[Coral-List] FW: Footprint calculator and coral troubles

[Paul Muir]

Well....at the risk of outrageous self-righteousness I have to say (well, gloat!) that my wife and I have been ~carbon neutral for ~17 years and it's not that hard. We did this on a modest budget and it has actually saved us money.  Having a modest lifestyle, no children and living off-grid with a large area of forest for offsets certainly made it easier but with the current tech that is available, even being semi-C neutral is not a big ask - but there is an incredible mental block in people to believe it is possible. It seems that people (and humanity in general) now have the technology and means to become low-C but somehow the barrier seems to be psychological. The more people that can show it is actually possible without major changes in lifestyle the better.  
The only negative with being low-C is a tendency to become quite self-righteous! 

PAUL MUIR
   

-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Mussman
Sent: Thursday, 8 February 2018 5:19 AM
To: coral list
Subject: [Coral-List] Footprint calculator and coral troubles

My own carbon footprint calculations might best be described as inconvenient truths.  For many years now I have been focused on attempting to raise awareness among scuba divers as to the myriad of stressors affecting coral reefs and on working to move the diving industry to take a more responsible stance on the issues involved. Ironically, I do not need to do a formal footprint calculation to recognize the internal contradiction arising from the fact that my own carbon footprint is continually and unequivocally contributing to the problem. Even more awkward is the realization that if everyone on earth traveled and lived like I do, the problem would likely be worse. This is not an exercise in self-flagellation and I’m sure I’m not alone in conceding this point. My reason for throwing this out there is based on the hope that perhaps the candid acknowledgment of the fact that we, the anointed ones, are admittedly part of the problem may lead us to re-evaluate our strategies designed to implement change going forward. Maybe I’m wrong, but could it be that our attempts to affect those not readily disposed to accepting the science have been laced with some level of unintended self-righteousness and that there might be a way to broaden our appeal by plainly acknowledging our own complicity?

Regards,
Steve Mussman


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