[ ] 1- You share a 1-2 bedroom apt or unit
[ ] 2- You live alone in a 1-2 bedroom apt or unit
[X] 3- You have a 3 bedroom dwelling that you share with 3 or more people
[ ] 4- You have a 4 bedroom dwelling which you share with 2 or more people
[ ] 5- You have a 3-4 bedroom dwelling and live alone.
[ ] 1- You are Vegan
[X] 2- You are vegetarian
[ ] 3- You don't eat red meat
[ ] 4- You eat meat three times a week
[ ] 5- You eat meat every day
[X] 1- You grow your own fruit
[ ] 2- You eat mostly locally grown food
[ ] 3- You eat US grown food products
[ ] 4- You frequently eat imported food
[ ] 5- You mostly eat imported food
[ ] 1- You buy food with minimal packaging
[ ] 2- You only buy SOME food with packaging
[X] 3- Half of your food is packaged
[ ] 4- You buy 50-85% packaged food
[ ] 5- You eat mostly packaged food
[ ] 1- You refuse all you can
[ ] 2- You have the smallest bin available
[X] 3- You have medium sized bin
[ ] 4- You have the largest bin available
[ ] 5- You have the smallest bin available and it still over flows every week
[ ] 1- You recycle all you can
[ ] 2- You recycle 90% of your waste
[ ] 3- You recycle up to 75% of your waste
[X] 4- You recycle occasionally
[ ] 5- You don't recycle at all
[ ] 1- You compost all food scraps and green waist
[ ] 2- You compost 90% of your waist
[ ] 3- You recycle up to 75% of your waste
[X] 4- You throw out most uneaten food scraps
[ ] 5- You don't compost at all
[ ] 1- You use canvas shopping bags every time you go to the store
[X] 2- Occasionally you get new shopping bags when shopping
[ ] 3- You get plastic bags from the store, but reuse them at home
[ ] 4- You ask for paper bags when available, otherwise you get plastic bags
[ ] 5- You always get new plastic bags when you go shopping
[ ] 1- You use your own solar panels
[ ] 2- You purchase green power
[X] 3- You wish they offered green power, but it's not available in your area.
[ ] 4- You have switched to fluorescent light bulbs
[ ] 5- You have no idea where your power comes from
[X] 1- You own all energy efficient appliances
[ ] 2- Your large appliances are energy efficient appliances
[ ] 3- You think some of your appliances are energy efficient
[ ] 4- You have maybe 1 or 2 energy efficient appliances
[ ] 5- You don't own any energy efficient appliances
[ ] 1- You unplug the TV and computer when not in use and always turn off the lights.
[ ] 2- You always turn off the lights, TV and computers when not in use.
[X] 3- You try to remember to turn off lights and TV's when not in use.
[ ] 4- You turn off the lights in rooms, but leave your TV on.
[ ] 5- You always leave your computer, TV and lights on when not in use.
[ ] 1- You have installed a rain water tank
[ ] 2- You have installed water efficient appliances
[X] 3- You have installed water efficient shower heads
[ ] 4- You have mostly native plants and only water the garden in the morning or at night
[ ] 5- You've never thought about saving water
[ ] 1- You reuse water from the bathroom or laundry in the garden
[X] 2- You always try to conserve water
[ ] 3- You only wash dishes and clothes on full loads
[ ] 4- You take shorter showers to save water
[ ] 5- You've never thought about saving water
[ ] 1- You always walk or ride your bike
[ ] 2- You carpool or take the bus
[ ] 3- You drive a hybrid
[X] 4- You drive a small to medium sized car
[ ] 5- You drive a large car or SUV
[ ] 1- You only take vacations close to home
[X] 2- You take one vacation within the US a year
[ ] 3- You take 2-4 vacations within the US a year
[ ] 4- You take one over seas vacation a year
[ ] 5- You take two or more over seas holidays per year
ADD UP THE POINTS AND TALLY UP YOUR SCORE
YOUR SCORE IS _40_
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
IF YOUR SCORE Is...
20 or less ~ Even though you touch the earth very lightly, you may still be using up to 13% of the Earth's productive global acres to support your life style. Even though you live very sustainable you are from from being carbon neutral.
20-40 ~ You have a medium footprint. To support your lifestyle it takes more then 20 global acres of the Earth's productive area. If everybody lived like you we would need 3.5 or more planet Earths to provide enough resources! Even though your footprint is smaller then the average American's, there's still a lot that you need to do to compensate for your ecological footprint. Keep up the good work and see what else you might be able to do!
40-60 ~ You have a large footprint, which the earth is finding hard to support. To support your lifestyle it takes more then 27 global acres of the Earth's productive area. If everybody lived like you we would need 5 or more planet Earths to provide enough resources! See if you can make some small changes to tread more lightly.
60 or more ~ You have an extremely heavy tread and our earth is being crushed under the weight. Many activities impact our footprint. If everybody lived like you we would need 7 or more planet Earths to provide enough resources. To support your lifestyle it takes more then 35 global acres of the Earth's productive area! Start to think sustainability and see if you can make some changes in your lifestyle. Start to tread a little bit more lightly!
Most of our eco-footprints are much larger than the ideal of 4.5 acres. The average footprint in the U.S. is a whopping 24 acres, with many individuals taking up even more space. For example: an occasional meat eater who lives in a 1,200 square foot condo, drives a car 100 miles a week, and flies over 10 hours a year has an Ecological Footprint of about 29. More meat, house, and mileage make eco-footprints even larger.
Clearly, we're using up more than America's fair share of natural resources, and Earth is paying the price with global warming, an increasingly scarce supply of drinkable water, and other troubling symptoms of being overburdened.
Where did your footprint fall on the sustainability scale? Were you better or worse than the average American household? Did you recycling as much as you could? Have you been shopping with recycled cotton totes? Chances are, your footprint was larger than it should be, but don't fret, something as simple as cutting back on how much meat you eat can have a dramatic impact on your sustainability. One Cornell University study found that an average quarter pounder siphons 600 gallons of water, 1.2 pounds of feed grain, and 6 square feet of former prairie land. Plus the loss of five times the patty's weight in topsoil. Talk about an aftertaste! Other ways you can reduce your eco footprint include walking instead of driving, recycling as much as possible, and buying a green home, and greenovating your current home.
No comments:
Post a Comment