Welcome to my journey!

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Hello, and thanks for taking the trouble to come on over and read my blog. As this is my first post, allow me to introduce myself. I live in Canberra, Australia. I am “retired”, although I hate that term. I am kept busy by volunteering with a number of organisations. 

I have a long term interest in the environment and sustainability. I am deeply concerned about the impact the increase in greenhouse gas emissions is having on our planet. I am particularly concerned for the world my children and grandchildren will grow up in. The recent bushfires and floods are an indicator of what the world will increasingly face if we don’t reduce emissions.

My partner and I have implemented a number of changes designed to reduce emissions. Prior to the changes, we were like many households: burning gas for heating, hot water and cooking and burning oil in our car. I have the advantage in that I live in Canberra where 100% of the electricity comes from renewable sources. The changes that have made the biggest impact to reduce our emissions are:

  • Replacing gas with electricity
  • Installing solar panels
  • Buying an electric bike
  • Buying an electric car

In subsequent entries on this website, I will provide more information on what we did, how much it cost and the specific benefits of each change. As a result, we have eliminated emissions when we are in Canberra. I hope this information is valuable to you if you are considering any of these options. 

We are not perfect – we are well aware that we still generate emissions when we travel outside of Canberra on bus, train or plane. I am always learning about emissions and how best to reduce them. 

The area where I need to learn most is about indirect emissions. These are emissions that arise from the products and services we purchase. Every time, I purchase a product or service, the supplier of that product or service has generated emissions in producing that product or service. These are sometimes referred to as embedded or upfront emissions. When I consume that product or service, I am responsible for those emissions. Put another way, if I did not consume that product or service, then no emissions would arise. But how do we find out which product or service to purchase that minimises emissions?

In this website, I will look at how I have made decisions on products and services that minimise emissions. For example, I will look at how I decide on what food to buy.

I plan to update this blog once a week. So check in regularly for updates. I would love to hear your feedback and comments on what I write – you can do this by posting a comment after a relevant article or send me an email (details are in Contact).

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