What is your ecological footprint?

[emily_in_nc]

I see I have the highest score -- by a lot -- of anyone posting here.

I do have a long drive to work (29 miles each way), but other than that I am not really sure why. I eat meat a few times a week but lots of veggie dishes, hardly ever fly (once per year, if that); but yes, I do have running water, electricity, and live in a 2100 sq ft house -- not large by US standards, but palatial by world standards, I am sure. I am not sure what else might have caused my score to be so high. I recycle, shop at the farmer's market and food co-op (though that's probably only 50% of my food), use compact flurescents....where did I go wrong??

Emily

P.S. I'd be willing to bet most of my co-workers would score higher than me -- they all think of me as "super green". Ha!

[Blueberry]

Emily-

Looks like I'm nailed because I'm not vegan, live in an 1800 square foot condo and drive 35 miles each way to work.

I really think they nail you (rightly or wrongly) for eating any meat and consuming any dairy products. That and the house size are what got me.

I really wonder whether this really takes everything into account We do the same - all compact fluorescents, just replaced our furnace for more efficiency, turn off lights when we're not home, and keep the thermostat high in summer and low in winter. That and we bike everywhere we can. I'm not sure any of that really shows up in the survey. Still....it does give food for thought....

Edit: I ran my number with a 2100 square foot home for 2 people and that kicked me up to 29.

[Blueberry]

The FAQ: http://www.rprogress.org/newprojects...html#accuracy1

This actually tells you a lot about the assumptions made in the footprint, and explains that some is based upon your area, not your habits.

CA

[Kitsune06]

CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 3.5
MOBILITY 1
SHELTER 6.7
GOODS/SERVICES 5.2
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 16
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 3.7 PLANETS.

ok... so... crap. oops. My biggies were probably flying, eating meat (even occasionally?!) etc. I almost totally cut out eggs and dairy and have meat more often than either but they don't account for that. My shelter one sucks because I live alone... and 'g/s' is figured to be proportionate to the above 3. *however* my electric bill is <$100/mo, I use very little water etc (generally... ) and I always recycle... Grr. Oh and I need to get my vermiculture box going again. I was so happy having my own compost in my own garden.

[kelownagirl]

OK, mine is pretty bad. I'll have to read more to find out why.

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES
FOOD 2.8
MOBILITY 0.7
SHELTER 2.1
GOODS/SERVICES 2.9
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 8.5

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.


IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.7 PLANETS.

[emily_in_nc]

The FAQ: http://www.rprogress.org/newprojects...html#accuracy1

This actually tells you a lot about the assumptions made in the footprint, and explains that some is based upon your area, not your habits.

CA

That was interesting, thanks. I think our house size (which is actually smaller than our two previous houses; we keep downsizing!) and having only a two-person family hurt us as much as my long commute to work (and the fact that I drive a Honda Element - to tote bikes and kayaks! - instead of a Prius). But they don't ask or know that we heat primarily with wood from our own land, so that our heating bill is extremely low, and we keep the thermostat at 80 degrees during the summer instead of 72 or 76 like most people I know, so the A/C rarely comes on. We also compost and recycle EXTENSIVELY so that we only have a couple bags of actual trash per month to take to the dump (no trash pickup out here in the boonies).

We do the best we can for now, but definitely want to do better in the future!

Emily

[Trekhawk]

A great book to read that will boggle your mind with ugly facts is Affluenza by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor.

Read it if you get the chance - you wont be disappointed. It really made me take a good look at my life and the way I live.

Here is part of the blurb off the back
"Now revised and expanded, this bestselling classic shows how problems ranging from loneliness, longer working hours and family conflict to rising debt, environmental pollution, and rampant commercialism are all symptoms of the disease affluenza".