My carbon diary: An environmental reality check

By Alma Paunero Martorell

In the grand scheme of carbon footprints, mine is that of a humble student. I navigate life for 300 days a year as a moderately eco-friendly human, at least by European standards. I live in a shared house and stick to a primarily vegetarian/pescatarian diet. Plus, as a Spanish expat in the Netherlands, I’ve embraced the country’s transport culture with my Swapfiets.

The idea, therefore, of keeping track of my carbon footprint has never been a cause of disturbance. This is my disclaimer before I confess: this past week was one the most polluting of this year. Last week, I kept track of my day-to-day carbon footprint.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Alma, welcome to my carbon diary: A reality check for us all – and a hit to my eco-conscious image.

The heat of Madrid

The week began harmlessly. I was in Madrid, visiting my family and battling a relentless heatwave. I kept the air conditioning to a strategic set of daily hours at a modest 25 degrees. My lovely grandma, representing many grandmas out there, overfed me with local products from her go-to butcher: greengrocer, and seasonal fruit vendor. (Fun fact: a study from the Spanish Polytechnic University of Valencia claims Spanish beef farming emits 66% less greenhouse gases than the global average.)

Those initial days were relatively low-impact, considering my omnivorous diet, minimal travel, and simple hobbies—sweaty strolls with my cousin through Madrid’s scorched streets and remote work on my laptop. My main sources of pollution? Not activities, but food.

Electricity’s CO₂ contribution involved two main factors: plugged devices, and AC. While summer reduces the need for artificial lighting, it screams for cooling solutions. My steadfast ally was the AC, operational in the afternoons and off by bedtime.

Following the same carbon emissions formula (energy consumption x energy intensity) I also calculated my laptop and phone’s charging footprint. Overall, the math was the following:

Midweek migration: Madrid to Valencia

On Wednesday evening, I traveled to my hometown. I traded the capital’s heat for Valencia’s humid embrace via an electric train. Trains like these have no direct emissions, however, indirectly the means to generate the electricity to power them does generate a certain carbon output. The heat persisted on Thursday, driving me to the public pool (whose carbon calculations, given my journalistic math skills will not even attempt).

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Thursday: the environmental doomsday

My much-anticipated girls’ trip to Italy finally came on Thursday. That day, I headed for Taggia, but not without significantly inflating my carbon footprint during the exhausting journey to get there.

A taxi to Valencia’s bus station, a 2-hour bus ride to Alicante, a flight from Alicante to Nice, and two trains later I arrived in the charming beach town of Arma di Taggia, where my friends welcomed me with open arms and a cold Aperol (the bottle we later recycled of course).

It should not be a surprise. Air travel is notorious for its environmental impact, contributing 4% to global warming and 2.5% to carbon emissions. Then again, the meat industry contributes around 15.6% of total global emissions. 

I wanted to put this into perspective: How many burgers does my flight equate to? Given the average burger emits 4.5kg CO₂ per 150g beef patty, my flight’s pollution equals about 23.7 burgers. The trains that followed the flight, thankfully, were electric, sparing me further burgers.

A humble life in Arma di Taggia

Since arriving in Taggia on Friday, we’ve led a simple life—walking to the beach, recycling Aperol and prosecco bottles, and eating salads with occasional Italian cold cuts. For the weekend then, I calculated: 6.8 kg CO₂ diet-wise, and the fan’s (oh savior) contribution of 0.5 kg CO₂ (50 watts/hour for 20 hours).

The average European’s annual carbon footprint is 7200kg CO₂ or 138.5kg CO₂ per week. My week? A hefty 150.43 kg CO₂, missing out on indirect consumption like water usage or the carbon emissions of the electric trains.

Achieving a net-zero lifestyle is currently a stretch for many of us, but small changes can make a significant difference. Takeaways for me: the stark contrast between AC and fan energy consumption, and the massive carbon footprint of beef. 

Does this mean I’ll abandon my AC this summer? Probably not. A Mediterranean summer with no AC seems a bit masochistic. However, keeping the temperature moderate instead of blasting it to the arctic temperatures common in the yogurt section of supermarkets can already make a difference to your footprint. 

Living abroad complicates reducing flight emissions but cutting down on burgers seems definitely doable. Remember, 23.7 burgers can indeed go a long way—think Côte d’Azur, for instance.