Saving CO2: tips and tricks for everyday life

Jessica, the veggie lover

She thinks: I am in good midfield

The fact is: Netflix is ​​pretty clean

LIVING: Jessica lives with her daughter Janice and two cats in what she says is a "much too big house" from 1968 in Lower Saxony. The 100 m² are heated with heating oil. Oh oh… The expert says: "Yes, heating oil is a big knock in the annual balance sheet: 2.7 t CO2. With district heating, the house would get 2.3 t CO2. What is great: The family moves
Green electricity (for two people: 44 kg CO2 / year) – this saves resources. In an eco-kilowatt hour, there is an average of only 15 g CO2, in the normal gray electricity mix from fossil, renewable and atomic fuels it would be 500 g CO2. "

TO WASH: The washing machine runs 26 times a year at 40 degrees. Expert: "That's a nice little and makes 12 kg of CO2 per person. But there is still something else: washing at 30 degrees would be more climate-friendly."

LEISURE: Jessica is at Netflixen for around 70 minutes – every day. Expert: "That makes 368 kg CO2 a year. What many do not know: One hour of streaming produces 833 g CO2! Analog TV only 125 g CO2. My advice would be to switch back to the television more often. Or to borrow a good old DVD."

FROM A TO B: Jessica doesn't own a car, she does a lot of public transportation and cycling. Expert: "Makes 50 kg of CO2 a year! A great value – only 3.3 percent of what the average German emits for transport each year, air travel is excluded. Downside: With an annual flight, Jessica increases her nice annual balance to 828 kg CO2 per year . "

EAT: The 45-year-old has been a vegetarian for many years, mostly shopping in the supermarket. Expert: "Your veggie diet corresponds to 1.2 t CO2 per year (for comparison: an average meat eater comes to 1.76 t CO2). But the truth is also: cheese is also bad: 1 kg contains a full 8.5 kg CO2 – but only 121 g CO2 in one kilo of vegetables. My tip: instead of completely foregoing it, simply reduce it and occasionally resort to vegan cheese or veggie spread. "

ANIMALS: Two cats (Chico and Lady) and a riding participation (Pony Charly). Expert: "The two kitties are very nice CO2 slingshots: With their daily dry food, they produce 306 kg of CO2 a year. And the pony generates a total of 3 t CO2 per year! But because she shares it with others, it is only 450 kg of CO2. "

Life as a list

Jessica and Janice kept a diary for us for a week

Jessica's balance sheet:

6.7t CO2

• Living: 2.67 t
• Eat: 1.2 t
• From a to B: 0.87 t
• Animals: 0.75 t
• Public emissions: 0.73 t
• Leisure: 0.44 t

TIP:

– 313 kg CO2

… if Jessica would spend her time in front of analog TV instead of Netflix

Michelle, the eco-wonder woman

She thinks: I'm good

The fact is: She is an ace! Only laundry is even better

Michelle, 23

Photography student

lives in a 40 square meter apartment in Dortmund

heats with gas, has no green electricity

runs with public transport, does not fly at all

eats organic and most of the time vegan

LIVING: Michelle lives alone in a 40 square meter apartment in Dortmund. Expert: "The general rule is: the fewer square meters, the better for the environment. In addition, an apartment building performs better than a free-standing house because heat is given off by the neighbors. What Michelle, as a tenant, can change badly is how the apartment is heated. Your gas heating system produces 600 kg of CO2 a year, but what it could do is switch from gray to green electricity. This would reduce your ecological footprint by 90 percent on this point, from 810 kg of CO2 to 81 kg of CO2. "

TO WASH: Michelle starts a machine once or twice a week at 40 or 60 ° C. Expert: "I see potential here, because most of the CO2 is used to warm up the water. If she only washed at 40 ° C, Michelle would get 55 instead of 68 kg of CO2 per year. The energy consumption would be reduced to 30 ° C again reduced by 35 percent. And don't worry: the detergents also do a great job cleaning at low temperatures. Just wash them at 90 ° C every few weeks to avoid germs. "

LEISURE: In order to do Unikram, the 23-year-old spends a lot of time in front of the laptop – extrapolated to 1248 hours a year. There are also 208 hours of streaming through Netflix and Co. Expert: "The laptop work brings 15 kg of CO2, but the footprint when streaming is significantly higher at 173 kg of CO2. This has to do with the Internet, which is behind the streaming services: The servers have to be cooled after all. Tip: If Michelle is really green on the go she’d like to keep streaming to a minimum. Honestly, the four hours a week she’s given is still okay. ”

FROM A TO B: Michelle only travels by bike, train and public transport and thus comes to 325 kg of CO2 a year. She refrains from flying. Expert: "Really great! For comparison: just a flight from Munich to Hamburg and back would double her annual balance immediately."

EAT: Michelle lives vegan and eats fish only once a week for health reasons. She also pays attention to organic, regional and seasonal food. Expert: "Wow! She eats really climate-friendly and comes up with about 1 t CO2 annually – the average German eats 1.74 t CO2 annually. Michelle is practically unbeatable."

Not ready for take-off

The student has not boarded a plane in 5.5 years

Michelle's balance sheet:

3.7t CO2

• Living: 1.4 t
• Eat: 1 t
• Public emissions: 0.73 t
• From a to B: 0.32 t
• Leisure: 0.18t
• To wash: 0.06 t

Tip:

– 14kg CO2

… if Michelle would only wash her clothes at 30 instead of 60 degrees

Sabine, the relaxed eco muddi

She thinks: We have some things that ruin the annual balance sheet

The fact is: It’s like that. Surprising CO2 knockers: coffee and cheese

Sabine, 43, editor

married, two children (9 and 5)

lives on the outskirts of Hamburg in a 140 square meter house from 1960

a car, to work with public transport, some flights professionally

buys regional and organic

LIVING: Sabine lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Hamburg in a free-standing house from 1960 that is heated with natural gas. After all, the family purchases green electricity. Expert: "Of all fossil fuels, natural gas is the least bad. Sabine comes up with 1.2 t CO2 per year – that is significantly lower than the German per capita emissions for heating (1.64 t CO2 / year). Also with green electricity with 18 kg CO2 it is far below average (760 kg CO2). Thumbs up! "

TO WASH: What makes life easier for a family of four is – of course – a dryer. Expert: "Unfortunately, the skin is pretty clean: With 91 kg CO2, it is almost twice as climate-intensive per year as all laundry in the household together (55 kg CO2). Tip: dry in winter, hang up in the fresh air from spring. Even if it is more expensive . "

FROM A TO B: The family has a car that is used for bulk shopping and carpooling during the week and for holidays during the holidays. Sabine goes to work with public transport. From time to time she flies professionally. Expert: "The car has a big impact: at 12,000 kilometers a year, the family emits 1.8 tonnes of CO2, down to Sabine that is 441 kg. Not a little, but still below the average of 1.5 tonnes Drive, then ideally with many passengers, colleagues or friends.The real cracks are the flights that Sabine often takes on as an editor: with 1.9 t CO2 the largest part of her annual balance sheet, and thus three times what Burning average people with flights! That hurts a lot. If neither Skype nor train journeys are the solution (actually hardly imaginable), Sabine could stimulate her company to make compensation payments. Sometimes you just have to be annoying. "

EAT: Sabine eats meat and often organic products once a week. Expert: "Regional products generally emit less than food with long transport routes. The great thing is that Sabine tries to compensate for things that she cannot change: if the children eat meat in kindergarten and school, they will have cold supper at home later. That is it often more climate-friendly than a cooked dish because there is less processed food in it, but sausage and cheese are difficult. A surprising fact: the production of 100 g sausage produces less CO2 than that of 100 g cheese. Another thing is butter. The family would switching to margarine could save her an average of 131 kg of CO2 per person per year. It's great that the children drink oat milk, which only accounts for 31 percent of cow's milk emissions. Maybe Sabine could try that in the future? save 5 kg of CO2 per year with one coffee. "

LEISURE: Sabine never watches TV alone or Netflix, at most with the kids. Expert: "Great! Zero CO2!"

Shop local

Sabine buys regional products on the market for the family as often as possible

Sabine's balance sheet:

6.6t CO2

• From a to B: 2.76 t
• Eat: 1.8 t
• Living: 1.17 t
• Public emissions: 0.73 t
• To wash: 0.14 t

Tip:

– 5kg CO2

… if Sabine poured oat milk instead of cow's milk into her coffee

* If not precisely quantifiable, the calculations are based on realistic estimated values. In addition, the emissions are correctly CO2 equivalents, i.e. all greenhouse gases converted to the climate impact of CO2. To simplify matters, we are only talking about CO2 here.

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