The B.S. Behind the USDA’s New “Climate-Friendly Beef” Label

"Burgers branded with false climate claims are coming to a supermarket near you."

https://newrepublic.com/article/175337/bs-behind-usdas-new-climate-friendly-beef-label

#ClimateFriendlyBeef #USDA #beef #greenWashing #carbonEmissions #carbonFootprint #climateChange #climateCrisis #animalAgriculture

#artificialintelligence - three key points from John Naugton (Observer)

a. #AI are 'basically just hefty expensive statistical parrots';

b. Its governed by the universal principle, of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out);

c. we may not yet have fully appreciated the massive #carbonfootprint of AI...

It may be difficult to now regular the #technology, but regulated its owners is a much more plausible approach.

All good sense for a #sundaymorning

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/19/the-world-has-a-big-appetite-for-ai-but-we-really-need-to-know-the-ingredients

So logisitics watchers....
Right now #railways account for around 10%, but at firms looking at their #carbonfootprint, remaining frustated by driver shortages & congestion on badly maintained #roads, are now looking at shifting the longer range #freight movements back onto rail.

Watch out for claims that deliveries are 'multi-modal'... but what may need to be sorted out is the way fright & passenger trains share the network; which may be hard nut to crack!

The primary reason I'm trending my diet more and more toward a plant based diet

"Less meat is nearly always better than sustainable meat, to reduce your carbon footprint"

https://ourworldindata.org/less-meat-or-sustainable-meat

#environment #plantbaseddiet #vegetarian #vegan #carbonfootprint

When does an #electriccar (here a #Tesla) have a lower #carbonfootprint than a Toyota Corolla?

It depends 'on the source of the electricity used to charge the Tesla. For one charged entirely by #renewableenergy, it was 8,400 miles; for cars charged using the average US electricity generation mix (23% coal-fired, plus other fossil fuels and renewables), [it] came at 13,500 miles; & for electricity coming entirely from coal-fired stations, it was a whopping 78,700 miles'!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/06/electric-vehicle-conscience-clean-batteries-carbon-emissions

What if I told you that most promoted actions about climate-friendly software are misguided?

Backing data for that claim and my opinion on the low-hanging fruits:

https://blog.ltgt.net/climate-friendly-software/

Key takeaways:
* Pick servers in carbon-neutral or low-carbon datacenters first
* Optimize for the perceived performance and battery life
* Don't be the one that will make your users change their device
* Sometimes, ideas aren't even worth their impacts

#greenIT #climate #sustainability #carbonfootprint #co2

@tickfoot The only person I heard mention the #CarbonFootprint of rocket launches was Richard Branson when he was pushing his "launched from a plane" Virgin Galactic rocket (which is now defunct after he was able to strike "Astronaut" off his bucket list.)

He spoke about how much less fuel & exhaust his "air launch" rocket system produced (making it "safer, less polluting, and uses less fuel.") But it had no "commercial" application (can't launch satellites from it), killing the program.

@babyattachmode Very good question indeed... #nlp #carbonfootprint

"Coca-Cola’s carbon footprint is almost equivalent to Chinese emissions created by the whole food sector (which feeds about 1.3 billion individuals)."
Source: Climate Inequality Report 2023, p. 37 https://wid.world/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CBV2023-ClimateInequalityReport-2.pdf
#Co2 #Carbon #CarbonFootprint #ClimateChange

Great story in #Bloomberg about UK company Swytch, which sells kits to convert any #bicycle to an #ebike.

And it's good business: "As of 2022, Swytch has raised about $6 million, mainly from angel investors. Montague says the company expects to ship around 30,000 units this year, with about 70 employees and revenue of roughly $20 million." (and investors include Green Angel Syndicate, the investor group I lead.)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-28/how-to-turn-almost-any-bicycle-into-an-e-bike

#Mobility #CarbonFootprint #Innovation

@academicchatter
If you also want to estimate the #CarbonFootprint of your travels, you can use the great tool made by @Labos1point5_en and available at: https://apps.labos1point5.org/travels-simulator

In the example below, I used a #Paris - #NewYork round trip by #plane. The #greenhouse gas emission related to this flight (in economic class) is ~1800 kg eCO2, taking contrails into account.

If we want to stay below 1.5º of #GlobalWarming, we should cap our emissions < 2 t eCO2.

#ClimateChange #FlyingLess

Before, I was thinking that my #research activities had a negligible impact on #GlobalWarming.

One day, I computed my own professional #carbonfootprint, just considering my #travels for work (using the method of @Labos1point5_en). I realised it was up to 10x more than the max budget of 2 tons eCO2 / yr / person. 😱

I therefore changed my habits and decreased my trip's #footprint by a factor 3️⃣0️⃣ !

@academicchatter #sustainability #AcademicLife #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimatEmergency

#HappyNewYear 🤗

I wish that the worst of 2023 is by far better than the best of 2022 !

I wish that 2023 is the year when our societies take the mandatory solutions for a #sustainable #future.

I wish that 2023 doesn’t have mega #fires, #floods, extreme #heat waves, #blizzards, etc…

I wish that 2023 is the year when we decrease our #CarbonFootprint and stop #fossil #fuel #emissions.

I wish that 2023 is the year when we respect all #HumanRights (kids, LGBT+, minorities, etc…)

Oh dear, yet another indication that the #informationsociety is far from 'weightless':

Streaming has a larger #carbonfootprint than free-to-air TV... and of course, older TV repeats are even better (their carbon expenditure, other than for distribution) is long gone...

(another bit of evidence that my scepticism about the information age - see The Information Society: a sceptical view [2002] was not misplaced... apologies for the advert]

We are not doing enough efforts...

We just hit #record high in 2022 in terms of #CO2 emissions from #fossil fuels.

This curve should go to #zero 0️⃣ if we want the #Earth 🌍 to stay an #habitable #planet !

source: https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-global-co2-emissions-from-fossil-fuels-hit-record-high-in-2022

#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Climate #sustainable #carbonfootprint

Carbon Market Watch: "The long process that was meant to transform the EU’s Emissions Trading System into an effective tool for climate action has culminated in a final deal that will not reduce Europe’s industrial carbon footprint rapidly enough to tackle the climate crisis. The reformed EU ETS lavishes freebies on polluting industries and leaves households and taxpayers with the bill." https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2022/12/18/final-deal-on-eu-carbon-market-ets-gives-heavy-industry-a-free-pass-at-the-expense-of-households-and-taxpayers/ #EU #CarbonFootprint #EmissionsTradingSystem #ClimateCrisis #CBAM #decarbonisation

From #TheCarbonAlmanac newsletter:

The term “carbon footprint”, was invented by British Petroleum and Ogilvy and Mather to make people feel shame.

The reason it works is simple. Because if you feel like a hypocrite, you’re less likely to speak out.

Stop being ashamed.

#ClimateCrisis #CarbonFootprint #Greenwashing #shame

Read more: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/they-selfishly-pushed-shame/

https://agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr/particuliers/bureau/numerique/calculez-lempreinte-carbone-usages-numeriques
Grâce à ce simulateur en ligne, découvrez votre empreinte carbone en fonction du nombre d'emails envoyés, du temps de visionnage de vidéos en #streaming et du nombre d'heures passées en #visioconférence. #climateaction #CarbonFootprint

@astrogsw No, this way has a lower #carbonfootprint.

Direct Capture of #Carbon Dioxide from Air: Promising Way to Tackle... | Study had shown a scalable and affordable solution of directly capturing carbon dioxide from air and tackling #carbonfootprint #Carbondioxide (CO2) is a major...

https://www.scientificeuropean.co.uk/technology/direct-capture-of-carbon-dioxide-from-air-promising-way-to-tackle-carbon-footprint-and-fuel-generation/