The Green Ration Book | Assessing the cost of everyday living

Welcome to The Green Ration Book

The average UK citizen creates 11 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
a year. CO2e includes the effects of other greenhouse gasses as well as
the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

New UK targets aim to cut this by 80%.

Reducing these 11 tonnes by 80% gives a ration of 2.2 tonnes per year.
This makes a daily ration 6kg CO2.

Dividing the ration equally between categories “consumables”, “building”, “transport” and “government”, allows 1.5kg per day.

The estimates below are for CO2e and amount of a 1.5kg daily ration.
This is expressed as a time (e.g. a quarter of a daily ration is given as 6 hours).

A return flight to Bucharest from Leeds

CO2e: 1,160.0 kg (773 days)

Return distance 4462km at 260 gm CO2 per km
(Leeds/Bradford to Bucharest and back)

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A return flight to Mexico City from Leeds

CO2e: 3,648.0 kg (2432 days)

Return distance 17369km at 210 gm CO2 per km
(Leeds/Bradford to Mexico City and back)

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Bulding Construction (York College)

45,000 tonnes CO2e (8000 years)

This is the new building for York Colleges. It is approximately 29,500 sq meters.
Assuming 650 kgs of CO2e per square meter (similar to BEDZED ?) gives 19,175 tonnes of CO2e

Part of the funding for the new college depends on planning permission for 350 new houses.
No doubt these will be ocnventional build c 65 tonnes CO2e per dwelling, giving 22750 tonnes CO2e.

Add 10% for surrounding works, gives an estimate of 45,000 tonnes of CO2e

Using environmentally friendly building materials, such as Hempcrete, could have made the construction of this new college and housing carbon negative.

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