Alter Space Creating The Power To Lower Our Carbon Footprint

You probably think that the Global Warming phenomenon is a hoax , and right now, you are still doing the same things you’ve been doing that harms the environment.

Well, this is what will happen to our planet Earth if it continues to get hot at the rate it is going  now:

We don’t want this to happen don’t we?  Of course not!

Sorry to scare you with that way too graphic exploding planet, here is what actually is happening:

Undoubtedly , our planet Earth is getting hotter each day.  So hot that the glaciers in the Atlantic are melting so fast causing major floods in areas we never thought were possible.

Was the warming our fault?

Its one phase of the Earth that we can’t stop, but we are the reason its getting hotter faster.

According to the U.S. & World Population Clock as of 5:55 Eastern Standard Time of March 26, 2011  there is about  6.9 billion (6,908,125,109) people in the world .  There’s a 2:1 ration of  adults to children and on average, an adult has a carbon foot print of 140000kg (14tonnes) a year! Now do your math.

Are you willing to do something to slow the melt-down?

Yes we should and yes we can by changing our old habits and lowering our carbon footprint .   Our carbon footprint (CO2-eq) is the direct effect  our every action have on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas (gases that trap heat in the atmosphere) emissions.  The higher our carbon emission the dangerous it gets for us and our planet.

How do we lower our carbon footprint?

To lower our CO2-eq we must be conscious and conscientious in everything that we do . “Sometimes its’s a matter of sacrificing the things you don’t really need and replacing it with items giving you the same amount of happiness with a smaller effect in your carbon footprint.“

My happy avatar at my Alter Space

I picked up that quote from Alter Space, the 1st Filipino environmental awareness game on Facebook,  where I’ve learned to be conscious about my activity and the impact its doing on the planet.  More than just a game, it made me realize the small things I do contributes to the warming of the planet, and that the little things I change about how I do things regularly can minimize my CO2-eq.

Amazing game isn’t it?

Definitely!

At first, all I wanted was to finish Alter Space and reach level 5 as fast as I could doing the usual things I would in my normal environment without realizing what I was doing.  Who knew that frequenting the toilet emits more CO2 than what we thought.  That you are becoming a carbon magnet when you stay at home, turn on the  TV, go online and have a lightbulb or two turned on.

Being my careless self, I reached the the highest CO2-eq possible at the game and I was asked to pay 100 to be able to offset/ reset it back to 12% or the lowest possible CO2-eq emission one should have.  I’m glad I was given a second chance or else my planet would have been full of smog and my avatar would be so much unhappy.

Realizations

Alter Space is definitely not just a game, there’s so many lessons I’ve learned that I can apply in real life to save the environment.

• Instead of staying home to watch TV, be online and have a fan and lightbulb on I should be outdoors more often and enjoy outdoor activities. Its not only good for the environment because it lowers my CO2-eq, its also good to lessen my electric consumption and lower my electric bill , plus its good for my health, cardio exercise baby! Imagine that, hitting three birds in one stone.
• Eat less meat and go organic. It maybe be difficult at first and a bit expensive, but the rewards are greater healthwise and for the environment.  It wasn’t told in Alter Space why buying from the organic store is much favorable than buying food at the mall or the turo-turo. But…
  

  TRIVIA:  Worldwide, agriculture contributes to nearly 14% of total greenhouse gas emissions. In the U.S., the food we eat accounts for 17% of our total fossil fuel consumption. The carbon footprint of an average American diet is 0.75 tons CO2-eq, without accounting for food transportation. On average, food travels 1,500 miles between the production location and the market. Meat products have a larger carbon footprint than fruits, vegetables, and grains: the carbon footprint of the average meat eater is about 1.5 tons CO2-eq larger than that of a vegetarian. (source carbonfootprint.com)

• Pay for carbon offset. In the game we are only asked to pay 100 to get a lower CO2,  in real life our payback could come in the form of planting more trees, growing our own garden, supporting the research and development for an alternative power source or cleanergy (clean+energy). Its like planting good karma to harvest good karma!

What else can we do?

Here are some tips on how to conserve energy or lower carbon emissions:

• Use public transport more or start/join a carpooling. Isn’t it much fun to get stuck in the Manila traffic with a companion than endure it alone? Did you know that when you travel 25 miles one way your CO2-eq round trip is 4044 kgs CO2 every year.  I’m happy and proud public transport commuter.

TRIVIA: Worldwide, the fossil fuels used for transportation contribute to over 13% of greenhouse gas emissions. Cars with an average fuel efficiency produce nearly 20 pounds of CO2-eq for every gallon of gasoline burned. (Source: World Resource Institute)

• If your going somewhere at a short distance its better to walk or ride a bike . Walking or riding a bike produces no CO2 at all!
• Switch from desktop to laptop. Laptops use less energy than desktops – especially in ‘low energy’ mode.  (But I wish there will be a company who can collect our electronic waste so it won’t get dumped the wrong way or rot in our homes/offices when some parts can still be used.  Or maybe an NGO who will collect to give to the less fortunate. )

• Bring your own coffee mug when you visit your favorite coffee shop. Less waste means less energy, equals to becoming more environment friendly.  (You don’t bring your used plastic cups or paper cups outside the coffee show when you are done with it anyway.  You will be so much “cool” if you bring your own marked mug you purchased at that coffee shop and use it there every time you buy your coffee!  People will definitely know your a patron and a the staff will know you are a loyal customer, you might get perks if you do!)

• As much as possible avoid plastic water bottles.  Making them uses much fossil fuel more than you think and if not disposed properly they cause major major disaster.
• Avoid the paper trail. If you don’t really need to print-out any email better stick to the soft copy but if you have to, then recycle by using the backside of an already used paper.  You can lessen your paper trail by paying your bills online than wait for your paper bill sent via courier or company messenger.
• Instead of using plastic shopping bags when doing your grocery bring your own reusable shopping bag. Or you can reuse the same plastic bag you got from the same store the last time you shopped.

TRIVIA: When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved. (Source Siera Recycling Club )

• Stop smoking! You are burning 100% CO2, plus its bad for your health and you know that!

I can tell you so much more ways you can do to lessen your Co2-eq and help save the environment but there’s a million ideas running in my mind and I don’t want to bore you with them anymore.   What I indicated above are just some of the most common and easiest things we can do for now.   It takes one-small step to get you closer to your goal so every single thing you do, no matter how irrelevant you think it is, makes a huge difference! Let’s do this and conserve our planet Earth for our children’s children!

If you want to get an estimate of your present, real life, CO2-eq you can use this Carbon Footprint Calculator in Facebook that Aboitiz Power created.  I love this CF calculator because it’s tailored for the Philippine lifestyle unlike the other CFC calculator I’ve tried before.

Tell me, what mark will you leave on Earth?

Stay gorgeous everyone!

(Some images were lifted from Google Image Search and from Alter Space Fan photo album.  1st video courtesy of Vimeo.com, Global Warming 101 Video courtesy of National Geographic )