0-5 cm | Pre-Departure
The first layer is disturbed ground: browser tabs, flight comparisons, a number I had not expected to think about this much. A direct flight would emit roughly 0.9 tonnes of CO2e; a two-stop route added nearly 40% more (ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator). I booked the direct flight and offset the remainder through a Gold Standard-certified project. It is not a solution, but a start, under SDG 13, Climate Action.
5-20 cm | Transport
From Heathrow, I took the train to Bristol Temple Meads instead of a connecting flight. UK rail produces a fraction of short-haul aviation’s emissions per passenger-km (Department for Transport, 2023). It is a minor decision, existing because the infrastructure supports it: Bristol was the UK’s first Green Capital in 2015 and has targeted carbon neutrality by 2030. This is SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
20-35 cm | Urban Layer
Once settled, I stopped defaulting to taxis, mostly because a WESTbike dock sat closer to my dorm than any taxi rank ever would. Harbourside trips under twenty minutes became a Dott e-bike ride by default, not by principle. I was really just choosing convenience.
35-45 cm | Food and Waste
This layer took longer to form. I started using Too Good To Go to collect surplus food from local cafés before closing, and carried a bottle I refilled at stops marked on the Refill Return app instead of buying new ones. This is a small volume, but it accumulates: SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.
Bedrock
Underneath all of it: Ecosia as my default search engine, and a termly check of my footprint against the WWF calculator, benchmarked loosely against Bristol’s own targets.
No core sample here is undisturbed. But each layer above the flight is thinner than the one before it. I honestly did not expect to enjoy any of this. But there is something good about pedalling along the harbourside at golden hour instead of sitting in traffic. If one exchange student paying attention to her habits can skim a little off her footprint, then a few hundred of us doing the same, every semester, adds up to something worth being excited about.
References:
Bristol City Council. (2018). Climate emergency action plan. Bristol City Council. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/council/policies-plans-and-strategies/our-action-on-climate-and-ecology
Department for Transport. (2023). Transport and environment statistics. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics
European Commission. (2015). European green capital award: Bristol 2015. European Commission. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/urban-environment/european-green-capital-award/winning-cities/bristol-2015_en
United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 sustainable development goals. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Resources:
ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator (https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/environmental-tools/icec)
Gold Standard
(https://www.goldstandard.org)
Dott (WESTbike e-bikes, Bristol)
(https://ridedott.com)
Too Good To Go
(https://www.toogoodtogo.com)
Refill Return
(https://www.refill.org.uk)
Ecosia Search Engine
(https://www.ecosia.org/)
WWF Footprint Calculator
(https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/)
