How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything

A text message A pint of tap water A web search Walking through a door An email Drying your hands A plastic carrier bag 10 to 100 grams: A paper carrier bag Ironing a shirt Cycling a mile Boiling a litre of water An apple A banana An orange An hour’s TV 100 grains to 1 kilo: A mug of tea or coffee A mile by bus A nappy A punnet of strawberries A mile by train A 500 ml bottle of water A letter 1 kg of carrots A newspaper A pint of beer A bowl of porridge A shower An ice cream A unit of heat A unit of electricity Spending £ 1 1kg of rubbish Washing up A toilet roll Driving 1 mile A red rose 1 kg of boiled potatoes A pint of milk 1 kg of cement 1 kilo to 10 kilos: A paperback book A loaf of bread A bottle of wine 1 kg of plastic Taking a bath A pack of asparagus A load of laundry A burger A litre of petrol 1 kg of rice Desalinating a cubic metre of water A pair of trousers A steak A box of eggs kg of tomatoes 1 kg of trout Leaving the lights on 1kg of steel 10 kilos to 100 kilos : A pair of shoes 1 kg of cheese A congested commute by car A night in a hotel A leg of lamb A carpet Using a mobile phone Being cremated 100 kilos to 1 tonne : London to Glasgow and back Christmas excess Insulating a loft A necklace A computer (and using it) A mortgage 1 tonne to 10 tonnes : A heart bypass operation Photovoltaic panels Flying from London to Hong Kong return 1 tonne fertiliser A person 10 tonnes to 100 tonnes : A car crash A new car A wind turbine A house 100 tonnes to 1 million tonnes: Having a child A swimming pool A hectare of deforestation A space shuttle flight A university 1 million tonnes and beyond: A volcano The World Cup The world’s data centres A bushfire A country A war Black carbon The world Burning the world’s fossilfuel reserves More about food: How the footprint of food breaks down Low-carbon food tips A guide to seasonal food Some more information : Some assumptions revisited The cost efficiency of selected carbon-saving options Where the numbers come from Carbon tables for countries, people, industries and products Notes and references Index About the Author: Mike Berners-Lee is founding director of Small World Consulting, an associate company of Lancaster University that specialises in measuring the carbon footprints of products and services.