What's your Ecological Footprint? (also posted in GD)

[unhappycamper]

ABOUT THE FOOTPRINT QUIZ

The quiz is based on national consumption averages and is meant to give you an idea of your Ecological Footprint relative to other people in the country you live in. It is not highly detailed, but should give most people an idea of where they stand.

If you already live a sustainable lifestyle, do not be discouraged by your results. There are some portions of your Footprint that are not the direct result of your consumption habits. For example, each resident of a city is ‘responsible’ for a portion of the city’s infrastructure, such as roads, schools, and government offices, regardless of whether the resident uses those services. In addition, some options that could make your Footprint smaller are not available to you as a result of choices on the part of local decision makers, such as reliable and efficient public transportation as an alternative to driving. Therefore, an important path to reducing your Footprint is to advocate for more sustainable decisions at all levels of government. This will make it easier for you and many others to reduce Ecological Footprints.

Ecological Footprints document a given population's consumption and waste production expressed in biologically productive land and ocean areas necessary to maintain these services. By aggregating data on the consumption of various resources and on the ability of the earth to provide them, the Ecological Footprint accounts provide a means to compare various components of consumption and ultimately serve as an indicator of sustainability - or, in the case of deficits, of unsustainability.

http://www.myfootprint.org/

[whistle]

1. Uhmmm....what is the point to this chart?

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Move the cursor to your part of map, then select a language and

take the quiz.

[Worst Username Ever]

2. 15

If everyone lived like me, there would need to be 3.4 planets

[Rainbowreflect]

4. 12 n/t

[GumboYaYa]

11. Me too.

I work really hard to live a sustainable lifestyle and still require three Earths to support it. Assuming the analysis is valid, that is an eye-popping statistic.

[whistle]

5. Holy crap, I thought I was doing OK from an ecological point of

...view:

<snip>
CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 3.7
MOBILITY 0.5
SHELTER 16.5
GOODS/SERVICES 11.6

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 32

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 7.3 PLANETS.

<end>

This may be misleading, because I had to check off that I live alone (widower) in a 2,000 sq ft home that is single standing with running water. However, it is energy efficient (extra insulation, heat pump A/C unit, thermal pain glass windows, low energy consumption). I also live in Florida, but the closest city they provide is Atlanta. Still, it's an eyeopener. What progress I have made with transportation shows, but now I need to focus on shelter and getting in a backyard garden.

So, let me get this straight. If I were to set a goal of having just my share of the ecological footprint, I would have to cut back on at least 83% of what I consume? I know what I consume and quite frankly, that seems totally unreasonable given the options which are available.

So here is my action plan:

<snip>




SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

CALCULATE YOUR FOOTPRINT SAVINGS . . . THEN PLEDGE!

FOOD

Currently: My food profile is the following My Goal is:
1. % of the food I eat is from a local farm (within 200 miles ) or garden
2. % of the food I eat is organic or sustainably grown
3. % of my food is unpackaged and unprocessed
4. of my 7 dinners a week are vegetarian
5. % of the food I buy is eaten

Food Footprint reduction (2.5 Acres )


MOBILITY

Currently: My mobility profile is the following My Goal is:
1. miles per week driving or riding in a car, with
people in the car, on average, and
miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average
2. miles per week riding on a bus, train, or other public transportation around town
3. miles per year riding on a long distance bus or train (Greyhound, Amtrak)
4. hours per year in an airplane
5. miles per week biking or walking
6. miles per week driving or riding on a motorbike, with
people on the bike, on average, and
miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average

Mobility Footprint reduction (0.3 Acres )


HOUSING

Currently: My household energy profile is the following My Goal is:
1. Number of people in my household
2. Laundry loads per month that my household dries in an electric or gas dryer (could be reduced by clothesline drying)
3. Light fixtures in my home with compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs
4. Number of days my home is air conditioned (could be reduced with fan-cooling or sweating)
5. Degrees Farenheit daytime thermostat setting for heating
Months per year that my home is centrally heated
6. Hours per day that I watch TV or use a computer at home
7. Minutes per day I am in the shower
yes
no I use a low flow showerhead yes
no

Household Footprint reduction (my share only) (1.5 Acres )




GRAND TOTAL FOOTPRINT REDUCTION ( 4.0 acres )

[phantom power]

6. 5.1

It would be even worse, except I telecommute, so my travel consumption is (relatively) low.

[hunter]

7. If I kill off my neighbors and take their stuff do I reduce my footprint?

Bush Administration Policy:

If they live in Iraq, yes.

[phantom power]

8. Well... you'd reduce *their* footprint.

[hunter]

9. It's sorta like buying pollution credits...

...isn't it?

[phantom power]

10. It is. If you reduce one person's footprint to zero,

that means you can increase your own footprint.

I really AM going to be re-born as a flu virus.