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Happy Earth Day
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| Discussing carbon offsetting with Dr. Ron Dembo from Zerofootprint and environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki. |
Just over a week ago, April 22 marked the 37th year we have been celebrating Earth Day. It started four years before I was born by the American Senator Gaylord Nelson as a grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment. Today it is more pertinent than ever.
Last year Colin and I celebrated Earth Day near Earth, Texas (population 1,000). We were cycling home from Costa Rica, on the final leg of the expedition, and were surprised to see a sign saying Earth - 53 km. This year we toasted our planet by planting vegetables and flowers in our garden. We also further developed the environmental stewardship section of our website. There is now a carbon calculator to determine your footprint, seven tips for lighter living, and links to environmental websites we love. We had another reason to celebrate - Colin's book reached the bestseller list. Beyond the Horizon is now Number 2 in Canadiana and Number 7 in the Globe & Mail non-fiction hardcover. Thanks to all of you who came out during his book tour and for all the great e-mails you've sent us.
But, back to the garden. There are now rows of marigolds, cabbage, peas, beans, onions, potatoes and radishes that depend on our stunted green thumbs for survival. Nonetheless, it seemed like a fittingly way to pay homage to our planet on its special day and we look forward to reaping some rewards in a few months time. Also, as every tree removes 1 tonne of carbon dioxide during its life, we figured even our spindly plants are bound to do their bit. I like to think that Planet Earth/Gaia/Mother Nature enjoyed her special day, and just like me on my birthday she probably wished those delights would spill into adjacent days. We wished for that too and decided that our contribution would be to go completely carbon neutral. Our recent film tour was carbon neutral and now we have extended that to our home and business.
Carbon neutral is a word twinning that didn't exist a few years ago. It was named word of the year in 2006 by the New Oxford American Dictionary. They define it as: "Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in “green” technologies such as solar and wind power." Basically, carbon neutral means that our lifestyle does not give off more carbon than we consume. What we release through driving, heating, buying imported foods, etc. is equal to that which we remove - thus theoretically there is no change to the carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere due to our actions. But unlike plants, we do not have the ability to take in carbon dioxide and transform it into something else. Instead, what we can do is minimize our greenhouse gas emissions and then invest in carbon credits to offset the remainder.
On average each person releases 15 tonnes of greenhouses gases a year. Fifteen tonnes is as much as three of the largest land mammals, the African Bush elephant. Little changes to our lifestyles can slice huge portions off that total. Replacing household incandescent lightbulbs with fluorescent saves 300 pounds a year, avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week eliminates another 500 pounds, composting and recycling half the waste a typical household generates zaps off 2,400 pounds, inching the thermometer down two degrees in the winter and up two in the summer saves 2,000 pounds and drying clothing on a line instead of in the dryer saves 1,400 pounds. The bonus is that these changes are often a win-win situation. Each light bulb you switch saves you $30 over its lifespan from reduced electricity consumption, another $200 a year for heating, and by substituting walking or riding a bike for driving you improve your own health.
If being carbon neutral sounds like something you'd like to try, start by finding out your carbon footprint. Discover if you're already living a carbon modest lifestyle or where your big expenditures are by using the carbon calculator that Sustainable Travel International created for us. Then explore the changes you can make. We've reduced our footprint by making relatively simple changes to our home and office. We switched all our lightbulbs to fluorescent, our paper products (even toilet paper) are made from recycled paper, the heat is kept low and in the winter we primarily rely on firewood, we recycle religiously and compost everything organic (with the hope that it'll miraculously compensate for gardening inadequacies) and we depend on our bicycles to get around. But we fly to give talks in distant cities, and although we adore our farmer's market produce, we both are addicted to bananas. This means that even after trying to reduce our emissions as much as possible we still are in the red. To become neutral, we use carbon offsets. Through Zerofootprint, we're able to buy credits that will invest in initiatives that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, such as planting trees or creating green energy (ie. solar, wind) to replace dirty energy (ie. coal). Offsetting a tonne of carbon dioxide costs between $10 and $20.
They say green is the new black and it's now sexy to be an environmentalist. But I don't think this is a fad that's going to mimic the journey of bell-bottomed pants - it's a classic concept, one that is centered on living modestly, understanding that more is not better and appreciating what we have. And for those of us that are frugal by nature (Scotsman Colin) or frugal by nurture (me) it's great that our actions are no longer considered cheap but in vogue.
Julie Wafaei
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Rowing on the Yenisey River |
The 5,550 km Yenisey (also Yenisei) flows through Mongolia and Siberia, and is the fifth longest river in the world. It meanders through a range of landscapes including Mongolian steppe, canyons, taiga and tundra. Its headwaters form on the flanks of Otgon Tenger, a sacred 13,000 foot mountain in central Mongolia, and it terminates at the Arctic Ocean at 70 degrees north.
Any river system is composed of countless capillary-like tributaries that combine and form the main flow. In the past there was much debate among cartographers as to which tributaries are to be included for measuring the river’s length. Some felt that the flows with the greatest volume are most relevant. Others argued that the streams of greatest length should be used for the measuring process. Finally it was decided that within a river’s watershed the trickle that originates farthest from the sea (measured along the route of its flow, not direct line distance) would be used to measure the river’s full length.
Our Featured Expedition - Mike Horn Travels from Pole to Pole to Pole
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Mike Horn will attempt a circumnavigation via the Poles (coutesey www.mikehorn.com) |
Here at Angus Adventures we have always felt that the Holy Grail of expedition challenges would be a human powered circumnavigation of the world intersecting both poles. Renowned South African explorer Mike Horn is planning an expedition very close to this concept – a zero-emissions circumnavigation through the poles. The stages over land and ice will utilize human power and the oceans will be traversed by sailboat.
Mike Horn has a solid background in completing grueling human-powered quests. Recently, along with Borge Ousland, Mike completed the first trek to the North Pole in the winter. He has circumnavigated the world along the equator using nothing but muscle and sail power, and has trekked around the world along the Arctic Circle. His next quest is possibly the most difficult yet, and Mike will be relying on the skills he has acquired from years of trekking in extreme conditions.