Dr. David Morton Accepts the Climate Action Challenge

Replacing dying cottonwoods with new trees at Idylwood Park.  Dr. David Morton is digging

 (far right) in the background.  Councilmember Hank Myers is in the foreground.

The Redmond Climate Action Challenge makes it easy and fun to reduce your environmental impact. By taking the Redmond Climate Action Challenge on October 4, 2021, my wife Gail and I have reduced our annual greenhouse gas emissions by 4.8 metric tons. We selected the actions specific to our journey, tracked our progress, and watched our carbon footprint decline as we made changes at home.  Here are some actions we’ve taken:

1.      Reducing air travel by 9,000 miles per year saves us 7,200 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. We mostly stay local, but in 2021, Gail made a round trip to Portland in her 2018 Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, and I made two round trips to Renton in my 1990 Geo Metro XFi. Zoom and Microsoft Teams make it unnecessary to do a lot of flying and driving.
2.      Nature has replaced 3,000 square feet of our lawn with drought-tolerant plants like buttercups, dandelions, clover, and blackberry. Although they are non-native and invasive, they require zero watering, minimal mowing with a manual reel mower, and provide nectar and pollen for bees. This saves 42,600 gallons of water a year and earns 4,260 “Sustainability points.” The 40,000 sq. feet of forest that we have been allowing to grow on our property since 1994 has removed more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than our cars have released into it.
3.      By adopting smart driving habits, we save 110 gallons of gas and 2,960 pounds of CO₂ equivalents a year. Avoiding heavy acceleration, coasting when possible, light braking, and driving the speed limit help a lot. I turn off my car when stopped at traffic lights; Gail’s hybrid does that automatically. My car has no gas-guzzling air conditioner. And I regularly service our cars and keep their tires properly inflated.

4.      By simply turning stuff off when not in use, we save 520 kWh of electricity and 450 pounds of CO₂ equivalents per year.

I mentioned that I drive a 1990 Geo Metro XFi. Some people believe that such an old car can’t possibly be a climate-friendly mode of transportation. It gets 49 miles per gallon of gasoline. It is also important to consider a person’s Vehicle Miles Traveled (or VMT). I drive my car on average between 3½ and 6 miles per day. The 6-mile round trip I make to Redmond City Hall to read these sustainability messages, uses less than 2 cups of gasoline. If I were to drive an electric vehicle that is charged up on PSE’s electric grid, I would want to take into account that 63% of the electricity on PSE’s grid is generated by burning coal, natural gas, and other greenhouse gas-emitting fuels, according to the Department of Commerce’s latest utility fuel mix summary.

In conclusion, the Redmond Climate Action Challenge educates people on ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, reduce vehicle miles traveled, and how plants can help to reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere of the Earth.

-- David Morton, July, 2023