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The Story of Upfront Carbon

How a Life of Just Enough Offers a Way Out of the Climate Crisis
Brief Description
When you look at the world through the lens of upfront carbon, everything changes. Think that buying an electric car or switching to a heat pump is going to save the planet? Think again. 'Upfront carbon' refers to all emissions involved in making your car, your... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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We must cut carbon emissions to halt climate change. But they aren't just produced by driving a car or heating a home. Upfront carbon all emissions involved in manufacturing an item can dwarf operating emissions, which is why when you look at the world through the lens of upfront carbon, everything changes.

When you look at the world through the lens of upfront carbon, everything changes

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

When you look at the world through the lens of upfront carbon, everything changes.

Think that buying an electric car or switching to a heat pump is going to save the planet? Think again.

'Upfront carbon' refers to all emissions involved in making your car, your home, or any other item. These invisible embodied carbon emissions matter a lot. As we weed out fossil fuels and incorporate more renewables into our energy supply, upfront carbon becomes increasingly dominant compared to operating emissions, yet it is often ignored.

By focusing on consumption rather than production, The Story of Upfront Carbon covers:

  • Why we are fixated on energy efficiency, not carbon, and why this needs to change
  • Why carbon calculations are so fiendishly difficult
  • How the simple idea of sufficiency for individuals and whole economies is a powerful strategy to avert looming climate catastrophe
  • The astonishing upfront carbon of everyday objects from coffee cups to heat pumps, and why electric bikes, not electric cars, are the answer
  • How big-picture thinking and a systemic approach to production can help guide the transition to degrowth and an equitable, zero-carbon society

Leavened with wit and packed with concrete strategies for minimising the ecological footprint of transportation, agriculture, consumer goods, the built environment, and more, this highly readable and accessible guide is required reading for a world on the brink.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780865719927

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 May 2024

Country: United States

Imprint: New Society Publishers

Illustration: 10 Halftones, black and white

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 11.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 304g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Lloyd Alter is a writer, public speaker, architect, inventor, and Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Design at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has published many thousands of articles on TreeHugger where he was Design Editor, and on such diverse platforms as Planet Green, HuffPo, The Guardian, Corporate Knights Magazine, and Azure Magazine. A former builder of prefab housing and a tiny-house pioneer, Lloyd is a passionate advocate of Radical Sufficiency the belief that we use too much space, too much land, too much food, too much fuel, and too much money, and that the key to sustainability is to simply use less. He is the author of Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle. Lloyd lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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