicuous consumption but those same people tend to refuse to limit international travel which undos their electric car and then some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like anything I do is a drop in the bucket compared to the changes that need to by implemented in the form of government policy and / or corporate decisions. My not taking an international trip barely registers compared to the emissions by China or India.

OP here. A significant % of the emissions in China is caused by the manufacture of products that we import to the USA. So in a sense, those emissions belong to us. Our consumer behavior here has an impact on emissions output overseas.

And on average, an Indian uses about 1/3 of the energy that the average American consumes.

[Anonymous]

Our family has taken some steps.
- drive EVs
- installed solar
- compost as much as we can, leave clippings
- use buy nothing
- cut down on consumer purchases
- limit to one big trip per year
- train/drive EV whenever possible

We do what we can, but there are bigger fish to fry. China’s cement industry puts out inane levels of CO2. We should shift to the old Roman cement recipe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In North Arlington, my wife and I feel like we are completely alone in our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. We have just one car that we use sparingly, and we use bicycles for our local errands. We keep our thermostat at 65F in the winter (and wear sweaters) and 79F in the summer, using ceiling fans to make the bedrooms more comfortable. We greatly limit our international and domestic travel. We eat mostly vegetarian meals, and we never eat beef.

All of our neighbors have multiple large SUVs, and many neighbors have knocked their 2000 square foot houses down and replaced them with 5000 square foot homes. Some neighbors with 5000 square foot homes have only 1 child, so they don't truly need a huge living space. Many neighbors drive to work in their SUV without any other passengers to accompany them. They go on multiple international vacations a year (lots of CO2 per flight). Huge amounts of garbage are generated each week and placed on the curb, presumably to make way for yet more stuff that they are buying for their homes -- stuff that will probably end up on the curbside, destined for the landfill, a year or two down the road.

I've posted my frustrations in the "car and transport" section of this forum, only to be told by other posters that I'm jealous of my neighbor's SUVs and large homes. Despite a high level of education among DCUM posters, most don't appear concerned about the consequences of their consumerism, and can't even conceive of a high-income family exercising some restraint.

We are, in fact, a high net worth family, but we are striving to reduce our carbon footprint. We feel completely alone, like strangers in a foreign country. I'm curious if anybody else here feels the same way.

We do, which is why we live in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill. We don’t own a car because public transport is easy to access, I work from home, we are vegetarian, compost, get much of our stuff on Buy Nothing, etc. There are lots of people near us that are like you. Come on over and join us!

[Anonymous]

Some of my more stridently liberal friends are also constant travelers. They don't consume much outside of travel, so maybe they make their own calculus. But the constant travel and flights- international and national - are really offputting to me as they natter on about their progressive values.

We own two cars and drive both (live in DC, work in VA, kids in activities and schedules and schools that cause a lot of driving). I've been a low consumer, I spent ten years as a vegetarian, we've had only one car at one period - I think we need to make allowances for stage of life and think about how there are times of higher consumption and lower.

[Anonymous]

You only have one kid and you live in a house and you are being sanctimonious about how others live in a way that it’s not good for the environment? You should start with moving into a two bedroom apartment.