After bushfires tore by way of this couple’s residence, they pledged to purpose for a zero-carbon way of life
After bushfires crept dangerously near their Wamboin property in 2020, Syd and Camille Goodman made a promise to change the best way they lived.
Confronted by the results of local weather change, they determined to radically scale back their carbon footprint.
“We kind of felt a bit helpless,” Syd mentioned.
“We knew the issue was local weather change and we thought, ‘nicely, what sensible issues can we do to take management?'”
However Camille mentioned attempting to calculate an applicable quantity of emissions they need to be producing truly led them to attempt for a zero-carbon way of life.
“The extra we seemed into it we realised there is no correct quantity,” she mentioned.
“We simply thought, ‘we now have to shoot for zero, like as near zero as doable’.”
Now, they have put in photo voltaic panels at their property and are primarily dwelling “off the grid”, because of an uncommon supply: recycled laptop computer batteries.
“[I] purchased previous laptop computer batteries by the kilo … then it was a case of disassembling all of them, testing all of the batteries and eliminating all of the unhealthy cells,” he mentioned.
“Laptop computer batteries have perhaps six cells in them, you may need one failed cell however the remaining will probably be good, or generally they’re all good.”
Syd mentioned 800 laptop computer batteries now successfully acted as one giant battery unit for a rooftop photo voltaic system.
“[It’s] 44kWh, principally the identical as three Tesla Powerwalls,” he mentioned.
“It is positively not the simplest technique to do it, however [it is] the most cost effective technique to do it.”
The couple information their private carbon emissions annually however Syd mentioned the most important change in his private carbon footprint had come from swapping over to electrical automobiles.
“I’ve all the time been environmentally acutely aware, however it’d by no means entered my head that there was an issue doing [long car trips] in any respect,” Syd mentioned.
In 2019, Syd mentioned his carbon emissions had been simply over 10 tonnes, with three-quarters of that from his automobiles alone.
“The following 12 months I might received it right down to 4.78 tonnes and diminished the automobile emissions right down to 1.8 tonnes,” he mentioned.
“This 12 months I’ve received it right down to 2.26 tonnes, and my automobile emissions are 0.85 tonnes.”
‘We have accomplished all the simple bits’
Making an attempt to go carbon zero has created some challenges for the couple, particularly as they get nearer to their purpose.
Whereas they managed to scale back their carbon emissions considerably over the previous 12 months, they mentioned now that they had accomplished the fundamental issues it could grow to be more and more difficult to scale back their emissions additional.
“It is onerous as a result of we have accomplished all the simple bits,” Camille mentioned.
“We have accomplished the automotive, we’re on photo voltaic right here, all our home equipment are electrical. We do not fly anymore. We have reduce down lamb and beef and dairy.”
Camille additionally began a job in Wollongong, a number of hours’ drive from Wamboin, which meant the couple needed to shortly improve their newly bought electrical automobiles for one with the vary to journey over the longer distance.
However she mentioned that general, making the expensive modifications within the quick time period had improved their lives longer-term.
“None of this has made our high quality of life worse, we might say it is positively improved it,” she mentioned.
When requested if she had any suggestions for others hoping to chop their emissions, Camille mentioned an important factor was merely to purpose for what was manageable.
“We’re doing every part we will, and what everybody can do is totally different,” she mentioned.
“Simply do what you may.”
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