The price of goods and services has been changing ever since the invention of money. When exactly that was is based on conjecture, as money was invented long before written text, but value of goods has always been based on supply and demand. Modern day vendors have taken advantage of this through limiting supply and creating a status symbol for products that far exceed necessitation.
But has modern society gotten it wrong? What if the price of products were set on the amount of harm they create for the planet? Let’s take a look at the carbon footprint of some essential and not so essential items.
FOOD
Basing on the recommended size of home cooked meals:
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Portion Size | Per Dish |
| Beef | 3oz portion | 3.3lb |
| Lamb | 3oz portion | 3.3lb |
| Poultry | 3oz portion | 1.7lb |
| Fish | Bowl | 0.5lb |
| Vegetable | Bowl | 0.5lb |
SHELTER
Home Energy: the average American energy consumption emits 17.2lbs of CO2 per day.
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Lifetime | Per Use |
| Shower | 46.5T | 3.4lb |
| Clothes Washing | 25.8T | 2.3lb |
| Dishwasher | 13.7T | 1.7lb |
WATER
Water: the average American uses 100 gallons per day which produces 0.5lb of CO2 emissions to deliver, remove and wastewater treatment. That is 7.1T of CO2 emissions over your lifetime.
CLOTHING
There is a wide disparity in the carbon footprint values of different clothing depending on materials, manufacturing techniques, manufacturing location, cleaning frequency and how many times you wear it the item.
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Cradle to Purchase | Life cycle | Per Wear |
| Cotton T-shirt | 15lb | 20.4lb | 0.4lb |
| Dress | 22lb | 31lb | 1lb |
| Shoes | 30lb | 30lb | 0.3lb |
VEHICLES
The Life Cycle Carbon Footprint of a vehicle can also have a wide range depending on how often the car is used, frequency of maintenance and
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Life cycle | Per Mile |
| Tesla model 3 (Long Range) | 28.6T | 0.4lb |
| BMW 335i | 105.6T | 2.2lb |
| Ford F150 | 147.3T | 2.5lb |
OTHER COMMUTING
Based on an average 45 minute commute, we can look at alternative transport to driving your own vehicle:
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Per Day | Per Minute |
| Train | 7.2lb | 0.16lb |
| Bus | 8.9lb | 0.57lb |
| Subway | 8.5lb | 0.19lb |
| Taxi/Uber | 67.5lb | 1.5lb |
*All figures are based on US averages. If you use more sustainable practices such as shorter/colder showers, less laundry, vegan diet, zero waste, zero packaging, and sustainable product purchasing your carbon emissions will be significantly lower.
A “COST” COMPARISON
We should be aiming to emit around 13.2lb of CO2 per day if we want to live a sustainable lifestyle. Currently the US Averages 100lb of CO2 (7.5x the sustainable limit). What does that look like?
| Carbon Emissions (CO2e) | Average | Sustainable | |||
| Shower | 8 minute | 3.4lb | 2 minute | 0.85lb | |
| Meals | Meat based | 22.5lb | Vegan based | 2.55lb | |
| Commute | Car | 34lb | Train | 6.2lb | |
| Clothes Cleaning | Washer & Dryer | 5.6lb | Washer (Cold) | 2.3lb | |
| Dishwasher | Dishwasher | 1.7lb | Hand Wash | 0.4lb | |
| Television | 4hr | 0.15lb | 4hr | 0.15lb | |
| Heating / Cooling | Average | 32lb | Solar Electric | 0.5lb | |
| Water | 100 Gallons | 0.5lb | 50 Gallons | 0.25lb | |
| TOTAL | 99.85lb | 13.2lb |
The largest savings have come from switching a car commute to the train, a vegan diet and renewable energy for our heating / cooling.
So if we take the average cost of living as $20,194 per person each year, we can estimate the yearly cost for sustainable living should be only $2,665. Anyone onboard with that?
SUSTAINABLE TIPS:
Looking at the above averages, most Americans don’t stand a chance. So what can you do to make this a reality.
1. Cut down on your home energy use. Less heating / cooling, shorter showers, spend more time with other people to split energy use.
2. Commuting alternatives used where possible including walking and cycling. If you must take a vehicle then car pool or ride share.
3. Wash your clothes less and dry them on a rack. Keep them as long as possible. Ensure that washers & dishwashers are completely full when used.
4. Eat less meat. Purchase from a farmer’s market or as local as possible. Try to base recipes around seasonal items.
5. If possible, switch your home energy to solar or renewable if offered by your utility.
In practice, a sustainable lifestyle will be cheaper for the most part. Reusing items, using less power & water, driving or taking taxis less and eating less meat will all provide savings. Is it possible that if there was a tax based on the carbon emissions of everything – more people would live sustainably?
