The road to neutrality is a bumpy one!

A couple of weeks into my efforts to reduce my carbon footprint I have come to a number of conclusions.

1) there are some pretty simple changes that you can integrate into your life without having to drastically alter your habits...

2) if you really want to cut down on CO2 usage then you have to be prepared to make some pretty big sacrifices.

My inital steps - turning appliances off standby, not buying bottled water, notching the heating down a few degrees, recycling, being conscious of what I am buying and throwing away - were pretty simple and they've stuck. I've found that once the idea of reducing your CO2 usage is implanted in your mind you find yourself automatically making more carbon friendly decisions. It's kind of like Weight Watchers - when you know everything you do adds up you are a bit more careful about what your consuming. Taking it to the next level however, is proving a little more difficult. Those changes that would make the biggest difference - like reducing international travel, using my car less, or improving the energy rating of my house - mean real committment. Financial and personal. Take using my car for example. I have a two year old daughter who accompanies me pretty much everywhere. Popping her on the back of a bicycle in the pouring rain is not really an option. Dragging her (physically) onto public transport to go to the shops and then lugging everything back home is just not something I feel keen on. So I find myself taking short car journeys, all the time plagued by the knowledge I'm running up my CO2 account. It leads me to question my committment. Clearly, if the option is there for me to integrate a change without huge personal sacrifice I'll do it. If it means significant inconvenience, or financial outlay I'm less eager. Presumably this is the case with most people. The question is, how much should an individual be expected to change their lifestyle to cut their carbon footprint?