After sharing the charming odyssey of a father and his children during a committed day at the Foire des Possibles, it is time to consider the concrete consequences of this mobility choice. Our last story concluded with the invaluable worth of time spent with family and the lessons learned from an experience lived according to sustainability principles. Today, we delve into another equally fundamental aspect: the environmental impact of our movements. We are about to calculate the carbon footprint of our journey to Parc Molson, comparing the metro with the car. This analysis reveals not only our personal contribution to the fight against climate change but also how our daily choices, however small they may seem, can accumulate to make a significant difference. Let’s dive into the numbers to truly understand what “green travel” means for our planet.
Environmental Impact Calculations of Displacements
In this section, we will dive into the figures to concretely measure the environmental impact of our transport choices. By highlighting the CO2 emissions associated with using the metro compared to the car, we offer a numerical perspective on the ecological footprint of our daily travels.
1. Calculation of your journey using public transportation:
- It has been mentioned that you took the metro for your journey. CO2 emissions from metros vary, but on average, they are about 0.015 kg of CO2 per passenger-kilometer. Suppose your total round-trip metro journey was about 20 km.
- Emissions = 0.015 kg/passenger-km x 20 km = 0.3 kg of CO2
- Imagine that each metro journey emits the CO2 equivalent of cooking an egg on a pan.
- You took the metro for a total round trip of 20 km, which is equivalent to about 0.3 kg of CO2, the equivalent of cooking 20 eggs.
- Emissions = 0.015 kg/passenger-km x 20 km = 0.3 kg of CO2
2. Calculation of your journey by car:
- If you had taken a car for the same 20 km round trip, assuming an average emission of 120 g of CO2 per kilometer for a car:
- Emissions = 0.120 kg/km x 20 km = 2.4 kg of CO2
- Each car journey emits the CO2 equivalent of cooking 80 eggs on a pan.
- For the same 20 km trip by car, you would have emitted 2.4 kg of CO2, the equivalent of cooking 1600 eggs.
- Emissions = 0.120 kg/km x 20 km = 2.4 kg of CO2
Carbon Impact into Perspective
Choosing public transportation on the way to Parc Molson results in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. By taking the metro, the father in our story contributed only 0.3 kg of CO2, a minimal amount compared to the 2.4 kg of CO2 that the same journey by car would have produced. This saving of 2.1 kg of CO2 is not negligible. If we multiply these savings by the number of times he could repeat this trip in a year, say a hundred times, the total savings would reach 210 kg of CO2. This is the equivalent of the emissions avoided from cooking 1580 eggs, enough to serve a dish to each guest at a large party of 100 people. These figures allow us to grasp the real impact of individual decisions on our environment.
Comparison with the Average Carbon Footprint
In North America, the individual carbon footprint is considerable, averaging 16 tonnes of CO2 per year. Efforts to reduce this footprint are therefore crucial. By his simple gesture of preferring the metro, our protagonist has reduced his annual carbon footprint by 1.3%. This may seem modest, but if each person made a similar choice, the cumulative effect would be enormous. This reduction is a step in the right direction and illustrates how seemingly small actions can significantly contribute to the fight against climate change. It is imperative to recognize that every gesture counts and that the accumulation of these gestures can lead to profound and lasting change.
Even if a single journey by public transport may seem to have a minimal impact on the carbon footprint, the repeated choices of more sustainable modes of transport can add up and have a significant impact on the annual carbon footprint. The Fabrique des Mobilités Québec is currently working on the MaMobilité app, which aims to provide more information about our travel, especially regarding our environmental impact. Every choice counts in the fight against climate change.