david |
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Its not long until our carbon year ends (on April 1st), and I just wanted to clarify what needs to be done for the reporting of annual footprints and settling up. If you check the minutes of our 2nd meeting (http://www.carbonrationing.org.uk/sevenoaks/threads/2nd-meeting-minutes-...), we had seven estimates there of 1/4/2006 to 1/4/2007 footprints, and it will be interesting to see what progress we’ve been able to make over the year.
1.) Gas & electricity meter, & car mileage readings.
2.) Flights & other long trips
3.) Your feedback and thoughts on the year
4.) Conclusions (or “what we need to do”)
1.) Gas & electricity meter, & car mileage readings.
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At its simplest, all we have to do is take these readings on or around the 1/4 every year. If you then forward the readings to me (or whoever is the carbon accountant), I (or you) can find the difference from the previous year’s reading and use a carbon conversion factor to calculate the carbon emitted. For cars, we also need to know the make/model of the car used. For households, the figures are divided by the number of occupants.
2.) Flights & other long trips
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If you’ve taken flights or long train (or ferry!) trips over the year, then we just need to know the origin and destination for each one. From this, we find the mileage, and then convert to carbon using the appropriate conversion factor.
For multistage journeys (ie. train – ferry – coach), then we need to know the places you changed from one mode of transport to another.
3.) Your feedback and thoughts on the year
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It would also be interesting to get some feedback on how we all thought the year went. Did all the information we received and shared actually help to shrink our footprints, and if not, why not? What were the main conflicts and difficulties? Did it just feel impossible? What scale of cuts are really realistic, and what would we need to do to move beyond them?
We could then discuss how to apply these “lessons learned” into making changes for next year.
4.) Conclusions (or “what we need to do”)
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So we need:
i) Readings on/around 1/4/2007. This is a bit tricky as it was before we properly started, and it’s unlikely we have readings very close to that date. However, if you bring two bills or readings from before and after 1/4/2007, we can estimate what the reading was on the day.
ii) Readings on/around 1/4/2008. Just read your meters and car odometer on this day (it’s a Tuesday this year).
iii) Car make/model. (and if you’ve changed cars over the year, the two make/models and around when you changed).
iv) Long trips: the number and the mode of transport (air, train, ferry nb that car trips are included above).
It would be helpful if we could get i) sorted at the next meeting (25th March?), as well as briefly discussing any problems/queries that come up. Or, feel free to email me at david@tonderai.co.uk, or to comment on this post at:
All the best, everyone! David.