My CO₂ diary: a polluting trip to Sweden as a wake-up call
In the series A week in the life of... we ask someone to keep a CO₂ diary for a week. Today it is the turn of editor Elcke Vels.
Published on November 28, 2024
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Everything new is wildly interesting! That's the motto of our DATA+ expert, Elcke Vels. She writes stories about AI and how it affects our society, has a series on cyber security, and interviews Dutch innovation maestros. In her “What if...” column, she also explores intriguing scenarios that deviate from the status quo.
Monday: a diesel van
Monday afternoon, 1 p.m. While most of the Netherlands is working up a sweat in the office, I am slowly waking up in my hotel room near Amsterdam Sloterdijk. My first “real” vacation day is a fact. Why am I still in bed? I have an excellent reason for that. Last night I was still jumping in the audience in front of my favorite techno DJ, I Hate Models, during the closing of the Amsterdam Dance Event.
I don't really have much time to linger in bed. Soon I'll be flying to the working-class town of Västerås in central Sweden to visit friends. And there is still plenty to arrange. After an hour of tossing and turning in bed, I finally gathered the courage to pack my bag and get in the car, heading home to Gelderland. My friend is taking me away, with a van from his company - it runs on diesel. An hour and a half of driving, with a diesel engine. That leaves its mark. This is my first real moment of guilt of the week.
The rest of the day proceeds more innocently. A walk in the woods, followed by pea soup with vegetarian sausage, prepared by my father. In the evening, I dip back into a psychology book.
CO₂ emissions on Monday:
- Diesel car ride home: 67 kg CO₂
Daily activities
Note: These activities are counted every day of the week
- Vegetarian diet: 6.4 kg CO₂
- Heating, cooling, electricity, showering: 15 kg CO₂
Subtotal Monday: 88 kg CO₂
Tuesday: innocent puzzling
Today and tomorrow are calm. They are the only two days of the vacation week that I really have some peace and quiet and to myself. I decide to visit my sister. On foot, it isn't far. If you cross the forest, you will arrive in half an hour. After a good cup of coffee, I walk back home. Arriving home, I start a puzzle for the first time. Yes, really, for the first time. I never could muster the patience, but it goes faster than I thought.
CO₂ emissions on Tuesday:
- Car ride to sister's (there and back): 4 kg CO₂
- Daily activities: 21 kg CO₂
Subtotal Tuesday: 25 kg CO₂
Wednesday: shopping
At 08:00 I woke up. Time to do some shopping for my trip. It turns out to be an impossible task. I've been asked to play a DJ set at a Halloween party in Sweden, which means I have to find a costume - and it also has to fit in my tiny carry-on luggage. I drive to Doesburg, a town just around the corner. It ends up being a small, cat-like mask. Better than nothing, I think to myself.
I spend the rest of the day at home: packing my bag, doing some puzzles, and gaming with friends online in the evening. Then to bed early. The alarm clock will ring at 05:30. Pfoe...
CO₂ emissions on Wednesday:
- Car ride to Doesburg (there and back): 8 kg CO₂
- Daily activities: 21 kg CO₂
Subtotal Wednesday: 29 kg CO₂
Thursday: a long, polluting journey
Now begins the polluting part of my week. After a broke night - something that often happens to me when something big is planned - it is time to get up early. I pack the last of my things and drink a big cup of coffee. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll get on the wrong train with my sleepy head. I drive my car to the nearest train station and board the train, heading for Schiphol Airport.
At the end of the morning, I board the plane towards Stockholm. A big blow to my CO₂ diary. Upon arrival, it takes me a while to find my friends. They have enthusiastically struggled through the hustle and bustle of the airport, but I have accidentally walked the other way. After some searching and phone calls, everything eventually works out. We jump into the Volvo, which will take us to Västerås in an hour. It has become something of a ritual: every time I visit my friends, we stop at the Max. It's the Swedish version of McDonald's.
Once we arrive in Västerås, I leave my stuff with a friend. Then we head to the bar in the city center. Two half liters of beer disappear at a rapid pace. Skål!
CO₂ emissions on Thursday:
- Car ride to train station Dieren: 2 kg CO₂
- Train ride from Dieren to Schiphol Airport: 2.3 kg CO₂
- Flight Schiphol - Arlanda (single): 452 kg CO₂
- Car ride from Arlanda to Västerås: 30 kg CO₂
- Bar visit with 2 beers: 0.84 kg CO₂
- Daily activities: 21 kg CO₂
Subtotal Thursday: 507.14 kg CO₂
Friday: Swedish nature
Friday morning begins quietly once again. I wake up on the sofa bed in a friend's living room. We play Mario Kart and drink coffee. Not much later, the rest joins us. By noon we drive to Bear Island, a small peninsula on the edge of town. There we take a long walk and chat on a bench by the water.
In the evening, we visit a sushi restaurant. I choose a delectable vegetarian Poké Bowl. Bon appetit!
CO₂ emissions on Friday:
- Car ride to Bear Island (round trip) 1 kg CO
- Daily activities: 21 kg CO
Subtotal Friday: 22 kg CO
Saturday: party time!
Saturday is the moment suprême. That night I am going to play my first DJ show at a house party. But first, we decide to visit a pizzeria in the afternoon. I order the biggest Margherita I've ever seen, and to my surprise, I eat it whole without effort. The nerves, probably.
With a full belly, we drive to Råmnäs, half an hour away, where the house party takes place. At 8 p.m. it's time. I blast a solid techno set through the basement, where about twenty people gather. Small, but cozy. Everyone is dancing along. Every now and then someone comes by the turntables to bring me a sip of water - or maybe wine. After an hour and a half, it's over. Fulfilled, I step outside to catch my breath. I feel good about my set and enjoy the rest of the evening.
CO₂ emissions on Saturday:
- DJ set (party): 4.55 kg CO₂ (estimated)
- Wine drinking (3 glasses): 1.5 kg CO₂
- Daily activities: 21 kg CO₂
Subtotal Saturday: 27.05 kg CO₂
Sunday: fun is over
On Sunday, I wake up late in the morning again. As you can see, I have shifted my rhythm well this vacation. Time to leave again. I pack my bag and one of my friends takes me by Volvo to Arlanda Airport. Of course, we stop at Max one last time on the way for a milkshake.
To top it off in this CO₂ diary: a polluting flight back to Amsterdam. Then I take the train home. Late in the evening I put the key in the lock and plop down on the couch. It was a busy, but wonderful vacation.
CO₂ emissions on Sunday:
A wake-up call
Environmentally-wise, my vacation week was a lot less fun. Only when I listed all the activities and associated figures did I realize the damage I did. During the vacation itself, I was hardly aware of any harm. Okay, when I walked into Schiphol Airport, a little voice briefly shot through my head: 'Pretty contradictory, that you take a walk in the woods just about every day, really love nature, but take such poor care of it.' Most of the time I was mostly having fun.
My total CO₂ emissions for the week were shocking: 1,205.49 kg of CO₂. The average for a Dutch person is 226.92 kg of CO₂ per week. That means my emissions were more than five times higher. Mainly because of flying, of course, but also because of the unnecessary ride home in the diesel van. The feeling of CO₂-shame overwhelms me. Is that an existing concept?
Thinking in solutions
Of course, this was not a representative week for my daily life. I fly at most twice a year. That's twice too many, I know. Still, I don't want to miss my friends all year long. Now I have been brooding on a solution. I suggested that next time we meet in Copenhagen. Then we'll all take the train and make a weekend of it. Definitely just as much fun, but a lot less polluting!
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