While I was in Perth, we watched a TV show called Cool Aid that measured the comparative environmental impact of our lifestyles. It went a bit far, talking about seas rising by 6m, which is far beyond realistic limits for the forseeable future, but showing the impact our actions have on greenhouse gases was interesting and even encouraging.
Some facts it showed were that hybrid cars save about 3 tonnes of carbon per year vs standard cars; efficient bulbs save about 100kg of carbon vs standard bulbs; and newer TVs save about 60% on standby vs older models. The question I didn’t hear them answer though, is ‘What is the cost of upgrading?’ If I have one of these older cars or TVs, is it better to keep it for its life or to upgrade immediately? What damage will be done to the environment by throwing out a 50″ plasma TV? Or disposing of a car that’s only done 50,000? In some cases, the impact of throwing out a still useful item must be more than what would be saved by upgrading.