What are we ignoring? What are we avoiding? What do we refuse to see?
Lifting my own blinders to examine my contribution to climate collapse, by assessing my carbon footprint.
The location of my performance at the Salt Lake City main public library was the Share Space, a glass-enclosed room facing onto the Urban Room, which is the name for the ground floor of the building. Entrances to the building are at opposite ends of this space.
I decided to research my carbon footprint for this performance. The changes at the EPA had been in the news. Scott Truitt, Trump’s choice for administrator of the EPA who had been confirmed just months earlier, had already been hard at work dismantling and deregulating many of the EPA’s programs. These reverses reduced protections, benefiting the fossil fuels industries, with whom he had long and close ties. He ended the Clean Power Plan that regulated emissions just three days after this performance, and by the end of the month had barred independent scientists who had received funding from the agency from serving on its advisory boards.
I set up my computer and printer on a table in the room, my back to the windows, and worked from noon to 5 pm. As I located material on the internet, I printed it out and hung it on the glass window facing the Urban Room, so that people could read and track my progress. I also printed and hung comments about what I was finding. I filled out and printed worksheets on assessing your carbon footprint with information about my use of fossil fuels – heating my home, the number of miles that I drove, the number and distances of airline flights that I took. Some of the worksheets were designed to use with young students, others were for adults. I researched carbon offset programs as well.
As I did the research I saw evidence of the EPA website being gutted and information disappearing.
Below are some of the messages and information that I posted on the windows of the room.
12:15 pm
(I posted water facts on the window:)
Many people in the world exist on 3 gallons of water per day or less.
We can use that amount in one flush of the toilet.
Running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water.
About 95 percent of the water entering our homes goes down the drain.
Americans now use 127 percent more water than we did in 1950.
A garden hose or sprinkler can use almost as much water in an hour as an average family of four uses in one day.
Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by over-watering.
12:30 pm
(I posted promises on the window:)
I promise to turn off the faucet while I am brushing my teeth.
I will only plant native plants in my garden.
I will only water my garden with rain water.
I will not let the water run while I am washing dishes.
I will not buy water in bottles.
I will use my refillable water bottle.
I will take shorter showers.
I will use cooking water to water my houseplants.
1:00 pm
(I posted pages from the EPA about the changes happening under Scott Pruitt. Note banners at top of screenshots that give information about the changes happening at the EPA. Please see media for pdfs of those pages.)
1:14 pm
(I posted this statement:)
DEAD END ON EPA CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR
2:00 – 3:25 pm
(I located various other carbon footprint worksheets, which I filled in and posted on windows. Please see photo gallery for window photos and file gallery for pdfs of those worksheets.)
4:02 pm
AM I WILLING TO STOP TRAVELING?
DOES PAYING MONEY FOR CARBON OFFSETS REALLY ABSOLVE YOU OF THE DAMAGE
THAT YOU HAVE CAUSED TO THE PLANET?
4:10 pm
(I posted website information on carbon offset programs in the USA and UK, such as the two below.)
Americas Portfolio: Personalised Downloadable Certificate Available
$ 10.69 to offset 1.115 tonnes
($ 9.59 per tonne)
Your funding supports a carefully selected range of projects from within the Americas region that have strong additional benefits beyond reducing carbon emissions. These include health benefits and reducing deforestation. All projects in this portfolio are certified to either the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard and include energy efficiency, reducing deforestation and clean drinking water projects.
10/6/2017 carbonfootprint.com – Offset Quotation
https://www.carbonfootprint.com/offset.aspx?o=1.115&a=r&r=CalcFlight&defra=true 5/5
Need to offset over 50 tonnes and want to select a specific project?
Discounts available for larger orders.
Contact us (/contact.aspx) for more information.
Certified Emission Reduction (certifiedemissionreductioncer.html)
Personalised Downloadable Certificate Available
$ 11.46 incl. 20% VAT to offset 1.115 tonnes
($ 10.27 incl. 20% VAT per tonne)
Add To Basket
Your funding supports Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects that have generated Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). CDM was defined by
the Kyoto Protocol to promote clean development in developing countries. This osetting portfolio supports sustainable development through a
range of projects (certifiedemissionreductioncer.html) such as Wind Energy, Small Hydro Power, Efficient Cookstoves and Biomass.
5:00 pm
(I printed and posted on the window answers to a general question about the effects of global warming, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-effects-global-warming-really-bad)
Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?
Short answer: Yes. Even a seemingly slight average temperature rise is enough to cause a dramatic transformation of our planet.
