opinion: carbon calculators, week 2
Week 2 in the continuing series of what is missing from Carbon Calculators.
There is a list of the things that those calculators don’t ask, thereby eliminating them from their algorithm. These are the things that are sometimes the meat of the matter, so to speak. By altering these things, you could affect your true footprint in ways unimaginable and truly make our planet sustainable.
GYM MEMBERSHIP
Here are all the reasons that going to a gym increases your footprint.
- Electrically powered equipment which are operating continually.
- Lights are left on when rooms are empty.
- Air-conditioning set too low and running continuously
- TVs in the workout rooms operate when no one is watching.
- Most lights including table lamps and pot lights are incandescent.
- Fluorescent lights are probably the older inefficient models.
- Battery operated equipment use non-rechargeable batteries.
- Showers use high-flow shower heads.
- Many members take long showers with water running continuously.
- Equipment may be left operating overnight.
- Soda vending machines left operating continuously. (A soda machine, which runs 24/7, uses a lot of energy, about 10 times the electricity of a home refrigerator)
- Hot water usage. Whirlpools etc. Laundry facilities.
You are going to argue that YOU don’t create all the waste associated with a gym. Which is true. However, if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
There is no reason to belong to a gym. Go outside. First off, it is free. Secondly, it connects you to where you came from: nature. You can go outside and have the pleasure of seeing the sun, and getting it’s valuable nutrients (instead of getting them from a $50/month supplement.) You are exposed to fresh air, instead of the recycled stuff, filled with the chemicals and toxins that came from the other members cosmetic products, that gets pumped through the air conditioning. (And, no matter what you think, what is coming off your neighbor is more dangerous than what you might be exposed to outside.)
Most people go to the gym for the community. To meet people they may not encounter otherwise. But, how can you be so certain that someone you meet there is going to have the same belief system and philosophy as you do. In fact, the only thing you have in common may be that you like to workout. Narrow that playing field down some more. If you like going outside, and you are outside, you will meet someone else who likes being outside. See how that works?
Get on a bike, on a trail in the local mountains, the ocean or a lake, or whatever else you can find. You have reduced your carbon footprint, automatically, and are still getting the workout you want. And, who knows what other benefit you might get…
For earlier articles in this series: COFFEE
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William & Mary ACS » Blog Archive » Gym Membership: Good for You, Bad for the Environment? on Wed, 29th Jul 2009 10:08 am
[...] The lights at most gyms are consistently on and using electricity, even if no one is working out. The soda vending machine alone at your local gym can use about 10 times the amount of a home refrige…. When you begin to add all of the costs together, our gyms are slowly leaving a large carbon [...]
Bob the Chef on Wed, 21st Dec 2011 5:24 pm
This has to be one of the dumbest posts I’ve ever read on the internet.
“However, if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”
Wow. Not only does it make no logical sense, but you are probably one of those people who criticized Bush for his “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” mentality.
“Secondly, it connects you to where you came from: nature.”
No, I came from New York. Before that, my mother’s vagina.
“You can go outside and have the pleasure of seeing the sun, and getting it’s valuable nutrients (instead of getting them from a $50/month supplement.)”
Do I even have to explain how stupid this is? I suppose I do. How about this: if you can show me how I can acquire vitamin C through the sun, I will personally write you a blank check.
“But, how can you be so certain that someone you meet there is going to have the same belief system and philosophy as you do. In fact, the only thing you have in common may be that you like to workout. Narrow that playing field down some more. If you like going outside, and you are outside, you will meet someone else who likes being outside. See how that works?”
I suppose God (or in your case, Gaia, who’s a complete floozy, btw) didn’t endow everyone with reasoning abilities. Perhaps I’m outside because I’m cheap and hate paying to go to a gym that insists on playing music that sounds like something out of a 90s rave in Berlin or some college dorm? In which case, what do I have in common with a fruit like you who goes outside because they enjoy it? Nothing. In fact, no one talks to anyone outside. No one talks to people at gyms either. News flash: no one goes to the gym to chat. They go there to…wait for it…WORK OUT.
“And, who knows what other benefit you might get…”
Great way to write an article. Either you’re too lazy to do the research yet feel the need to bother use with a high school quality post, or you’re so convinced about the infallibility of your position that you believe only good can come from anything that sounds remotely “green”. Forget about drinking the Koolaid, you smoked the crack and loved every moment of it. Just tell me one thing: who’s your dealer? Al Gore?
Complains aside, I think we can work together for a greener planet, don’t you think? I mean, exercise is a terrible burden on the environment. All that moving around generates heat, CO2, and in my case, lots of methane (I get gassy at the gym). If we just stayed home and sat as quietly and as still as we could, I think we could really make a difference. The server this website is on is eating up lots of energy as well, so shutting it off would also be a big step in the right direction (remember, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem).