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If you’re looking for a way to benefit the environment this July 4th, why not start in your own backyard? Have you ever thought about the carbon footprints of your grills? Eric Johnson is a Swiss scientist who has studied the environmental impact of charcoal and gas grills. It turns out that gas grills don’t just better for the environment but they’re also more effective. Mr. ERIC JOHNSON (Director, Atlantic Consulting): The carbon footprint of a gas grill is about 1/3 of the footprint of charcoal grills. RAZ: And that includes the manufacturing process and other aspects, such as the transportation of fuel. Mr. JOHNSON: That’s right transportation, transport, the entire thing. But, you’ll notice that the most significant impact is not on the burning or production of fuel. Mr. JOHNSON: Yes. Yes. For charcoal-briquettes’ efficiency, it’s not the quantity but the effectiveness of their use that’s the most important thing. They’re an inefficient way of cooking things. I mean, you know that you shake the bag out. The bag is all on the grill. The whole thing is ablaze. grill and perhaps you’re cooking a couple of hamburgers. Whereas gas-fired grills are similar to the stove you’ve got in the kitchen. It’s more in tune with the amount you’re planning to cook and how much power you’ll actually have to utilize. RAZ: Well, many people are likely to discover that, you’re aware that using charcoal is harmful to the environment as it’s a biofuel. Right? I mean, it’s a natural product. It’s a naturally-produced product. In general, however, it’s harvested in order to be used. This means that you are taking carbon from your biosphere , and depositing it in the atmosphere. RAZ: Okay, so how can you do that? Mr. JOHNSON explains that they make use of either cut wood or waste wood. But, it’s typically cut wood. They put it in the kiln, which has a restricted oxygen supply so that the wood won’t fire. The result is that most of the liquid portions of the wood are sucked off , leaving almost pure carbon. I mean, if you look at gas, you knowthat around 90% of the heating value that came out of the ground gets utilized for grilling. In charcoal, it’s less than one-quarter. It’s much, much more efficient. RAZ: You spend a lot of time grilling yourself, right? Mr. JOHNSON: Yes, I did. I believe there were seven or eight other volunteers. I can’t remember exactly. But we split into one group, which used best affordable gas grill grills, and another group that was charcoal grills. And it was kind of an amusing experience for family and friends because they were watching us weigh everything out as we went along afterward, and then measure it everything else. But I would guess that we were able to have around 50-60 grilling sessions at the end, that gave us a adequate statistical base to make all these measurements and create the footprints. RAZ: Surely there was a good amount of meat. Mr. JOHNSON: Well, not everyone was cooking every day. However, I’m saying that we actually did keep track of the various things that were cooked. It was a — I mean, we were laughing for a long time. But it did work. RAZ Johnson: Mr. Johnson, there’s a great chance that the person who’s listening to this interview now is actually outside grilling. And if they’re grilling over, you know, charcoal briquettes, what would you say to them? Mr. JOHNSON: What I would say is that there’s no way you’re going on to kill the planet in the grilling scenario. However, probably the most beneficial thing you can do is when you’re done, if you could shutdown your grill and try to reuse the coals that are left. Now, some grills are actually relatively easy to shut down, however a lot of them are difficult to shut down. However, you can still just pour some water over it and use them again to avoid wasteful while the rest is just floating in the air. RAZ: This is a great advice. Eric Johnson is a chemist and director of Atlantic Consulting in Zurich, Switzerland. Thank you Eric. Johnson. Mr. JOHNSON: Thanks for having me. Copyright (c) 2009 NPR. NPR transcripts are prepared to meet a deadline set by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in the version finalized and may be updated or revised in the near future. The accuracy and availability of this text may differ. The official record of NPR’s programs is the audio record.