Carbon Neutral
As soon as I woke up today, I checked my email. I was disappointed to find out that I still haven't received my invitation to join the Mars colonization mission. Have you? Sigh! So I ordered 20 solar-powered, self-replicating carbon dioxide scrubbers from a local tree nursery. I expect to install them in the spring, in a field cleared by a forest fire 25 years ago. I loaded the hybrid with my recycling to drop off later.
I then planned my morning project, to shovel the snow on the front walk. Over my bowl of granola, I estimated that there was 1 inch of snow on the sidewalk, measuring 3 feet by 30 feet (36 inches by 360 inches). Please check my math on this, since none of the engineers who are planning the Mars mission will return my calls! I calculated 12,960 cubic inches of snow that needed to be removed. Since 1 inch of snow is approximately 0.1 inch of rain, I estimated that I needed to remove 1,296 cubic inches of water. One gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. One gallon is 231 cubic inches, so I was going to be removing approximately 5.6 gallons of water, weighing about 45 lbs. It seemed doable. And it was! Easily!
After I finished, I had lunch. During lunch, I calculated, using a website calculator (www.captaincalculator.com/health/calorie/calories-burned-shoveling-snow-calculator), that I had expended between 300 and 400 calories shoveling snow. This calculation requires one to know how much one weighs, how vigorously one is shoveling (to determine a MET, or metabolic equivalent of task) and how long one participates in the activity. For the first time in my life, I was grateful to be overweight, since I expended more calories to complete this job now than I would have at an earlier time in my life. A bonus for putting this off for 40 years! My doctor would be proud! Unfortunately, I ate a 500 calorie lunch.
It occurred to me that my parents drove me to get an education so that I could avoid work (in the physics-sense) for the rest of my life. I embraced their goal for me but, I must say, they were more critical of this personal characteristic when I was a teenager.
I then went out to stack wood. Rather than calculating calories, I found myself wondering how many trees I burned every winter in my wood stove. I wondered if I ordered enough solar-powered, self-replicating, carbon dioxide scrubbers to keep up with my consumption. I discovered after I was done stacking, with relief, that I used about 1-2 trees per winter (www.almanac.com).
As the day wore on, my brain got tired and fewer questions were countered with critical analysis. That is the best time to drive to the recycling center.
I came home and broiled 1 steak, which my wife and I split. It was really good and I found myself wondering why they don't put Beano in cattle feed so that we can continue to enjoy this without guilt? At least I could take comfort in the fact that all our electricity is hydro-generated.
I made up the balance of my caloric intake for the day with scotch, searching for an idea that would let me sleep well. The thought I stumbled upon, thanks to the scotch, was that I could make a pledge to give all the carbon I was using back to the earth when I was done with it! I slept well.
I then planned my morning project, to shovel the snow on the front walk. Over my bowl of granola, I estimated that there was 1 inch of snow on the sidewalk, measuring 3 feet by 30 feet (36 inches by 360 inches). Please check my math on this, since none of the engineers who are planning the Mars mission will return my calls! I calculated 12,960 cubic inches of snow that needed to be removed. Since 1 inch of snow is approximately 0.1 inch of rain, I estimated that I needed to remove 1,296 cubic inches of water. One gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. One gallon is 231 cubic inches, so I was going to be removing approximately 5.6 gallons of water, weighing about 45 lbs. It seemed doable. And it was! Easily!
After I finished, I had lunch. During lunch, I calculated, using a website calculator (www.captaincalculator.com/health/calorie/calories-burned-shoveling-snow-calculator), that I had expended between 300 and 400 calories shoveling snow. This calculation requires one to know how much one weighs, how vigorously one is shoveling (to determine a MET, or metabolic equivalent of task) and how long one participates in the activity. For the first time in my life, I was grateful to be overweight, since I expended more calories to complete this job now than I would have at an earlier time in my life. A bonus for putting this off for 40 years! My doctor would be proud! Unfortunately, I ate a 500 calorie lunch.
It occurred to me that my parents drove me to get an education so that I could avoid work (in the physics-sense) for the rest of my life. I embraced their goal for me but, I must say, they were more critical of this personal characteristic when I was a teenager.
I then went out to stack wood. Rather than calculating calories, I found myself wondering how many trees I burned every winter in my wood stove. I wondered if I ordered enough solar-powered, self-replicating, carbon dioxide scrubbers to keep up with my consumption. I discovered after I was done stacking, with relief, that I used about 1-2 trees per winter (www.almanac.com).
As the day wore on, my brain got tired and fewer questions were countered with critical analysis. That is the best time to drive to the recycling center.
I came home and broiled 1 steak, which my wife and I split. It was really good and I found myself wondering why they don't put Beano in cattle feed so that we can continue to enjoy this without guilt? At least I could take comfort in the fact that all our electricity is hydro-generated.
I made up the balance of my caloric intake for the day with scotch, searching for an idea that would let me sleep well. The thought I stumbled upon, thanks to the scotch, was that I could make a pledge to give all the carbon I was using back to the earth when I was done with it! I slept well.
Thank you, Robert for your kind comments. I was just thinking about whether I should do a follow up on this as I now "work" in the physics sense so much more since retiring. To be honest, I have always enjoyed physical labor even though I "worked" professionally in a sedentary job. Anyway, I am very interested in your website, selling olive trees. Is there a species of Olive that can survive the winters in Spokane, WA? My grandmother cured her own olives and I would love to grow and cure my own. I actually have her recipe. I have looked at different sites but haven't found a consistent answer. Alternatively, would you sell me raw olives from your orchard? Please l me know if this is possible. Once again, my thanks for your appreciation.
ReplyDeleteDear Robert,
ReplyDeletePlease give me a call at your convenience to discuss the olives. Thank you for getting back to me.
Alan
(208) 215-4000
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