But most of us probably still do more driving than we really have to. I’m from California, the U.S. state with the most cars per capita. Driving is what we Californians do (as you may remember from the movie L.A. Story). It often can’t be helped, given how spread out everything is there.

My simple suggestion, with this post, is that you should try to walk more. Take advantage of the fact that you’re not tied to a desk and a schedule, that nobody’s checking how long your lunch hours are. We can often take the time to actually walk to the grocery store when there’s no rush-hour mob scene, and smell the roses along the way. It’s good for body, soul and planet.

How walkable is your neighborhood? I recently stumbled on Walk Score, a cool site that ranks 2,508 neighborhoods in the 40 largest U.S. cities for walkability. I plugged in my old address to test it:

I never realized there was a hardware store so close by! Or a yoga studio. You can click on the icons for more detail, and also expand the view. I was surprised to learn that 35 percent of San Diegans lived in more walkable neighborhoods than I did. There are other features and plenty of interesting info on the site too. (It’s worth noting that the app isn’t flawless; under “Movie Theaters” it lists an adult book store.)

Now I live in Paris and, like most Parisians, I don’t even own a car. A few years ago, I couldn’t have imagined such a thing. But the big difference is that Paris is the ultimate walkable city. After all, it was built when feet were pretty much the only transportation option available to most. I can’t wait till somebody does a site like this for Paris.

What else can you do? Everybody’s talking about different ways to reduce carbon emissions, but the idea of creating walkable cities is not getting the attention it deserves from the powers that be. Take a few moments to learn what a walkable city is and what walking can do for you and your world. Become an advocate of the movement. Do it for your own quality of life and that of coming generations.

How walkable is your neighborhood?

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The inherent resource-intensiveness of the western lifestyle is undoubtedly the reason why people become overwhelmed by the challenge of climate change. It’s the reason why we often feel as if we can’t do much as individuals to make a real difference.

Perhaps you need to upgrade your software for work, which, unfortunately, necessitates the purchase of a new computer. Essential devices like phones, PDAs, cameras and other peripherals are built to become obsolescent within a given timeframe. You may buy green energy and recycled paper and refill your printer ink cartridges, but the very concept of printing a document entails the use of resources and processes that emit carbon.

Yes, our web working lifestyles necessarily produce carbon emissions, but there is a way to help decrease your carbon footprint, and your contribution to global warming: buy carbon offsets.

Carbon Offsets 101

Buy a carbon offset from an accredited supplier, and you’re effectively paying the company to undertake a specific task to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Some tasks aim to prevent carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere — like methane flaring or investment in renewable energy technology. Others, like planting trees, aim to lock up carbon dioxide that’s already present in the atmosphere. Most of the offset sellers I’ve looked at specialize in one or two areas.

Most offset retail sites provide calculators that allow you to enter the details of your shopping habits, transport usage, power and food consumption, and give you a rough estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide you may need to offset. Some sellers offer different calculators for individuals and organizations, so you can obtain closer carbon estimates for things like business consumables, travel, and waste produced through your work.

Once you have your total, it’s a simple matter of entering your credit card details to buy the offsets. The cost of offsets varies with your carbon footprint and the service you use, but as an example, the cost to offset the 3.34 tonnes of carbon produced by my commuting (30,000 miles last year) and driving the Australian annual average of 6,000 miles in my large, old diesel-powered car was $68 AUD ($62 US)  through one offset supplier.

Carbon Offset Controversy

Carbon offsetting is a controversial area, not only because the results are yet to be proven, but because some retailers promote offsets as a means by which people can live a carbon-neutral lifestyle. Many offset companies estimate the carbon that will be sequestered or prevented  from entering the atmosphere on the basis of statistical and scientific analyses, and some argue that these estimates are inaccurate, involve double counting of the possible environmental benefits, and so on.

It seems the best way to assess the value of a given offset activity is to find out about it, by reviewing the offset seller’s information, plus any information your government or interest groups may have produced on the market and seller. In Australia, for example, we have an independent offset rating site which aims to advise on the credentials and capabilities of different offset sellers. Doing your homework on offset sellers in your country is vital.

Carbon Offsets for the Web Worker

Try as we might, most of us are unlikely to achieve a carbon-neutral lifestyle. Even the most environmentally friendly lives in developed countries necessitate the use of technology, devices, transport and consumables whose production or usage contributes to global warming and climate change.

Carbon offsetting is not an answer to global warming, and it’s still in its infancy as far as results go. But even though it’s unlikely to have the same impact as making changes wherever possible to reduce your carbon output, offsetting the carbon emitted through your remote working lifestyle may be a means by which you can compensate in some way for your unavoidable carbon emissions.

Have you ever bought carbon offsets? Would you consider building offsets into your annual expenses?

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As web workers, most of us don’t face the same daily commute that our cubicle-dwelling colleagues do, and it’s easy to think that we’re already “doing our bit” for climate change (although there is some debate as to whether web workers are truly green). Reducing transportation is great, but there’s still much more that you can do. Today is an opportunity to brainstorm some ways to reduce the resources you consume and the carbon emissions you’re responsible for.

We’ll be providing some tips for reducing your impact on the environment today, but we’ve already published quite a lot of posts on the topics of sustainability and reducing energy consumption for web workers. Here are some highlights:

• Resource Rationalization for the Home Office
• It’s Easier Than You Think to be a Green Web Worker
• Where’s the Power: Energy Awareness for Web Workers
• My Web Working Resolution: Be More Green
• Getting Green About Work Meetings

If you’re interested in technology and the environment, you should read our sister blog, Earth2Tech.

What steps are you taking to minimize your environmental impact?

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It was something I hadn’t paid particular attention to since leaving an office setting. At my last corporate gig, I was instrumental is establishing a proper recycling program. It was easy because it was me vs. the corporate climate. At home, with no machine to rage against, I hadn’t even realized how much could be done.

1. Turn it Off

Seems like an obvious one, and it’s been the subject of countless public service ads, but it bears repeating. Especially for those sneaky peripherals that some of us like to leave on perpetually, just in case they need to spring in to sudden service. That means monitors, speakers, and yes, even powered USB hubs and drives. Best way to affect a quick and easy shutdown? A power bar with an on/off switch to take them all off-grid at once.

2. Buy Less, Give More

If you work a lot with computers, chances are you, like me, really enjoy getting new gadgets. Which is why this measure is so difficult. My tiny apartment is literally strewn about with knick-knacks and gizmos I thought would increase my productivity or benefit my workflow in some way. In most cases, I was wrong.

My solution? First of all, be much more judicious about purchases in the future. Also, declutter without throwing anything away, giving some of the stuff to people I know can actually use it. Case in point, an old Wacom Graphire4 tablet, which I no longer use since buying my Cintiq 12WX. Magically, it becomes a gift for my girlfriend to ease her transition into the age of digital illustration.

3. Order in Bulk

One of the benefits of working from home is that I’m always here to receive packages. Which means I order them a lot more frequently, and often from the same source. Now, I’ve decided to take a cue from my corporate past and finally start consolidating my orders.

This saves me money, since I more often break the cost threshold that qualifies for free shipping, and it saves the environment in a number of ways, i.e., less packaging, less carbon emissions spent in the delivery of items, etc. It takes a little more foresight and planning on my part, but those planning skills are also a benefit, in the long run.

4. Shift Your Day

This is another tough one, depending on when you like to work. I was never really a morning person, but time and circumstance have led to great improvement in that area. Now that comes in handy, since I wake whenever too much day light prevents me from sleeping.

Turning that in to a green web working strategy is simple enough. Work when there’s day light to do so by, in order to conserve the amount of energy you spend on heat, artificial lighting, etc. This one is particularly easy to do for those whose schedules are largely arranged at their own discretion.

None of these are extreme, and surprisingly, don’t even involve buying carbon credits (I’m still not exactly sure how those work), but they are a good beginning towards a more environmentally friendly web working culture. In many ways, those of us who work from home have to be extra vigilant, since we don’t have corporate programs in place to help us do our part.

What other measures do you practice/can you suggest for those looking to be more green in 2009?

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A recent survey by the US Consumer Electronics Association found that although the carbon emissions from home offices increased because of telecommuting, the saved petrol consumption more than makes up for it:

The report states that there are 3.9 million people in the U.S. who work from home at least one day a week. By avoiding an average 22-mile commute to the place of work, and taking into account the increased power use in the home, this practice saves about 840 million (U.S.) gallons of petrol, equivalent to taking two million cars off the road for a year.
Source: PC World, Telecommuting Saves Carbon Emissions

Despite these claims, there are still some skeptics.

In an article at Forbes.com entitled “Telecommuting is Bad for the Environment”, Klaus Kneale wrote that “telecommuting is often worse for the planet than driving to work each and every day”. He cited the following reasons:

• The commute from home to work only accounts for 20% of car travel, and most telecommuters go to the office occasionally anyway. Also, they drive their cars to run errands or to meet up with friends when they get too lonely.
• Telecommuters have to equip and power their own home offices, duplicating equipment (such as printers) that could be shared in an office.
• The extra electricity used by home offices produced more nitrous oxide and methane.

Source: Forbes.com, “Telecommuting is Bad for the Environment”

As the comments following the article suggest, most telecommuters disagreed with Kneale, especially since some of his ideas were hasty generalizations (that telecommuters faced cabin fever and needed to drive around), or lacked ample research.

Other environmental benefits of telecommuting, such as lessening the need for paper and higher productivity measured against electricity consumption were not mentioned. Also, even if commuting to work only accounts for 20% of car travel, that 20% is still a big deal. Less car travel to work also lessens traffic congestion, which, in turn, lessens the need for highway expansion and the addition of new parking lots.

With these things left out, it’s no wonder that the readers felt like the article was an exaggeration.

Exaggeration or not, opposing views to teleworking’s green benefits remind us of one thing – that teleworking and being environment friendly don’t automatically go hand in hand. Unless we make educated, conscious efforts to reduce waste and lower energy consumption, teleworking won’t be as green as the theorists and studies hoped it will be.

Do you think that teleworking is more environment friendly than full-time office work? Why or why not?

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But I have to admit, I feel a little bit overwhelmed analyzing the impact of my telecommuting or the impact of anything I do day-to-day on the planet. Luckily, it turns out I’m helping to save the world by working from home. At least according to the iLinc Web conferencing software.

iLinc announced their “Green Meter” to provide companies with a tool to measure the “environmental ROI” of Web conferencing – real time carbon emissions savings. The patent pending feature calculates the “standard emission rates” for cars or planes based on where each participant in the Web conference are located. How does it do this, you ask?

The meter takes the IP address of each attendee in the conferencing session, combines it with the host’s location, and then attributes longitude and latitude coordinates for each person. Next, it compares participant location to host location. If the participant were at the same location as the host, for example, the CO2 savings would be zero. If the distance between participant and host is under 200 miles, the meter calculates based on the C02 emissions of driving a car the distance. Over 200 miles, the meter calculates the emissions of flying, distinguishing between short and longer flights.

Finally, the iLinc Green Meter tallies C)2 amounts for each participant, storing the data for every Web conferencing session. Each participant can see his or her impact on the environment. A company can monitor the impact of a team or of their entire organization. iLinc claims that their customers reduced their impact by over one billion pounds of carbon emissions as of August 2007.

Next month, iLinc will unveil their next-generation iLinc Green Meter that will not only measure carbon savings but also “the monetary impact of replacing travel with online collaboration.” They’ll help companies put a dollar amount to measure their overall savings.

What is the impact of traveling to a meeting? According to the company’s press release:

A company can significantly reduce its CO2 emissions. As an example, a single roundtrip flight between NYC and LA emits 2,000 pounds of CO2. That’s 2 months worth of emissions from a full-size car alone.

iLinc CEO James M. Powers says he devised the idea for the Green Meter after lunching with former Vice President Al Gore, a family friend. How’s that for inspiration?

Linc’s Green Meter comes standard with iLinc version 9.0.

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