Earlier this week, a New York Times journalist wrote about his efforts to go on a "carbon diet". He set a target of half a tonne of CO2 reductions and wanted to put the measures in place that very day. He had one clear ground rule: if the measure was unpleasant or painful, he wasn't going to do it.
That meant no energy saving lightbulbs if they made his home look like "the restroom in a bus station", and no way was he giving up his big-screen TV.
Guess what? He did it, by reprogramming the thermostat, switching appliances off instead of leaving them on standby, and similar simple acts.
Was this journalist being a bit selfish by demanding that his "carbon diet be painless"? Perhaps. Could he hadve done more? Definitely. But he was being realistic. If his carbon diet were unpleasant and something to dread, he knew he'd eventually give up. Better to start with the easy steps and work up to the difficult stuff.
At Carbon Clear we understand. That's why we encourage you to take the first step and reduce what you can. We'll offset the rest of your climate pollution this year. Next year you can reduce a little more, and offset a little less.
But you can get started now. It doesn't have to hurt.
