[closeparen]

I was surprised by "stop flying" so I ran a calculator [0], not the most authoritative-looking thing in the world but it's trying to sell me offset credits, so if anything it's an overestimate.

Using 160kwh/month from PG&E for my 600sqft apartment, driving 12 miles/weekday on a mix of compact hatchback and small-displacement motorcycle, and flying round-trip across the country roughly once a year, I apparently have a carbon footprint of 1.59 metric tons.

That's less than 8% the US average, and below the long-term worldwide target of 2 metric tons.

That single trip home for Christmas has more carbon impact (0.63 metric tons) than an entire year of motorcycle commuting (0.49 metric tons)!

I'm also making no deliberate sacrifices or trying at all to live a low-carbon-emissions lifestyle, it just kind of happens by default when you're living in the Bay Area (small dwellings, low HVAC requirements, short drives because the freeway is even worse than public transit for long distances, etc). So... put "live in or near a big city" on that list?

[0] http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx?tab=8