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Limit Flying

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Flying is the area that causes me the most dilemmas in trying to achieve zero emissions. I know that flying causes the most greenhouse gas emissions per km travelled . Flying also causes problems when the emissions are released in the higher altitudes.  One way to achieve zero emissions on long distance travel is to not fly at all. However, this is difficult in a country as big as Australia which has a poor rail network. I currently travel outside of Canberra for holidays, visiting family, walking trips and attending music festivals or events. My current goal is to limit the amount of flying I do and explore alternatives to flying. If both my partner and I are travelling together within Australia, we normally use the electric car. This has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, compared to using trains or flying. Greenhouse gas emissions will arise from using recharging stations that are powered by electricity generated from fossil fuels. Most recharging stations have a goal of being...
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Food

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Food accounts for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce my greenhouse gas emissions, I avoid eating meat and eat local organic food.  Avoiding meat The best way to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions when choosing food to eat is to avoid meat. According to Our World in Data , it is the meats and fish that emit the largest greenhouse gas emissions: Beef, Lamb, Mutton, Shrimps, Fish, Pig meat and poultry meat.  Along with climate change, one of the great challenges for the world is how to feed the increasing world’s population. Already half the habitable land on the earth is used for agriculture. Livestock accounts for 77% of global farming land but only produces 18% of the world’s calories. If the world can reduce its demand for meat, particularly beef, it will mean that more land can be available for growing vegetables and/or growing forests to draw down emissions. For more details of the environmental impacts of food production, see here . Kn...
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Buying an electric car

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After considering electric cars for several years, I decided to get serious about it in 2021. In 2021, my partner and I shared a car – a 10 year old Toyota Camry Hybrid. We considered two options for purchasing an electric car: Buying an electric car that would travel at least 400 kms between charges so that the new car could replace the Toyota Camry. The starting price for such an electric car was over $60,000. We looked closely at the Tesla model 3 and the Hyundai Kona. Buying an electric car for driving around Canberra and keeping the Toyota Camry primarily for long trips. The starting price for a new electric car was $46,000 (MG ZS EV) and there were some second hand options. We decided that option 1 was preferred as it meant we continued to just have the one car which we shared. I researched charging stations and decided it was feasible that an electric car which could travel at least 400 kms would meet our long distance travel needs. We then test drove the Tesla model 3 and Hyund...
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