I'm not one to boast but I've been told I'm a 6.42. And the good news is that, with just a number of simple steps, I can improve my rating further. I just have to cut back on a few of my personal weaknesses - flights, personal travel and heating - and I could reach my target.

Relax, I'm talking about my Carbon Count Number. La-la landers are still counting calories but we Europeans have taken to counting our carbon emissions. And I thought we were suppose to just ignore any emissions, our own included. Go figure.

Literally, go figure. Log on to www.Change.ie and find out what your number is. It will only take five minutes and your life will never be the same again. It will even tell you what to do with your emissions.

I'm proud to say I'm well below the European average of eight, but I'm sure with this new treaty and rumours about our position in Europe being downgraded, there'll be more pressure to be smaller with less emissions. A girl has to be prepared, whatever the outcome, and I need to get to a healthy 5.14.

The only problem is, I'm not sure what I can do about it because I'm already pretty green. My house plants have custody of my bath, so I'm already resigned to showers. My washing machine can't go below 40 degrees. And because of the shortage of storage in my modern semi-D, the lagging jacket is lagged by ten extra layers of bedding.

I suppose I could be greener outside the home. Buses don't go right by my door, but I could get up 20 minutes earlier, walk to the village and get the bus, thereby getting to bed earlier, spending less time in front of the TV at night and taking less time in the shower in the morning. And, who needs to see the brother in England? Won't he be home for the Races, and I'm sure the second sprog will look as cute as the other one.

But there's something else to worry about: the energy used to produce and transport consumer products and food to me. My food's carbon emissions is keeping me awake at night. And what about the number of non-nationals in the service industry? I can't have the burden of their carbon emissions on my conscience.

This pressure to be smaller is too intense. I need to turn down the heat on my carbon emissions diet, if only I could find the thermostat. Maybe 6.42 is not too bad after all.

Comments (1) »

maybe
written by donal, June 19, 2008

not sure i will be home for races

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