| |
My
baby's carbon
footprint:
How big is it?
You
may be thinking, "Hey! My child is innocent and perfect and
doesn't know any better! Don't blame her!" And we agree. Your baby is
not responsible for global warming, rising oceans, shrinking ice-caps
or beached whales. It is
what we humans as
a whole
have done, and are
doing now, that many scientists believe is unnaturally altering our
planet's climate.
First,
lets discuss exactly what a "carbon
footprint" is. Simply put; it refers to the impression our
daily
activities have on the production and emission of greenhouse gases. The
products we use, the manufacture and disposal of those products, the
fuels we burn for transportation and the power generation needed for
heating and electricity all have an impact on the carbon cycle and the
greenhouse effect. Click
here for a more detailed description.
How does my baby create
their carbon footprint?
In
many ways, but the things babies need and use which account for the
most
additions to greenhouse gases are as follows:
1.
DIAPERS
Far
and away the greatest
impact a baby has on the environment is its
diaper use. Fortunately, in most cases, a child does not
need diapers
for much more than the first three years of its life. But the impact,
whether you are using disposable or reusable diapers, is rather
astounding. Here are a few brief stats:
- The
average baby will go through over 5,500
diaper changes before they are toilet trained.
- Every
day about 44 million soiled diapers are
discarded into American
garbage cans. Every year, in the USA alone, over 16 billion diapers
(with a weight of over 5 billion pounds) are added to garbage
landfills. The UK, Europe, Japan and Australia share similar numbers
relative to population size. Being the third largest volume item in the
world's landfills, they are a long-term emitter of methane and constant
contributor to the greenhouse gas effect.
- Reusable
cloth diapers can impact the
environment just as much as
disposables, but in different ways. The amount of water
needed to
launder the diapers, the energy needed to run the washing and drying
equipment as well as the water pollution from increased detergent and
bleach use. These all add up to a substantial carbon footprint.
- In varying studies, it takes between 200-500
years for a disposable
diaper to completely decompose in a landfill. Were you
born after 1961?
Odds are your old diapers are still in pretty good shape! This is a
long-term,
global environmental problem that needs solutions.
2. WATER / POWER USAGE
Bringing home and caring for a
wonderful new baby also means big
increases in your utilities use, making a substantial
escalation in
your household’s carbon footprint size. A few stats about your baby’s
water and power usage:
- Add
up the extra water used for your baby:
frequent baths, the washing
of clothes, food preparation, increased dishwashing loads, cleaning,
running the tap water while cleaning drool off of toys or trying to
scrub one of the four little parts of a “tippy cup” or bottle. If
you’re a parent, you know what we’re talking about. This extra water
consumption adds up, big time. According to several studies, an infant
to toddler aged child will increase your water usage by 60-100 gallons
per day!
- Power
and electricity usage: Your baby requires
loads of clothes in the
washing machine and dishes in the dishwasher. While those appliances
are sloshing through 15-35 gallons of water each run they also chew
through the voltage meter. Understandably, most parents also keep the
house warmer (or cooler with a/c) than usual to keep baby and mommy
comfortable. A baby’s
added usage can increase your household’s power
consumption by over 60%.
3. GARBAGE
It
is really hard to believe how something
you love so much, and is so
darned cute, can create
so much garbage. This trash can become a major source for
environmental pollution. Not just with diapers, as
discussed above, but all the other stuff. Everything from old food
containers, and the food they came with, to broken toys and all the
boxes, plastic wrap and styrofoam they came packaged in. My husband has
repeatedly stated his astonishment (almost ad nauseum) with how much
more he now crams into the cans. Regardless, an average household’s
gross garbage weight increases 30-70% with a new baby. And
it can stay
that way for a few years...
4. DETERGENTS / CLEANING
CHEMICALS 
Most mothers have an unusually
heightened sense of cleanliness around
their children. Protecting that innocent, helpless and
endlessly
beautiful baby means making sure there are no tiny critters, unseen to
the naked eye, threatening your child with a disease or virus. Nor do
you want your baby or toddler to touch unclean surfaces that attract
those tiny critters, like the kitchen or bathroom floor. Your wonderful
new children, as you may now know, also make more messes, and nastier
messes, than you imagined when pregnant. There is, therefore, an
escalation in the need for spray bottles and cleaning chemicals, bleach
and pine-sol. These create additional strains on water reclamation
systems, eventually alter the natural water table and make a
substantial impact on our planet’s water quality.
So,
what simple steps can you take to reduce your baby's carbon footprint?
There
are many things you can do, or are maybe already doing, that can
decrease the size of your baby’s carbon footprint. You
can, with just a
little bit of effort and change, substantially decrease your baby’s
future greenhouse emissions, offset the carbon imprints of the past,
and finally balance your
baby’s impact on our planet's carbon cycle.
Please click the links below and allow carbon-balanced-baby.org to
provide you with smart, practical, easy tips and ideas for you and your
baby. We also want your motherly advice! From carbon friendly tips to
product reviews, please respond to us when you can!
How
can you balance your baby's impact on global warming? Click here!
Diapers
are a baby's biggest greenhouse gas contributor. Click here to learn
simple ways to reduce the environmental impact of
your baby
diaper's !
Take a survey or two
and tell us about how you take care of your baby!
|
