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davidski
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Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 7 | TRs | Pics
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davidski
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 Tue May 01, 2007 7:39 am |
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While indulging in a bit of car camping last weekend, my camp mates and I were chatting about the environmental impact of our stay versus the resources we would have used staying in the city. Figuring out the carbon foot print of our drive is easy enough, but are there references available to calculate the impact of items such as our bundled wood campfire or the use of our canister stoves?
Thanks!
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum |
Oh brother!
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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davidski
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Joined: 22 Mar 2007
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davidski
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Tue May 01, 2007 8:20 am |
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| Backpacker Joe wrote: | | Oh brother! |
Well, it's not likely that an analysis would stop us from going out. I do find it an interesting thing to consider in light of a strong Leave No Trace ethic. In order to make good decisions we need to have the facts available. Is that so unreasonable?
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
Joined: 15 May 2003
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
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Tue May 01, 2007 9:24 am |
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Established car or backcountry camps are great for the Leave No Trace ethic. They give a place for folks to camp where others have done before, so they don't go off stomping out a camp spot in a pristine area, thereby preserving that area.
You can't keep people from camping, the best thing to do is to establish camps. Sorta like trails - without them, lots of mountains would look as unsightly as Mailbox Peak.
Or you could just stay in the city and contribute to pollution and commerce there. But the city trees are overworked with the constant filtering of the air; it's good to spread the joy and give the trees outside the city something to do.
"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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davidski
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Joined: 22 Mar 2007
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davidski
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Tue May 01, 2007 9:38 am |
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| Quark wrote: | | Or you could just stay in the city and contribute to pollution and commerce there. But the city trees are overworked with the constant filtering of the air; it's good to spread the joy and give the trees outside the city something to do. |
That's exactly the question we were wrestling with. Policing the site we were at turned up everything from discarded tarps to beer cans to shards of glass. Add in the pretty, but admitedly not very efficient wood fires, the various bits of packaging for small sized camping supplies, the resource costs of all the miracle fiber clothing, etc. and the question of whether city living (multi-unit, well insulated, urban dwelling) is more or less impacting than car camping is a natural one to at least consider.
There are definitely lots of incidental costs and benefits to factor in, such as the awareness of the outdoors that camping generates, the satisfaction and enjoyment that going out of the city creates, and so forth. It's not my intention to promote a camping/city-living-is-bad/good agenda. I am only looking for information to more properly consider my own role and impact in the ecosystem around here.
I, and many of my fellow campers, would be willing to purchase some amount of carbon offsets in addition to our yearly forest service passes. Faced with not having any information on the costs, making such purchases is a total guestimate and drives my inner environmental economist up the wall. :)
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whistlingmarmot
Sustainable Resource
Joined: 21 Jul 2003
Posts: 1655 | TRs | Pics
Location: Tacoma, WA |
As a solution to this problem may I suggest you bring, and drink, more beer during your car camps. Employing this method one will find other questions to ponder.
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
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Wed May 02, 2007 11:54 am |
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"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11279 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Thu May 03, 2007 6:45 pm |
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Gee, and all we do is drink beer and tell funny stories. We do discuss important topics like--Is it better to start out with a micro brew and then after a few, switch to Schmitties? Can you sing "The Brady Bunch"? Really important topics!
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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