If the student reads it on a desktop computer located where electric power is generated by burning coal and if the student prints 200 onesided pages, then the carbon footprint is much greater for the e book. However only 15%20% of world banana production is traded globally the biggest banana producing countries such as india or brazil export very little and keep most for. May, 2010 from a text message to a war, from a valentines rose to a flight or even having a child, how bad are bananas. How bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything. The fruit was officially introduced to north america in 1876 and 86 million tons are grown annually in africa, south asia and latin america. However only 15%20% of world banana production is traded globally the biggest banana producing countries such as india or brazil export very little and keep most for domestic consumption. The carbon footprint of bananas from cradle to retail was 1.
Dec 09, 2010 from a text message to a war, from a valentines rose to a flight or even having a child, how bad are bananas. Mike is an author and expert in climate change, sustainable organisation development and carbon metrics. Unlike most books on carbon footprint, that i plough through for my research, how bad are bananas was hugely entertaining in a page turning way. Whether or not low carbon living is important to you, this book is well worth the read. He will tell you for example that dishwashers are greener than washing dishes by hand. By talking through a hundred or so items, mike bernerslee sets out to give us a carbon instinct for the footprint of literally anything we do, buy. Feb 06, 2019 the great carbon footprint game is based on the book how bad are bananas. Book lovers are opting for both so we are going to delve into the pros and cons of each and their carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of everything comes in very handy. Book lovers are opting for both so lets see the pros and cons of each.
Pdf carbon footprint assessment of a paperback book. For just 80g of co2e you get a whole lot of nutrition. The approach chosen is cradletogate, which means that the raw. Mike bernerslee we always hear the same old green advice. Carbon footprint assessment the banana knowledge platform. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, plastic bags actually produce far less co2 than their paper rivals. The ecological footprint of a banana 1 the banana is the worlds largest herb, and a member of the lily family. In this book bernerslee tries to quantify the carbon footprint of practically everything.
Join the monitors book discussion on facebook and twitter. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read how bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything. The banana carbon footprint is divided into three steps of production and packing, transport and shipping, and ripening bananas. Measuring your carbon footprint can be a complex process. Mike continues to advise on the development of the game and metrics relating to it.
Just look at the carbon footprint of this banana boing boing. Including the consumer stage resulted in a 34 % rise in cf, mainly due to high wastage. Keep in mind only 15%20% of world banana production is traded globally, the biggest banana producing countries in africa export very little and keep most for domestic consumption. His book is intended as an early map, and it covers the carbon footprint gamut, with entries for a. Around 800,000 tonnes are imported to the uk each year with each banana having a carbon footprint of 100200 grams. And it covers the range from birth the carbon footprint of having a child to death the carbon impact of cremation.
The most recognized methodologies used for a carbon footprint assessment are based upon the iso 14044 standard and the pas 2050. Posted on july 24, 2019 july 24, 2019 by co2living despite bananas being an important product, only few carbon footprint analysis have been published, and the results have varied depending on the methodology and data. If you have any questions ask your teacher or classmates. Going bananas over the carbon footprint from tree to kitchen table, a banana s journey can be long and energyconsumingfor the planet. Bananas imported from the dominican republic, apples from new. Climate change is a topic so big that its hard for us to.
The carbon footprint game is based on original research by professor mike bernerslee of lancaster university. Jun, 2011 a single banana has a carbon footprint of about 80 grams, one of the lowest in the book. Worried that your carbon footprint may be oversized. The real problem with banana, though, has to do with message. Mar 08, 2017 work your way through all of the questions the website asks to give a very detailed calculation of your carbon footprint. I checked this book out because i wanted to learn a bit more about the impacts of diet on the environment. Posts about carbon footprints, drawing on text from how bad are bananas. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, this book can and will help. Aug 11, 2019 however, a new book suggests food miles are a poor indicator of a products total carbon footprint, and could even be misleading.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading how bad are bananas. I read the book from cover to cover in a weekend and couldnt put it down, thanks to the engaging style of writing, humour and clarity of. The carbon footprint of everything mike bernerslee november 11, 2017 theclimatarianblog i was recommended this book by my lecturer, whom i asked about good resources on carbon footprints, as my various ecosia searches an amazing search engine that plants trees came back less than satisfactory. Reducing carbon and water footprints in banana plantations. If you do most of these things you can comfortably cut down your carbon foodprint by 60%, which bites off almost 20% off your total footprint. Carbon footprint ltd is registered in england and wales no. Shows you to carbon footprint the gram equivalent of co. The report asserts that printed books have the highest perunit carbon footprint which includes its raw materials, paper production, printing, shipping. The carbon footprint of everything kindle edition by bernerslee, mike. The banana sector is currently facing interconnected challenges that are deteriorating the resilience of ecosystems in banana plantations worldwide. Carbon footprint of everything helps to put things in perspective. Its a pretty interesting read and helped me know where to focus my liberal guilt.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The art and science of taking into account many aspects of what constitutes a carbon footprint has often been ignored. How bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything ebook written by mike bernerslee. Apparently bananas arent bad at all from a carbon footprint perspective, but my cheese habit is worse than i realized. Dont cry over spilt milk, make the right choices and make it count bernerslee, director of a carbon consulting company affiliated with the englands lancaster environment centre, shows us the real impact of daytoday things we do or buy. Koeppel seems to ignore that it is probably unethical to advocate the continued presence of bananas on a global scale, considering their large carbon footprint. Bananas 96 books goodreads share book recommendations. How bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything by. A carbon footprint assessment measures the total set of greenhouses gases that are emitted at different stages of a products life cycle. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jun 26, 2019 some countries grow bananas, with the 120 million tonnes they produce each year mainly being grown by smallholders for home consumption or sale at local markets.
Pdf carbon footprint of a cavendish banana supply chain. The book puts our decisions into perspective with entries for the big things the world cup, volcanic eruptions, the iraq war as well as the small email, ironing, a glass of beer. By talking through a hundred or so items, mike bernerslee sets out to give us a carbon instinct for the footprint of literally anything we do, buy and think about. The case study estimated a total footprint of 121g of co 2equivalents, with transportation and farming being the largest share of emissions 36% and 29% respectively. The carbon footprint of textbooks mathematics of planet earth. The argument in favor of digital books makes intuitive sense. Mike bernerslee set out to inform us what was important aviation, heating, swimming pools and what made very little difference bananas, naturally packaged, are good. Types of bananas three banana recipes and banana carbon. It is refreshing to find a book about carbon footprint thats also an enjoyable read. From a text message to a war, from a valentines rose to a flight or even having a child, how bad are bananas. New book figures out the carbon footprint of everything. And how bad is it really to eat bananas shipped from south america. A recent new york times feature examines the carbon footprint of e books in relation to print books. Although they defined different boundaries, banana carbon footprint studies have identified maritime transport including refrigerants as the main contributor to the banana supply chain carbon footprint, followed by the manufacture and use of fertilizers and the manufacture and preparation of carton boxes in packing stations.
Since the same footprint cant belong to two people, that would mean authors dont bear the weight of the carbon emissions of their books but that way lies paralysis. Going bananas over the carbon footprint mit energy. Sliced white and wholemeal bread has been considered for these purposes and the functional unit is defined as one loaf of sliced bread 800 g consumed at home. Carbon footprint of a cavendish banana supply chain article pdf available in the international journal of life cycle assessment 188 september 20 with 2,793 reads how we measure reads. Reducing carbon and water footprints in b anana plantations.
A single ereaders total carbon footprint is approximately 168kg, and for a book, this figure is somewhere in the range of 7. The book also provides case studies offering a wealth of information on practices and methods in detecting and addressing carbon footprint. This book is full of interesting, sometimes surprising facts about the carbon footprint of everything. The great carbon footprint game is based on the book how bad are bananas. You may think youre familiar with climate change and carbon footprints, but do you really know the everyday activities that contribute to the current environmental crisis. After nine months, it produces fruit throughout the entire year. While banana farming produces a low amount of carbon emissions, theres more to it than that.
The influence on the carbon footprint of several parameters has been analysed. Another surprise is that one tonne of inefficientlymade and excessivelyused fertiliser can create emissions twelve times in. In this sense, carbon and water reduction strategies are becoming fundamental for the banana industry to prevent and mitigate. Now that this book is about 10 years old, it would be even greater to have an updated version, to know if anything changed, even in terms of precision. Compare a 500page conventional text with the same text in digital format. Ghg emissions from transport and primary production could be significantly reduced, which could theoretically give a reduction of. This document describes in detail the process of estimating the carbon footprint of a banana. Foods with the highest and lowest carbon footprints work. It uses research and case studies on methods and practices from.
Mike bernerslee, the brother of internet creator tim, covers everyday things such as bananas, newspapers and cups of tea, to. The book is mostly us and uk centric with some sidecanadian examples, but i feel it can work even for those who arent from these countries. The banana is the worlds most popular fruit, and its demand fuels the need for more and more banana farms, which causes deforestation, water pollution and the spread of pesticides in the rainforest, according to business ethics. The company offers glutenfree banana snacks without any additives, preservatives and with a naturally sweet taste made by upcycling the bananas that used to go to waste, enabling cultivators and agriculture industry players to reduce their carbon footprint and end food waste on organic banana farms and consumers to get healthy snacks. The main potential reductions of ghg emissions were identified at the primary production, within the overseas transport stage and at the consumer. Carbon footprint of the banana supply chain world banana. Bananas are a great food for anyone who cares about their carbon footprint. The aim of this study has been to estimate the carbon footprint of bread produced and consumed in the uk. Everything you thought about the carbon footprint of imported. How bad are bananas the great carbon footprint game. How bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything abebooks.
The carbon footprint handbook is an important reference that discusses, in depth, the essential details of carbon footprint assessment. Deborah halber correspondent february 25, 2008 mitei. Mike bernerslee, the author is a uk consultant who helps businesses figure out how to reduce their carbon consumption and he has a lot of experience with different kinds of calculations of. The carbon footprint of a book the climate in emergency. Arguably, the carbon footprint of a book belongs to its readerpersonal carbon footprinting assumes personal responsibility for anything we buy. A single banana has a carbon footprint of about 80 grams, one of the lowest in the book.
Mike bernerslee minutely examines and calculates the carbon footprint by weight of many activities and items in his new book, how bad are bananas. Uncovering the carbon footprint of everything our world. The results show that the production of 400,000 books, mainly distributed in north america, would generate 1,084 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent co 2. What is great in this book is not to know the exact carbon footprint of a banana, but to discover its life cycle, and to derive general laws.
I have always believed that you should get paper bags over plastic at the grocery store, but im somewhat ambivalent about that after reading mike bernerslees book, how bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything. Mike bernerslee, the founding director of small world consulting, looks into the carbon footprint of everything in his new book, how bad are bananas. The book ranges from the everyday foods, books, plastic bags, bikes, flights, baths. Buy how bad are bananas the carbon footprint of everything main by bernerslee, mike isbn. The carbon footprint of everything by bernerslee, mike and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The carbon footprint of everything, by mike bernerslee. This book is about the carbon footprint, and how we can help to reduce it, by showing us where certain things and actions are regarding the heaviness of their footprint. Carbon footprint of a cavendish banana supply chain. The carbon footprint of everything 2010 about book. Blanco, a research scientist at the mit center for transportation and logistics, is working with chiquita brands international inc. The carbon footprint of everything and millions of other books are available for amazon.
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