Welcome to the Riot for Austerity 90% Emissions Reduction Project. The goal that Miranda, Sharon and other participants have set for themselves is to cut their emissions by 90% of what the average person in the US consumes - the approximate amount people in the rich world need to reduce by in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming. The eventual goal is to reach the 94% that George Monbiot calculates would represent a fair share of the world’s emissions for Americans, but we’re starting slow ;-).
We’re doing this for several reasons. First, because it is necessary - if we want to bestow a decent world on our children, we have to cut our emissions, and much harder and faster than any government has proposed. The reason governments do not propose it is because they believe it is politically infeasible. So we want to present our leaders with as many people as possible who will stand up and say “I did it. Our nation can too.” We’re excited that people want to join us, and we invite anyone who is ready to participate!
The other reason is that we’re ready to take the next step - Miranda and I have both been cutting our energy usage for a while preparing for a more sustainable future. We want to take a larger step. If you want to join in, you can do it one of two ways - first, by linking in your blog (send Miranda an email at simplereduce@charter.net with your blog info) or by commenting on either of our blogs. Click here to find the original parameters of the program.
Monbiot’s calculations were that this was impossible without government intervention. Well, we think it is possible, and we’re going to prove it. It would be a lot easier, though, with government infrastructure changes like better public transportation, more investment in renewable energies and a transfer of subsidies away from stupid things like building new highways and paying corporate agriculture. So if you participate and succeed in any way in this, you should be extremely proud of yourself - you are doing, without help, what they said could not be done.
Miranda and Sharon started this program together. We come from really different backgrounds, and we’ve each got different challenges. Sharon lives on a farm, Miranda in a city. Sharon grows a lot of her food but has no public transport and nothing very walkable. Miranda walks everywhere but only has a lawn. We’re both struggling to do this with young and sometimes recalcitrant children. We’re both excited about it, though! We think it is will be important to demonstrate that this is possible in all sorts of lives.
May 23, 2007 at 8:43 am
I started out by cutting Sharon’s post to 1 page, and then working with that. I haven’t yet got baselines for everything, but here’s what I have so far:
1. Gasoline: 50 gallons PER PERSON, PER YEAR. Public transportation deemed to get 100 mpg,
I’m putting myself and 2 children into here, and letting housemate fend for herself. At 25 m/gal I get 3750 miles for the three of us. It’s going to take some thinking through here. My father drives dd the elder to choir pratice once a week, but he does pastoral counciling at the church at the same time. Does the 8 mile round trip come out of his gas budget? Ours? Do we factor in the milage of the person meeting with my father? A share of the choir director’s? This summer, when I drive a friends child to camp with mine, do I get to put a ¼ of the millage onto her budget?
It’s also going to take even more cutting back, right now I drive about 5,000 miles a year.
2. Electricity. 90 kWh / HOUSEHOLD / MONTH - Solar 2x; Hydro and Wind 4x. 487 kWh
494 kWh/month. Yikes!!!! I can think of 2 large draws — the sump pump and the dehumidifier. For now, I’m going to be even more viligent about the power strips and turning things off while I try to think of a way to cut back, perhaps 10% a month.
3. Heating and Cooking Energy Natural Gas: 100 therms /household/year 905 therms/year Happy Dance Happy Dance!!!!! Now, how can I use the stove less.
4 .45 lbs of garbage PER PERSON, PER DAY. Counting recycled (but not composted) we came in last week just over this. No idea if this is average or not.
5. Water 10 gallons PER PERSON, PER DAY. Rainwater you collect is unlimited. I have yet to figure our water usage, but I have fianlly wrestled one water butt into place.
6. 1,000 dollars PER HOUSEHOLD, PER YEAR Used 10% of their actual purchase price. No limit on donated or thrown out.
Here’s a laugh: after years and years of coming in well under 1,000 (by virtue of the no limit on donated or thrown out itmes), I’ve just very gratefully accepted a $9,000 piano from my father. Let’s average it back over the last 20 years, and give myself a credit for all the things I’ve repaired and pass on, and say that we’ve reached it.
Working though this….
7. Food
#1 food you grow, or which is produced LOCALLY (50miles) AND ORGANICALLY (or mostly - it doesn’t have to be certified, but should be low input, because chemical fertilizers produce major greenhouse contributors). This includes all produce, grains, beans, and meats and dairy products that are mostly either GRASSFED or produced with HOME GROWN OR LOCALLY GROWN, ORGANIC FEED. That is, chicken meat produced with GM corn from IOWA in Florida is not local. A 90% reduction would involve this being AT LEAST 70% of your diet, year round. Ideally, it would be even more. Locally produced things like soap in this category, if most ingredients are local.
#2 DRY, BULK goods, transported from longer distances. That is, whole, unprocessed beans, grains, and small light things like tea, coffee, spices (fair trade and sustainably grown ONLY), or locally produced animal products partly raised on unprocessed but non-local grains, and locally produced wet products like oils. Purchased in bulk, with minimal packaging (beans in 50lb paper sacks, pasta in bulk, tea loose, by the pound, rather than in little bags), also includes things like recycled toilet paper, purchased garden seeds, other light, dry items. No more than 25% of total purchases.
# 3 Wet goods: meat, fruits, vegetables, juices, oils, milk etc. We’re going to assume you’ll buy organic whenever possible transported long distances, and processed foods like chips, soda. Also regular shampoo, dish soap, etc. NO one should buy more than 5% of their food in this form. Now, the above makes up more than 50% of the average diet.
Thus, if you purchase 20 food items in a week, you’d use 14 home or locally produced items, 5 bulk dry items, and only 1 processed or out of season thing.
May 24, 2007 at 2:00 pm
It will be more work and I don’t know if it can be done, but is there a way to creat a spread sheet for each of us where we can put in our starting figures in each cat. we want to work on, and then month by month our on going figures. Perhaps it could even do some calculations for us, so that we’d know what % we were compared to the US benchmark, our own initial starting figures, and how much more we had to cut in % of the starting figures and in whatever unit the catagory was measure in.
THanks.
May 24, 2007 at 2:02 pm
MEA - anything can be done - it is just figuring out how to.
I have some ideas, but am not an excel specialist. I have set up something for grade books that I may be able to modify….
May 24, 2007 at 5:10 pm
MEA, I would be willing to live in a mud hut, eating only greens and lentils I grow myself and weaving my own clothing, before I would attempt to set up a computer program to do the math. We all have our gifts, but this is not one of mine.
That said, I suspect there’s someone out there with the skills to help out! Volunteers?
Sharon, who likes the idea of building a mud hut better than figuring out Excel, and who suspect that “luddite” might be an understatement ;-).
May 25, 2007 at 7:13 am
My special gift is coming up with projects for other do to.
May 30, 2007 at 9:36 am
[...] Intro: http://simplereduce.wordpress.com/riot-for-austerity-90-reduction-project-intro/ [...]
June 4, 2007 at 11:11 am
Is there a website dedicated to making this kind of rationing easy?
For instance, people can enter their current electricity bill VS the rationed amount to see the difference.
Same with food bills.
Same with gas, etc.
The easier the tools, the easier the project.
- Randy from http://www.lawnstogardens.com
June 4, 2007 at 11:27 am
I want to pass on a project that we in Missoula are trying to get the rest of the U.S. cities, and global cities as well to consider doing — hoping to get financing from wealthy, corporate and feds to help us do it .. Called HIGH GROUND COMMUNITIES — GETTING CITIES OFF FOSSIL FUELS USING ONLY CLEAN RENEWABLES (WIND, SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL, PELLETS) AND LOCAL ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTION FOR ENTIRE CITY POPULATION . MISSOULA, ALBUQUERQUE, AND NOW DENVER ARE INTERESTED, NEED HELP THERE AND WITH OTHER CITIES. GO TO HIGHLANDWINDS.COM TO THE BLOG PAGE. CHECK IT OUT.
June 4, 2007 at 1:44 pm
The link in post 6 takes you back to the intro.
June 6, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I don’t know how to set up such a website. Anyone want to volunteer?
Sharon
June 6, 2007 at 6:11 pm
peakoilboy _ I just put together an excel spreadsheet which does this. Do you want a copy? It is on the yahoogroups files section (if you have joined the yahoogroup email list (90% reduction)
June 6, 2007 at 11:52 pm
We’ve made a lot of progress in our daily lives. We burn ZERO gasoline — because we only have diesel vehicles. With the exception of 4-8 1000km trips per year to visit aging parents, we’re about 100 gallons of biodiesel per year. But I think that home-brew biodiesel made from local waste oil should get a free pass, or at least SOME credit over using gasoline.
Our electricity consumption is high, but it’s all hydro where we live, and we run of our our home-based businesses (web site hosting) on it, so I think we deserve a break for that, as well. We heat with wood and use a solar clothes dryer for over half the year, so the server eats most of our electricity.
Cooking is via electricity for now, although we do heat things up on the woodstove in the winter.
Woa, 2 kilograms of garbage per person per week must be for major consumers! We recycle aggressively, and avoid buying stuff with excessive packaging. We sheet-mulch with any cardboard we get hold of. We’re well under 2 kilograms a month, and so near the 0.45 pound/person/day number.
We are well under the water number, except for our garden. We are in the process of putting in two 40,000 liter rainwater collection tanks for irrigation.
Consumer goods? What are those? We buy certain “consumer” equipment for business purposes, such as computers and photo equipment — but should that really count? People with REAL JOBS work for companies that buy similar stuff!
The food one is a bit abstract. How about a special credit for vegetarianism? And I don’t mean buying organic soy milk from California — we buy organic soybeans (as local as possible) and make our own soy milk! We also have our own eggs and a garden and generally don’t buy anything packaged in plastic, so I think we’re close here.
June 6, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Ooops! I thought my user name would link to our website, but I guess not.
June 12, 2007 at 9:50 am
i’m going to give this a try. i’m starting by looking back over the past 6 months to see where i am, then figuring out where i need to go over the next 6. great project!
June 12, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I have already been working on this for a year now. Almost every day I get new ideas to work with. I use gas for heating but endured 40 degree temperatures last winter. I hope to find better ways to not be so cold this coming winter. My gas usage has been 0 for almost 3 months now. My water usage is 2 gallons a day. My electrical usage is now about 4 kWh a month. I use a solar oven for cooking and heating water. I don’t use a refrigerator any more. In these areas I’m doing great.
The reason I got involved in conservation was that I was denied solar and wind power by my Home Owners Association. I live in a condo. Heating is hard for me because I have almost no passive solar in my home through windows that face south.
I am having a harder time with food purchases because in Denver it is hard to grow anything except in the three summer months.
I have been trying to buy an electric car that I can convert to solar, but haven’t made the plunge yet. My gasoline consumption is way out of line and I don’t know how to make it any better. I try to keep it under 100 miles a week, but have only been successful once. I use public transportation quite a lot but not enough. And when the cold months come again, it will get harder. I need help in this area.
I’m going to be reading this web site in the future to get more ideas.
June 13, 2007 at 9:27 am
[...] for the average person. Thankfully, I found sites like The Victory Garden and NoImpact Man and the 90% Project for continued tips on how to make a difference, even if I couldn’t do the really big things [...]
June 15, 2007 at 7:38 pm
[...] this a few days ago on No Impact Man’s blog. A couple of bloggers are working together on a project to encourage personal reductions of 90% in carbon emissions. This is the level many experts feel it [...]
June 18, 2007 at 4:33 am
[...] you read the same sites I link to, then you are probably already aware of the Riot for Austerity 90% Emissions Reduction Project (is it too soon to call it a [...]
June 19, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I am already pretty close to these. Most water is for the garden and animals, I wash my laundry only once per month, and use a efficient front loader. Unfortunately I live 25 mi from work, and they refuse to let me telecommute. Our county has zero public transit options. Biking (would be my preferred option to driving) is too dangerous because the roads have a 4 inch shoulder, and the cattle trucks drive the twisty roads like maniacs. I had a friend killed by one last year while jogging. I am giving myself an extra allowance on some categories, since I rent, and my landlady refuses to make the changes necessary to help (on demand hot water, insulation in the ceiling, more efficient appliances). I did have my house at 45-55F all winter to cut electricity use (mostly due to poverty to pay for it). Local foods are almost entirely unavailable, due to the 60 day growing season, and little community support for farmers markets. Most folks just grown their own and barter. An advantage for rural living.
I think wind power should get more credit. It can be done at almost no cost and use salvaged parts from the dump.
July 7, 2007 at 12:24 pm
[...] probably pretty small. Shaun and I have decided to calculate our own footprint in the spirt of the Riot For Austerity 90% Emissions Reduction Project started by Miranda and [...]
July 17, 2007 at 4:32 pm
[...] I’ve been reading some of the blogs of those involved in the Riot for Austerity 90% Emissions Reduction Project. This is an exciting time to be living in when we really do need to decide to make some changes to [...]
July 18, 2007 at 10:32 am
Just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for a Blogging For Positive Global Change Award for your efforts to help your readers reduce their emissions. Checkout my post for more information. Regards.
Sara from farmingfriends
July 30, 2007 at 10:01 am
[...] the group I mentioned earlier (which is called 90% reduction: Riot for Austerity) has had numerous arguments discussions about whether commercial airline flights are bad or good. [...]
August 10, 2007 at 5:24 pm
excellent examples of “concepts in action.” the intelligent observations & commentaries are refreshing. keep it coming
rated: ‘allstars beyond awesome’
August 29, 2007 at 9:51 pm
[...] agree, and while I’m not yet up to the task of joining the riot and reducing my energy use by 90%, I’m going to do the best I can to get it down by 20%. In order to know if I’ve [...]
September 4, 2007 at 5:40 pm
[...] like the challenge of reducing our energy usage. I joined the Riot for Austerity challenge back in June just to see what people were doing, not really because I was too zealous [...]
September 12, 2007 at 6:52 am
[...] from the Riot For Austerity sent a link to an article on the BBC site about a village in Taiwan that is on the verge of getting [...]
September 13, 2007 at 2:39 pm
[...] justifications are a little lame, especially compared to the Riot for Austerity biking champ, Emme. The thing is, herding two or three kids, navigating traffic (King Soopers especially does not [...]
September 16, 2007 at 8:20 am
[...] really glad to have these challenges to, well, challenge me. I’ve learned a lot about myself over the past few months, and I [...]
September 18, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Just thought I’d mention that this week in my blog, I’m checking my progress (or lack thereof!) on each of the 7 goals. I’m curious how everyone else is doing, too…
October 20, 2007 at 7:42 am
[...] No Comments Ahhh, I’m always a sucker for a good blog challenge and what a fabulous name Riot for Austerity it has a certain ring to it doesn’t [...]
October 23, 2007 at 4:00 pm
[...] aware that refusing the heroic-sounding 90% challenge is in effect giving the finger to someone, somewhere, probably on the other side of the world, who [...]
October 23, 2007 at 4:05 pm
[...] personal environmental commitments, is commitment. I articulated commitments in response to the 90% challenge (pasted earlier) and never followed up on them. I got lazy about the measurement and the [...]
November 9, 2007 at 9:44 am
[...] Last I heard, about 1,000 people all over the U.S. and in other countries are participating in the Riot for Austerity 90% Emissions Reduction Project, a grass-roots movement to reduce our footprint (in various categories including food, gasoline, [...]
November 18, 2007 at 12:12 am
[...] all need to make personal changes to cut our carbon footprints, working toward 90%. We really need leadership to instigate sweeping policy changes, and radical and inspired [...]
November 24, 2007 at 12:11 am
I don’t own a car and turn down rides. Sometimes I need a ride though for heavy things. I bought organic mass market rice this evening. I also bought recycled paper toilet paper. I live five minutes walk from work. I bus to school. I use too much electricity and that is something I should work on. My shirts are mostly second hand. I tend towards cotton. I like wood too with no stain. I sell my stuff for reuse. I garbage pick furniture sometimes. I recycle and try to follow the cities recycling rules.
That’s it for now. I will post some tips on my blog.
February 2, 2008 at 1:37 pm
[...] 90% Emissions Reduction Project – was initially started by Sharon and Miranda and they both come from two different backgrounds as one lives in the country and the other in the city. “The goal that Miranda, Sharon and other participants have set for themselves is to cut their emissions by 90% of what the average person in the US consumes - the approximate amount people in the rich world need to reduce by in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming.” [...]