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What's your footprint?
Measure the impact of your
daily living
"Don't tell me what you believe in. Tell
me what you do all day and I'll tell you what
you believe in."
—Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989)
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1. How often do you eat animal-based products (incl.
meat, eggs, dairy, and fish)?
E. large part of every meal (I know, I know).
2. The average American eats approximately 3000 kilo-calories
(kcal) every day. This diet is approximately equivalent
to: eating cereal, toast, juice, and coffee for breakfast,
a sandwich, yogurt, fruit, and a beverage for lunch,
an afternoon snack, and a dinner with main course,
side, and beverage, and a snack or dessert in the
evening.
C. about average.
3. In the United States, an average of 26% of food
purchased by households is thrown out rather than
eaten (due to spoilage, discarded leftovers, table
waste, etc.) How much of your purchased food is thrown
out rather than eaten?
C. 10 percent.
4. A significant portion of the energy cost of food
production is spent on transporting food from harvest
to market, and for processing, packaging, and storage.
Purchasing locally grown, in-season, unprocessed food
can greatly reduce the need to expend energy in food
production. How much of the food that you buy is locally
grown, unprocessed, and in-season?
C. about half.
5. The average American drives about 8,500 miles
per year, or 17,000 miles per car. How much do you
drive each year, on average?
G. Less than 40 miles per week.
6. On average, how often do you drive with someone
else (either in your car or theirs)?
D. about half.
7. How many miles per gallon does your car get?
C. 25—35 m.p.g.
8. On average, how many miles do you travel on public
transportation each week?
E. fewer than 15 miles per week.
9. Every year, the average American spends 4.8 hours
on commercial airliners. This is roughly equivalent
to one roundtrip flight between Washington D.C. and
Chicago each year. How many hours each year do you
spend flying?
D. 25 hours.
10. How many people live in your house?
2.5 (usually 3, but 2 right now).
11. The average single family house in the
U.S. is 2100 sq. ft. How big is your home?
D. 1500—2500.
12. Does your home purchase electricity from "green"
electricity provider (e.g., solar, wind, micro-hydro)
no.
13. Do you use energy efficient appliances and light
bulbs?
always.
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My results
Food Footprint: 6.9 acres
Transportation Footprint: 3.5 acres
Housing Footprint: 4.9 acres
Other Footprints: 5.6 acres
Total Footprint: 20.9 acres
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I have evidence of my love
for and celebration of nature: a list of wild places I have
visited across the globe, membership in a number of environmental
groups, and a t-shirt collection that covers "Save the
Earth," "Share the Earth," "Spare the
Earth," and "Care for the Earth." While my
environmental beliefs help define who I am, they have little
relevance to my actual relationship with nature.
There are two things that really count: how we live our lives
and what we consume. This month we'll look at the impact
of how we live and next month the impact of what we consume.
It is difficult to remember that we are always in, and a
part of, nature. This truth is counter to much of what we
have been taught. Some people blame western religions for
instilling in us the belief that man is separate from nature.
From another point of view, Romantic thought, which greatly
influenced our country's founding fathers, idealized
the agrarian world and distrusted cities as "unnatural"
places that led to the corruption of people and politics.
Dr. Penny Firth who has put together an excellent program
on urban ecosystems, defines ecosystems as "a community
of living organisms interacting with its non-living environment."
Under this definition, wherever we live is a part of an ecosystem.
But still, we tend to think in terms of nature over there,
people over here–a sort of ecological segregation.
There are two problems with this thinking. First, urban living
can be one of the most eco-friendly ways to live. Second,
we live in nature and all our actions impact nature.
Because of the concentration of people, cities can appear
to be environmentally problematic–air pollution, noise,
litter–but in fact, this concentration prevents us from
spreading these problems over the landscape and allows us
to develop more efficient transportation systems, recycling
programs, and efficient use of energy. As we creep out into
the suburbs, the benefits lessen.
In the U.S., suburbs developed as a part of the post-WWII
building boom (though suburbs have been around much longer;
archeologists working on Mayan excavations have found a development
pattern with a definite suburb component).
Dr. Firth points out that the suburbs developed in conjunction
with the automobile, on the assumption that this would increase
personal freedom and quality of life. This idea is, of course,
being reconsidered; having housing in location A, retail in
location B, and business/industry in location C does come
with some limitaions. Mass transit and nonmotorized transportation
become much more difficult. As society spreads itself out,
pressures on land use increase and conservation lands are
usually developed from what's left over.
In the Takoma Park/Silver Spring area we are lucky because
we can enjoy the best of both worlds or, if we choose, the
worst of both worlds. Making the right decisions about the
chemicals we use, how much we drive, what we consume, and
where we live affords us the opportunity to live with a small
footprint on the earth.
If, on the other hand, we are lazy or only think about nature
when we are out of our daily lives, then our impact can be
tremendous. The nonprofit organization Redefining Progress
has put together a quick test to see what your ecological
footprint would be. You can take the test at www.lead.org/leadnet/footprint/intro.htm.
The sidebar shows how I answered the questions, and here are
my results:
Worldwide, the biologically productive space available per
person is 5.4 acres. I use 4 times that. My Eco-Footprint
measures 83.1 percent of an average American Footprint.
The test also asks how much of the biosphere I would like
to preserve for other species. I said 50%. Under that calculation
I believe everyone should be able to live a satisfying life
on 2.7 acres, so it would require 7.7 earths to support each
member of the present human population at my standard of living.
Hey, did I show you my t-shirt collection?
Takoma Park resident Ned Daly is the
Vice President of Operations for the Forest Stewardship Council,
a nonprofit organization which promotes responsible forestry
and certifies sustainably produced wood. He is the former
director of Forest Policy for the Consumer's Choice Council,
where he led campaigns for procurement of certified wood products.
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