The task to get to net zero lifestyle is big, but we don’t need to re-examine every action we do to reduce our emissions. The best route to reduce our carbon emissions to do the big things first and not worry about the things that only reduce our emissions by a fraction. There are actions we do everyday that have such low carbon emissions that it is not worth thinking about how much we are polluting the earth by doing them. Below are some examples of such activities:

A Google search

Google searches contribute only 0.0001% to the world’s carbon footprint despite that there are 3.5 billion searches every day. Emissions come from the energy you use for your smartphone or laptop, wearing out your phone/laptop and using a network or WiFi. So, feel free to surf the internet in your spare time without feeling guilty.

A text

The world sends 9.5 trillion texts a year, which is an incredibly huge number. However, one text only produces 0.8g of CO₂ emissions. This comes from writing and reading the text, wearing out the phone and transmitting through a network. It only contributes 0.01% to the world’s emissions, so text as much as you want!

A Zoom call

A Zoom call for an hour has very low emissions. An estimate of carbon emissions from a Zoom call show it varies depending on the machine you are using:

2g of CO₂e from a MacBook Pro

10g of CO₂e from a laptop

50g CO₂e from a desktop computer

These figures are so low that it does not matter how many Zoom calls you do. Also, if it prevents you from flying to a country abroad for a meeting, then net carbon emissions are negative.

Watching TV

Watching TV has relatively low carbon emissions despite that it uses energy to power the TV. Surprisingly, it doesn’t really matter how big the screen is either as technology has become more efficient and the energy system is based on more renewable energy in the UK. What does make a difference is if set-top boxes and WiFi routers are designed to consume minimal power in standby mode, especially if they are kept on overnight.

A loaf of bread

Bread is a low carbon food. It does not matter what type of bread it is and how far it has been transported does make enough of a difference, they all have similarly low emissions. What does matter is how much we waste of it. The more we waste, the more carbon emissions we create from food waste. So, to keep carbon emissions down, throw as little away as possible.

Source: How bad are bananas? By Mike Berners-Lee