How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything

Imagine holding in your hand an invisible weight — a weight that you carry with every breath, every choice, every action you take. This is the essence of the carbon footprint: a measure of the total climate impact of our lives, not just the carbon dioxide we emit, but all greenhouse gases combined. Carbon footprint is shorthand for the total climate change impact of all greenhouse gases, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). It’s a concept that sounds simple but hides an incredible complexity beneath its surface.

Take a plastic toy, for instance. The emissions from making that toy don’t end at the factory. They begin far earlier, with the extraction of oil to make the plastic, the mining of iron for the steel in office supplies used at the factory, and continue through transportation, packaging, and even disposal. The footprint includes both direct emissions and indirect emissions from the entire supply chain. This infinite chain of emissions is what makes measuring a true carbon footprint a daunting task. But it is essential if we want to understand our real impact.

One striking example of complexity is aviation. The emissions from planes at cruising altitude have nearly twice the warming effect compared to the same emissions at ground level. Because of this, aviation emissions are multiplied by 1.9 to reflect their true climate impact. This multiplier reminds us that not all emissions are equal, and context matters deeply in understanding carbon footprints.

Yet, despite these complexities, many carbon calculators and reports only measure a fraction of the true emissions — what might be better called 'toe-prints.' They focus on direct emissions like home energy use or car travel but neglect the vast web of indirect emissions embedded in the things we buy. Ignoring these leads to underestimation and misdirected efforts. This book encourages us to see the whole picture, to develop a carbon instinct that helps us grasp the scale and significance of our choices.

As we begin this journey, remember: understanding the invisible weight we carry is the first step to managing it wisely. With this foundation, we can move on to explore how everyday actions and items contribute to our footprint, and where we can make the most meaningful changes.

Let’s step forward into the world of everyday carbon impacts.