[MCN] what is the carbon footprint of Black Friday sales rush

[Lance Olsen]

Google’s AI Overview

The carbon footprint of Black Friday sales is substantial, primarily driven by increased manufacturing, packaging, and a surge in shipping emissions, with one 2021 report estimating Black Friday deliveries alone generated over 429,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. This is due to the energy-intensive production of goods, the sheer volume of products and packaging shipped worldwide, and the large number of delivery vehicles on the road. Additionally, Black Friday encourages overconsumption, leading to a significant increase in waste, as up to 80% of purchases may be discarded after one or zero uses. 


Major contributors to the carbon footprint
Increased delivery emissions: The massive volume of deliveries causes a spike in greenhouse gas emissions from trucks, planes, and ships used to transport goods.
Manufacturing and production: Producing goods on a massive scale to meet demand uses significant energy and natural resources, from factories to the raw materials themselves.
Excessive packaging: The surge in online shopping leads to a large amount of packaging material, much of which is not easily recyclable and ends up in landfills.
Promotion of overconsumption: The event encourages impulse buying of low-quality, often unnecessary items, which are frequently thrown away shortly after purchase.
Data center energy consumption: The increase in online activity during Black Friday (browsing, purchasing, watching videos) uses more electricity to power data centers and their cooling systems. 

Examples and comparisons
Delivery emissions: In one estimate, Black Friday deliveries generated enough greenhouse gas emissions to be equivalent to 435 return flights from London to New York.
Waste: Between Black Friday and the New Year, households can produce 25% more waste than usual. 

How to reduce the impact
Shop consciously: Avoid impulse buys and focus on needs versus wants. Consider purchasing fewer, higher-quality items that will last longer.
Opt for sustainable options: Support brands that use sustainable materials and ethical production practices.
Bundle deliveries: If possible, consolidate multiple online orders into fewer shipments to reduce the number of delivery trips.
Shop local: Supporting local businesses can reduce the "last-mile" delivery emissions, as many local stores have more direct supply chains.
Choose local pick-up: Using store pick-up points, especially those accessible by foot or bike, can cut down on individual delivery vehicles. 



“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
This Isn’t ‘the New Normal’ for Climate Change — That Will Be Worse

David Wallace-Wells

<<http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/why-this-isnt-the-new-normal-for-climate-change.html>>

Excerpts from the concluding paragraphs

Of course, there is also an enormous variance in weather, and we shouldn’t expect, say, that next year’s hurricane season will be necessarily as bad as this one, or worse, or that next year’s wildfire season will be as bad as this one, or worse, even as the planet continues to warm. 

But, over time, the trend lines are inarguable: Climate change will give us more devastating hurricanes than we have now, and more horrible wildfires, as well as more tornadoes and droughts and heat waves and floods.

What that means is that we have not, at all, arrived at a new normal. 

And so the experience of life in a climate transformed by human activity is not just a matter of stepping from one stable environment into another, somewhat worse one, no matter how degraded or destructive the transformed climate is. The effects will grow and build as the planet continues to warm: from one degree to one-point-five to almost certainly two degrees and beyond. The last few months of climate disasters may look like about as much as the planet can take. But things are only going to get worse.

“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Michael Mann: ““A new normal makes it sound like we have arrived in a new position, and that's where we're going to be. But if we continue to burn fossil fuels ... we are going to ... get worse and worse droughts, and heat waves, and super storms, and floods, and wildfires.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/climate-change-is-making-wildfires-more-extreme-heres-how

“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
"The old saying that 'past performance is no guide to the future' is not a piece of compliance jargon. It is the truth.”

<<https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21723845-sheer-luck-good-past-returns-predicting-future-performance-fund>>


“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
This Isn’t ‘the New Normal’ for Climate Change — That Will Be Worse

David Wallace-Wells

<<http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/why-this-isnt-the-new-normal-for-climate-change.html>>

Excerpts from the concluding paragraphs

Of course, there is also an enormous variance in weather, and we shouldn’t expect, say, that next year’s hurricane season will be necessarily as bad as this one, or worse, or that next year’s wildfire season will be as bad as this one, or worse, even as the planet continues to warm. 

But, over time, the trend lines are inarguable: Climate change will give us more devastating hurricanes than we have now, and more horrible wildfires, as well as more tornadoes and droughts and heat waves and floods.

What that means is that we have not, at all, arrived at a new normal. 

And so the experience of life in a climate transformed by human activity is not just a matter of stepping from one stable environment into another, somewhat worse one, no matter how degraded or destructive the transformed climate is. The effects will grow and build as the planet continues to warm: from one degree to one-point-five to almost certainly two degrees and beyond. The last few months of climate disasters may look like about as much as the planet can take. But things are only going to get worse.

“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Michael Mann: ““A new normal makes it sound like we have arrived in a new position, and that's where we're going to be. But if we continue to burn fossil fuels ... we are going to ... get worse and worse droughts, and heat waves, and super storms, and floods, and wildfires.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/climate-change-is-making-wildfires-more-extreme-heres-how

“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
"The old saying that 'past performance is no guide to the future' is not a piece of compliance jargon. It is the truth.”

<<https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21723845-sheer-luck-good-past-returns-predicting-future-performance-fund>>

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