Bill Blackwell of Willow Road has been calculating different ways he can lose enough pounds to meet his goal. Bike to work? Cambridge is too far for that.

Because it is pounds of carbon dioxide emissions that he’s after, Blackwell has decided instead that keeping his car tuned up and the tires inflated will trim 1,500 pounds of emissions a year. Why is this important? Scientists now believe that greenhouse gases released during the burning of fossil fuels are the primary cause of global warming.

Blackwell is the co-founder of Harvard Local, a grassroots organization focused on developing local solutions to what it calls “the two major challenges of our times: global warming and the coming end of cheap fossil fuels.” He is one of six Harvard Local members participating in a “Low Carbon Diet” pilot program, based on a workbook written by David Gershon, CEO of The Empowerment Institute. The program offers a 30-day team-based approach to helping households reduce their annual CO2 emissions.

“People want to do something about global warming, as well as reduce their energy bill, but don’t know where to start,” said Blackwell. “The Low Carbon Diet offers a three-step process to make lifestyle and household system changes that will do both.”

Using Gershon’s workbook, teams of five to eight households agree to meet four times during the 30-day period to help each other drop 5,000 pounds of their annual CO2 emission. According to the Empowerment Institute, the typical American household emits 55,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year.

How the program works

First, each household calculates its carbon footprint to find out where it uses the most fossil fuel energy and where the most savings can be obtained. Typically, a family uses the most energy for home heating, transportation, and household electricity. Using the workbook’s suggested lifestyle and household systems changes, families create an action plan to meet their savings goal. The team approach encourages participants to get started, share ideas, follow through, and celebrate successes. Even households that have already achieved significant energy reductions find ways to do more.

Does this man (Bill Blackwell) look like he needs to go on a diet? (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

“Two years ago we reduced our energy use by 40 percent with easy changes like installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, line-drying some of our laundry, buying more local foods, and converting our hot water system,” Blackwell said. “For savings this time, we’ll look at transportation improvements, more recycling, and better insulation. These are things we have been thinking about, but the Low Carbon Diet has encouraged us to take action.”

Team goals

It might be harder for pilot team member Josie Carothers of Depot Road to reach her 5,000-pound reduction goal. She and her husband, energy efficiency engineer Mark Kelley, have lived in a low-energy-use home for almost 30 years. With little left to squeeze from home heating improvements, her family is looking for energy savings by air-drying most of their laundry, combining errands to reduce car trips, and purchasing low-cost carbon-offsets for business-related travel.

High school junior Helen Killian has taken on the biggest challenge of the team. Killian’s goal is to reduce her family’s energy use 50 percent by the time she graduates. Though she thinks the Low Carbon Diet will help her reach her goal, Killian also noted that it can show her family how much they have already achieved.

Warren Avenue’s Joe D’Eramo believes an expanded backyard garden and more local food purchases will help his family reach its goal. According to a 1989 study by David Pimental at the University of Michigan, agriculture and food-related packaging and transportation account for a surprising 10 percent of the nation’s energy use.

Eric Broadbent of Oak Hill Road is coping with a roomy, old house on a windy hill. Recent remodeling and energy-efficient upgrades have helped reduce the Broadbents’ utility bills, but he is still exploring cost-effective ways to reduce heat loss. Broadbent is also considering using his biofuel car more and his conventional car less.

Blackwell said that Harvard Local plans to introduce the Low Carbon Diet program to the community at an informational presentation October 25, in the new library’s Volunteers Hall. He said the group is hoping friends, neighbors, churches, civic organizations, and the local schools will form small teams to take up the Low Carbon Diet challenge. If 200 Harvard households participate, said Blackwell, Harvard alone will keep one million pounds of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

As an affiliate of Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN), Harvard Local is participating in a three-year effort to make Massachusetts a leader in energy conservation. Blackwell said the group is using a small grant from MCAN to contribute Low Carbon Diet workbooks to the public library and Bromfield and to make energy reduction kits available.

Harvard Local’s October 25 community workshop will give more details about the Low Carbon Diet program and will offer energy-saving tips