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How Bad Are Bananas

the Carbon Footprint of Everything
Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Port Moody Public Library.
Mar 24, 2011
"We all know that any activity that consumes fossil fuels leaves a big carbon footprint, but how about those little quotidian choices. Mike Berners-Lee, director of a British climate-change consulting company, offers a number of shockers in this combination consumer shopping guide and popular science manual. For instance, plastic bags (for which many Canadians are now charged a nickel a pop) have not merely half the carbon footprint of paper bags, but the lowest measurable impact of any of the many items Berners-Lee discusses. It’s also clear that we need to modify our desire for tasteless, non-seasonal fare; imported strawberries, for instance, have a footprint more than 10 times that of the tasty local version. Cell phones are not great emitters, unless you’re a chatterbox; one minute’s use is about the same as the energy needed to produce an apple. Biggest villains: children, swimming pools, deforestation and universities. As for bananas, they’re the most innocent of foods: no greenhouses, keep well, are transported by boat (not plane) and use no wasteful packaging." Globe & Mail Quick Reads March 21, 2011