ᐅ How to live an environmentally friendly life?

nordanney schrieb:

You are underestimating the expansion of wind and solar energy. But it doesn’t matter. You won’t be convinced by arguments anyway. If RIGHT NOW (in winter) the electricity mix consists of 50% green energy, then I am also charging with 50% green energy. I am not interested in future projections in my current consideration.
By the way, these projections show that coal is steadily decreasing.

Your statement was: during the dark season there is almost always 100% coal power. That is simply nonsense and plainly wrong.

I thought we have no gas power plants and that 100% of the electricity comes from coal? At least that’s what you write. Where does the gas come from now? Oh, right, I’m shaping the world the way I like it.

And even if I were to charge with coal power for some months in winter (hypothetically), I would still have a solid 60% to 100% green energy produced by myself. With the worst-case calculation in my own example, I am still better than any combustion engine.

Yes, you charge with almost 50% green energy, but you take exactly the same amount of green energy away from all other consumers. So you may feel good about it, but the German CO2 emissions have not actually been reduced. How convenient that "attitude" and "mental bookkeeping" can override physical realities.

Haus123 schrieb:

Yes, you charge with almost 50% green electricity, but at the same time you take exactly that green electricity away from all other consumers. So you feel good about it, but you haven't actually reduced Germany’s CO2 emissions. How well “attitude” and “mental accounting” override physical realities.

Since the “physical reality” looks like this (according to your interpretation), where in the end everyone in Germany only charges 50/50 green/brown electricity, I don’t have a real problem with that. What matters to me is that Germany as a whole already consumes 50% green electricity in winter and even more in summer.

Oh, and when using the electricity mix only, my statement still holds:

nordanney schrieb:

By the way, an average car requires about 3–6 years of driving under normal conditions if charged exclusively using the German electricity mix

P.S. What happened to your 100% coal power in winter? Does that no longer apply? And finally: who should give up green electricity so that “all other consumers” can use it? What about those who take green electricity away from me? Those scoundrels...

Haus123 schrieb:

Thank you. Who decides what is reasonable? It’s fine if some people consider travel valuable; others enjoy the smell of fresh laundry. But that just doesn’t resonate with moral guardians, even if in the end, supposedly, no one wants to be one...
(...)

However, this needs to be put into perspective. For a round trip flight for two people to Mallorca, I could probably run my washing machine all year long...

If you start comparing private leisure flights, then they outweigh everything else. Trips to the bakery by diesel car, meat consumption, daily laundry—these are all negligible compared to air travel or even more so cruising.

So, let’s keep things in perspective when judging the behavior of others.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

So let’s keep calm when it comes to judging others' behavior.

100%
We operate within a legal framework. Blaming each other within that framework might be popular, but ultimately it undermines good coexistence. There is plenty of room.

Also, people often have no idea how much energy different things require.
An A320neo (for example from Germanwings) uses about 5.5t (12,125 lbs) of kerosene flying from Cologne to Palma and transports 180 passengers (fully booked).
This currently very fuel-efficient aircraft achieves just over 30kg (66 lbs) of fuel per passenger under ideal conditions (full capacity).
A single-engine diesel DA40 with 4 seats consumes roughly the same as a modern mid-size car.
I’m sharing this without any judgment.

Haus123 schrieb:

Yes, you charge with almost 50% green electricity, but you are effectively taking exactly that green electricity away from all other consumers at the same time. This makes you feel good, but you have not actually reduced Germany’s CO2 emissions. It is interesting how “mindset” and “mental accounting” override physical realities.

For CO2 emissions, the decisive factor is the overall balance of total energy production / CO2-free energy production. On a global scale, that is.
Therefore, the idea that you are taking something away from someone else by switching from a combustion engine to electric driving is physically incorrect, because you are shifting values from the numerator to the denominator in the ratio mentioned above.

Logically, there are exactly two ways to reduce CO2 emissions: saving energy (lowering the numerator) and providing green energy (increasing the denominator). Every other accounting method comparing against each other is a physical misinterpretation. The principle of energy conservation can sometimes also help simplify things.

The idea of "taking away" is already wrong because nowadays, during windy and sunny conditions, there is a massive oversupply of energy. Ultimately, wind turbines have to be slowed down or turned off, and solar panels often have to be disconnected to keep the grid stable.

It’s also incorrect because without electric propulsion, there is no energy transition. It is completely unrealistic to believe that billions of tons of synthetic fuels can be produced using electricity and then burned in combustion engines with only about 30% efficiency.

Besides that... I drive my ID.4 with 22 kWh/100 km (14.1 kWh/62 miles). That’s quite a lot because I often drive fast on the highway. But 22 kWh is roughly equivalent to just 2.2 liters (0.58 gallons) of diesel...