Just as there are interesting energy facts, there are interesting Carbon facts. Efforts to reduce ones carbon footprint can at times actually increase carbon footprint. The term "Life Cycle Assessment" is used to characterize the process of looking at all the inputs (and their CO2 emissions) for the design, manufacture, delivery and operation of a product. The Life Cycle story on Green products exposes some unintended consequences.
- It takes 18 years of use to make up for the carbon output of producing, delivering and installing a solar cell (Source: An industry conference - so is this an urban myth) (This also depends on location)