We recently read an interesting article on the topic of negative CO2 emissions. In that piece, the authors highlighted a study that claimed the following: if you use your mobile device for only one hour a day over the course of a year, it will emit more CO2 than two return flights on the London–Glasgow route.
Shocking, isn't it? That's why we made an effort to highlight several more examples of CO2 emissions we were unaware of or hadn't considered—examples that are often present in our everyday lives and are certainly worth noting.
- Heating water in a water heater – 70 g CO2
- One hour of operation of a 32-inch LCD TV – 88 g CO2
- Driving 1.5 km in an average car – 710 g CO2
- Enjoying a steak at lunch or dinner – 2,000 g CO2
- One sent text message – 0.014 g CO2
- A glass of water – 0.06 g CO2
- 1 email – 4 g CO2
- Ironing a shirt – 25 g CO2
- A cup of coffee – 23 g CO2
- A cup of coffee with milk – 55 g CO2
- 250 g of strawberries produced in Croatia – 150 g CO2
- A 6-minute shower – 550 g CO2
- A popsicle eaten the day you buy it – 50 g CO2
- 1 kg of mixed household waste – 700 g CO2
- A liter of milk – 342 g CO2
- A physical paperback book – on average 1 kg CO2
- Bread – 1 kg CO2
- A bottle of wine – on average 1,040 g CO2
- 1 kg of rice – 4 kg CO2
- A swimming pool – 400 t CO2 annually
After highlighting just around 20 examples, we can see how everything around us emits CO2—even we do. This is something we don't normally consider when discussing sustainability, yet it has a substantial impact. So let's begin reflecting on how our everyday behaviors contribute to CO2 emissions and commit to reducing them.