A large portion of China’s carbon footprint and India’s growing carbon footprint is created in the production of goods shipped to the United States, Canada, and Europe. We have effectively exported part of our carbon footprint abroad. This is reflected in the example of the sweater. It was made in Cambodia from fabric produced in China a…
A large portion of China’s carbon footprint and India’s growing carbon footprint is created in the production of goods shipped to the United States, Canada, and Europe. We have effectively exported part of our carbon footprint abroad. This is reflected in the example of the sweater. It was made in Cambodia from fabric produced in China and then shipped to Canada. This is reflected in the measurement and is indeed useful. Apportioning “blame” for the carbon is a philosophical question. Is it the producer or the purchasers responsibility? That is separate from the amount of carbon embodied in the making of an object. This is important when future architects decide say insulating with cellulose versus petroleum based fibers.
So you are saying it is the people of United States, Canada, and Europe? I thought it was the corporations fault. So is it cheaper to make a sweater in another country and does that reduce the carbon footprint. Or would the carbon footprint be less if it was made in the United States, Canada, and/or Europe? And if it would be less of carbon in the United States, what would the actual cost of the sweater be then? And would we be able to export it to other countries as it is now? Probably not, because we are not the center of the universe. The "maker" of the sweater will also send it to other countries at different prices since the sweater sold here at 50 dollars is sold somewhere else for 25 dollars.
I am not talking about blame I am talking about facts. Everything we make wherever we make it pays a carbon debt to the atmosphere. What energy we use to make that item whether coal or hydropower etc. plays a role in how much carbon is used to make an item, but in the end all that matters is how much carbon goes into the atmosphere not where that carbon is produced. We have a carbon budget -- the amount of carbon we can put into the atmosphere before the results are catastrophic. Knowing how much carbon goes into the things we buy and letting that knowledge influence our decisions is an important tool for reducing the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere. The carbon cost of a cookie is trivial but calculating it is a lesson in calculating a carbon budget. This was a lesson for students. Knowing the carbon cost of different choices when building a house or purchasing a car is not trivial.
A large portion of China’s carbon footprint and India’s growing carbon footprint is created in the production of goods shipped to the United States, Canada, and Europe. We have effectively exported part of our carbon footprint abroad. This is reflected in the example of the sweater. It was made in Cambodia from fabric produced in China and then shipped to Canada. This is reflected in the measurement and is indeed useful. Apportioning “blame” for the carbon is a philosophical question. Is it the producer or the purchasers responsibility? That is separate from the amount of carbon embodied in the making of an object. This is important when future architects decide say insulating with cellulose versus petroleum based fibers.
So you are saying it is the people of United States, Canada, and Europe? I thought it was the corporations fault. So is it cheaper to make a sweater in another country and does that reduce the carbon footprint. Or would the carbon footprint be less if it was made in the United States, Canada, and/or Europe? And if it would be less of carbon in the United States, what would the actual cost of the sweater be then? And would we be able to export it to other countries as it is now? Probably not, because we are not the center of the universe. The "maker" of the sweater will also send it to other countries at different prices since the sweater sold here at 50 dollars is sold somewhere else for 25 dollars.
I am not talking about blame I am talking about facts. Everything we make wherever we make it pays a carbon debt to the atmosphere. What energy we use to make that item whether coal or hydropower etc. plays a role in how much carbon is used to make an item, but in the end all that matters is how much carbon goes into the atmosphere not where that carbon is produced. We have a carbon budget -- the amount of carbon we can put into the atmosphere before the results are catastrophic. Knowing how much carbon goes into the things we buy and letting that knowledge influence our decisions is an important tool for reducing the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere. The carbon cost of a cookie is trivial but calculating it is a lesson in calculating a carbon budget. This was a lesson for students. Knowing the carbon cost of different choices when building a house or purchasing a car is not trivial.