“Zero-Emissions” Means Zero Life
You recycle. You bring reusable bags to the store. You turn the lights off and turn off the tap. You’re doing more than most, and doing your best to do your part.
But sometimes you still feel guilty. Have you ever wondered, “Is it possible to actually live a zero-emission life?”
The honest answer is no.
TL;DR: A “zero-emission” life simply isn’t possible in the modern world. Even making “clean” choices like driving an EV still have emissions impacts indirectly (manufacturing, mining, electricity). The real-world goal shouldn’t be perfection, rather changing what you can, and offsetting what you can’t.
What is average?
Life in today’s society means you have an unavoidable carbon footprint. Long gone are the days of loincloths and living in a cave. Visiting this webpage alone generated 0.01 pounds of carbon emissions (that’s 5 grams for our Canadian readers – don’t worry, Neutrally offsets these emissions. (Link to transparency page))
Today, according to ClimateWatch, the average American has a carbon footprint of over 38,500 pounds annually. This is one of the highest rates in the world and means the USA is responsible for over 11% of all global emissions, despite only representing 4.2% of the world’s population.
Canadians performed even worse per capita – you can see the full breakdown here (Link to Canada vs USA).
So where does that nearly 40,000 pounds of pollution come from?
- The Obvious Part: Your Daily Drive As we’ve covered before (LINK), the single biggest part – 28% – of the average North American’s personal carbon footprint is generated from transportation.
- Home Energy: We are all well aware of the financial cost of heating and cooling our home, or simply keeping the lights on. Depending on where you live, residential energy use accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States (PNAS – The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States)
- The Hidden Part: Your Entire Life Even if you bike everywhere, live in a small apartment, and grow your own food, you still have a footprint. The clothes you wear, the food you can’t grow, the screen you are reading this on – it all has a carbon cost.
A Real Goal: Change What You Can, Offset What You Can’t
This is the philosophy Neutrally is built on. It’s the only practical, empowered way to live in the modern world.
Step 1: Change What You Can This is always the first step. Drive a more efficient car. Take transit when you can. Carpool. This is your most powerful tool.
Step 2: Offset What You Can’t This is the second, equally important step. You still have to get to work. You still have to pick up your kids. You still live in a society powered by a grid that may not have been built with environmental concerns top of mind.
For the CO₂ you can’t avoid, offsets, like the ones provided by Neutrally, are the only tool to take direct, meaningful, measurable responsibility for that impact today. You can learn more about how that works here (LINK).
You need to know where to start
You can’t balance your footprint if you don’t know how big it is – that’s why Neutrally exists.
Our free 3-minute quiz is the vital first step. It calculates your exact transportation carbon footprint based on your specific car, driving habits, and local energy mix.
Start here, and we will plant a tree for free to help fuel your climate positive journey with Neutrally.