One of the quizzes that I completed was the Earth Day Network Footprint Calculator. I found out that for the way I live, I use up the earth's resources four times faster than it can regenerate them. Four times! It would also take 17.8 global acres of the earth's productive areas to support my lifestyle. In my footprint breakdown, you can see that a lot of my footprint comes from different services. This is followed by food and goods.
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| My Results (Scary) |
Clearly, I need to reconsider some of the choices in my lifestyle. Simple things such as carpooling, reducing shower time, buying less packaged/processed foods, and buying locally produced products, could significantly reduce my ecological footprint. I would definitely reconsider adjusting all of these things, but not all at the same time. I would probably start with one or two, perhaps carpooling and reducing shower time, and then build from there. For my lifestyle, I think that is a more realistic goal. After taking this quiz, I will keep the image of the four globes in my mind. It is almost eerie to think of how much damage one can do to our planet. This truly was an eye opener.
I really like your ideas for changing your lifestyle to adjust your ecological footprint. I think starting small is good and then working your way up from there (I plan on doing the same thing). Great post.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good idea. Making too many changes too fast doesn't always last. I'm also going to start to try to reduce more of the foods I eat. Hopefully this will help a little.
ReplyDeleteI agree that making too many changes so quickly will eventually prove to be ineffective just like any other behavior change. You probably already have some ideas on how to make some of these changes from your previous experiences that you can use.
ReplyDeleteMy results were very similar to yours, I think that if you start with slight changes to your lifestyle the things you have changed will become second nature and you will not even realize you have completely changed your behavior.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you are starting with more realistic goals to become more "green". Simple acts such as carpooling and reducing shower time add up over time and every little bit counts!
ReplyDeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteyou are SO right! we definitely all make a difference even if it's just the little things! And finding a balance between all of the changes is important too. Something kind of silly that I like to do is if I take a really short shower, I reward myself with blow drying my hair. So if I take a long shower, I let it air dry. It's not making a difference but I like to think that it keeps me from taking long showers and THEN blow drying my hair. :)