Snapshot: a Greener Life Metrics

I wrote in my earlier post that in order to see how I could make my life greener and more sustainable that I would need to gather some metrics and benchmarks of where I am right now. The following is a sampling of metrics that strike me as relevant to how green my life is (and areas to focus on). I will add more as I go on as well as updates on how things change. Most of my efforts to green my life in the past has really focused on what I eat, where I live, and energy usage. It will be interesting to see how this shifts as I learn more things.

• Automobile. I drive a PZEV (Partially Zero or Low Emission Vehicle) for about 7000-8000 miles a year. The average gas mileage for my car over its life is 24.5 mpg. For me the car is a luxury--I don't need it for work (I take a subway) and everything I need is within walking distance. The car is really my way to escape the New York metro area. I offset 8000 miles worth of carbon emissions via TerraPass, rendering my car "carbon neutral". Of course, that still does not address my car's other environmental impact, including noise, promotion of road building, and the fact that cars are just a visual blight.
  
• Home. We live in a four-story row-house with four apartments. Row houses are very good when it comes to energy efficiencies--my apartment has just two external walls, the front and the back.
• Electricty. We average anywhere from 6-16 kWh/day, depending on the time of the year. August is our biggest month in terms of electricity use as it is usually New York's hottest month. Our one window air conditioner unit is a thirsty unit. This August we used 401 kWh. We participate in a Clean Energy program. Our electric company (PSE&G) is required to purchase electricty from clean energy providers (wind, solar, small hydro-power) in an amount equal to the amount we (and other program participants) use each year. So, if we use 4000 kWh in the year, PSE&G is required to source 4000 kWh from a clean energy provider. More information about the program can be found a NJ Clean Power. The program exists for other states as well.
• Food. We went grocery shopping this morning at Shop Rite. Not my favorite grocery store (I don't really like big, boxy grocery stores--they are too cluttered with junk food, plastic, holiday aisles, etc), but since it is in Jersey City and attracts a diverse customer base, they do stock a wide variety of Indian foods and spices, organic vegetables, as well as your expected grocery store stockings. Here is a glimpse at a typical food bill:
• Organic Valley milk. They also stock Horizon, but I like that Organic Valley gets its milk from smaller farms local in the area (or at least New England--closer to NJ/NY than the midwest).
• Rice Dream rice milk. Don't know where this comes from or where their rice is sourced. Its organic so at least I know that the rice is not genetically modified.
• Nasoya Tofu. Again, I don't know where they source their soy beans or how far the tofu traveled to get here. But it is organic and thus I know the soy beans are not genetically modified--soy beans, along with most staple crops--are the most likely to be genetically modified here in the US.
• Cheese slices, Salami slices--tastes good, but too much packaging. Why am I buying hermetically sealed cheese slices?
• Kashi Organic Cinnamon Harvest. Very tasty cereal. Organic. Kashi, although you would never know it from the packaging, is owned by Kelloggs. That seems deceitful to me--say what you are, what you do, and what you contain. Let me make the decision if this is a good or a bad thing. The fact the Kelloggs won't put their name on a Kashi product makes me think that they have something to hide in the rest of their business.
• Cheerios. Raisin Nut Bran. I always wonder where General Mills sources their oats for Cheerios--and if it if genetically modified. That would be a marketing nightmare it if turned out to be true--all those babies sucking down genetically modified oats via Cheerios, wouldn't mothers love that?
• European Rye bread. Made from a bakery right here in Jersey. I was (pleasantly) surprised to find Shop Right offering local food. I wish they did it more.
• Indian spices. Ajwain. Cardamon. All the way from India.
• Apples from Washington State (organic). Organic carrots from California. Hydroponic Boston Lettuce from Canada.
• Shallots, Ginger Root, Garlic from god knows where.
• And then various juices, canned beans, canned tomato, etc. from I don't know where.
• We didn't get any meat (besides the salami) because if I eat another piece of chicken I'll vomit, I'm trying to avoid red meat, and the ground turkey (for tacos!) came in these styrofoam trays with the shrink wrap bulging out---hmmmm, no thank you!
• And yes, we drove to the grocery store (1 mile)