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Go Deeper Ever wondered how much you’re contributing to climate change? Find out how your actions stack up and learn how you can reduce your “climate footprint” through easy steps such as recycling, telecommuting and turning down the thermostat. The Consequences of Climate Change What We Are Doing What You Can Do |
Up Close with Patrick Gonzalez
By Courtney Leatherman
During the world’s warmest winter on record, Nature Conservancy scientist Patrick Gonzalez talks about going “climate neutral,” serving on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and life without that little red Toyota.
Nature Conservancy: Climate change is on the brain right now. Al Gore’s movie won the Oscar, Congress is holding hearings, and the editors of The New Oxford American Dictionary dubbed “carbon neutral” the word of the year for 2006. Still, I bet most people don’t know what carbon neutral, or climate neutral, really means. What’s your definition?
Patrick Gonzalez: Climate neutrality is living in a way that reduces your negative impacts on the Earth’s atmosphere, ecosystems and people. You become climate neutral by balancing activities that emit greenhouse gases with intentional actions to reduce emissions and with financial support for verified forestry and energy projects that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Nature Conservancy: So what has that meant for you personally?
Patrick Gonzalez: For me, going climate neutral started 19 years ago when, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, I worked with villagers on the natural regeneration of native trees. Then 15 years ago, I sold my car; I have lived car-free ever since.
Nature Conservancy: What kind of car was it?
Patrick Gonzalez: I’ve owned one car in my life. It was a 1984 Toyota Corolla Sport. It was red, and it had flip-up headlights. It was a really neat car.
Nature Conservancy: I bet you took good care of it.
Patrick Gonzalez: I took very good care of it. It was fun at the time. But I don’t miss it at all. I was, even back then, very sensitive to how I drove, and I would use my bicycle for short errands. My wife got rid of her car before we met.
Nature Conservancy: So you use public transit, and I understand you’ve installed high-efficiency appliances and forgo air conditioning. How do you offset the greenhouse gas emissions you still make?
Patrick Gonzalez: I created a spreadsheet, typed in our monthly utility use, airline flights, train rides and other energy uses. Then I multiplied by 2.6—to account for the entire infrastructure that supports our lifestyle—to get our total greenhouse gas emissions. Then I purchased carbon offsets from a company that builds windmills and methane recovery plants.
Nature Conservancy: And how much does that cost?
Patrick Gonzalez: The average American, who emits the equivalent of 24 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, could offset their emissions for about $300 a year. Not a trivial amount but not completely unaffordable. We’ve gone climate neutral for the past two years and plan to stay that way into the future.
Nature Conservancy: Is the goal to see how low you can go?
Patrick Gonzalez: We would like to continue to reduce. For 2006, even with 61,000 kilometers (37,904 miles) of flights, my total emissions were still less than the U.S. average. My wife’s were one-third of the U.S. average, which puts her more in line with countries like France. The world average is 4 metric tons. It would be nice to be at or below the world average.
Nature Conservancy: On top of your work for the Conservancy, you also serve on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Don’t you sometimes feel like you “gave at the office”?
Patrick Gonzalez: Going climate neutral is both a personal and a professional issue for me. Melting glaciers, burning forests, flooded coasts—climate change threatens ecosystems and human well-being. It is my work, but I can do even more in my personal life.
Nature Conservancy: A recent article in Forbes described carbon offsets as “environmental atonement.” What do you think of that expression?
Patrick Gonzalez: We can take action without sacrificing a significant level of health or comfort. Like I pointed out, European countries use approximately half as much energy as the United States and emit about one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions per person. But they don’t live a deprived lifestyle. On the contrary, they live very well.
Nature Conservancy: You’re not a proselytizer, are you?
Patrick Gonzalez: Leading by example can be an effective way to enact change. The sum of many small acts caused the problem, so only the sum of many small acts will solve the problem.
Nature Conservancy: You sound like a saint. Do you have any environmental shortcomings? Like sometimes I just can’t bear to wash the peanut butter jar for recycling, so I trash it.
Patrick Gonzalez: If any aspect of my life is not sustainable, it’s flying. In 2005, I flew 176,000 kilometers (109,361 miles). Mainly for work, but some was vacation. We went to Africa. I introduced my wife to the village where I lived. It was discretionary. It wasn’t necessary.
Nature Conservancy: You always wash the peanut butter jar, don’t you?
Patrick Gonzalez: I do.
Nature picture credits: All photos © Joshua Paul
