By Robin D’Onofrio
Having worked at Action going on 6 years, it came as no surprise when I was told that one of our offices had gone solar. Action has always been in the forefront of modern change, efficiency, and working lean. Now, added to the list is, going “Green.” When Alan Wright asked me to write a story about this, I got really excited because every little bit of renewable energy will certainly help the planet….but how much can a few solar panels really help save the planet and global warming?…..
The new solar panel system is designed to produce 52,431 KWH annually. The KWH offset over the 30-year life of the system is 1,572,930. But what does that mean? What is the tangible offset? How can one office help save the planet while trying to save money? I would compare to the saying, “’It’s only 1 straw said,’ 8,000,000 people.”
By using the greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator, I was able to find out exactly what it meant. This calculator helped me translate from abstract to something concrete, or another words, something I could identify with and understand. Here is the positive environmental impact of the solar system at one Action office. This offset is equivalent to:
| Annual | 30 years | |
|---|---|---|
| CO2 Offset | 37.2 metric tons | 1,115 metric tons |
|
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from |
||
| Cars drove for 1 year: | 8.1 cars | 242 |
| Miles drove by average car: | 93,383 | 2,801,482 |
|
CO2 Emissions from |
||
| Gallons of gasoline consumed: | 4,181 | 125,431 |
| Gallons of diesel consumed: | 3,650 | 109,500 |
| Pounds of coal burned: | 41,069 | 1,232,068 |
| Tanker trucks full of fuel: | 0.492 | 14.8 |
| Homes’ energy use 1/yr: | 4.5 | 134 |
| Homes’ electricity use 1/yr: | 6.7 | 202 |
| Barrels of oil consumed: | 86 | 2,581 |
| LP cylinders – home BBQ’s: | 1,519 | 45,569 |
| Smartphones charged: | 4,519,867 | 135,596,022 |
………And the list keeps going. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THAT!
That just blows my mind that one business location can have such a positive effect on the planet and global warming! I am so proud to be a part of an organization that cares about our environment!
GO ACTION!!!
