Happy Earth Day everyone!
Posted by MizzouKitten on Apr 22, 2007 · Member since Mar 2006 · 289 posts
I'm sure all of you've probably done this at some point, but estimate your Eco-Footprint here:
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
I don't think I have to go to much trouble to tell you guys what YOU can do to reduce your carbon emissions. :P
Mine was 21. I think I travel way too many miles by plane every year, but I really have no choice in that matter. When I built my house, I built it as "green" as I could at the time. Since then I have done so much research on "green design" and building. My next house in Asheville is going to be "off the grid" green! No more electric or heating bills for me. Regardless of the upfront costs, I am going to use geothermal heating and cooling, and solar for all my power. I also plan on using lots of old timbers (post and beam house), flooring, etc. If I have my home completed by this time next year, I'd be really happy if I can cut that number down by 1/2 to 2/3....I'll take it again next Earth Day, and we'll see! :)
-dave
I got an 11.
I took a bit hit on "shelter". In my defense, I usually only use one fluorescent light at a time. In the winter I heat the warmest part of my house to 58 F and in the summer I don't use an air conditioner (I use fans), so the result from the quiz may be artificially high.
I got a 12; shelter was my big hit, too.
I was a bit unnerved by "If eveyone lived like you, we'd need 2.7 planets." yikes!
I took a pretty big hit on shelter as well. I did build this home with conservation in mind. I guess the sq. footage for one person is what killed me on it. Though I was wondering if I went back and added all my dogs in the "number of people living in the home" question, would that be considered cheating? I mean I consider them to be "people" and they probably are "better people" then most "People" I know! ::)
I got a 7; BUT that's probably mostly due to the fact that A) I live in a large dorm, which cuts a lot of housing I think, B) I don't own a car, and walk EVERYWHERE when I'm on campus (when I'm home, I drive fairly regularly, so my number is probably lower than it ought to be) and C) I'm poor, so I don't have the opportunity to fly much. Oh, and well, vegan of course. :P And my number STILL required 1.5 planets to sustain the population if they all lived like me. :(
8.7
13 is my score and could be a lot better. Working on it!
My score is a 38.
8.6 planets.
I live alone. I have no public transportation available to me.
But, I produce far much less trash than my neighbors. And I hardly buy anything. Also, I drive very little more than to and from work (only about 7 miles away) and every other place I go is only a couple miles away. What gives?
I KNOW it's my house.
If there were a hell, I know my spot would be waiting for me.
If there were a hell, I know my spot would be waiting for me.
No worries, Will says that he'll save you a spot (not for environmental reasons, but for plenty of others) ;D
I got a 13. 2.8 earths to support my lifestyle! :o Holy crap!
My biggest hit was shelter & my house is only 800 square feet. Food was the next hit because honestly, I think most of it is from over 200 miles away, even if it is healthy.
Great site!!! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to send to all my friends & family & hopefully hear back from them.
My score is a 38.
8.6 planets.
I live alone. I have no public transportation available to me.
But, I produce far much less trash than my neighbors. And I hardly buy anything. Also, I drive very little more than to and from work (only about 7 miles away) and every other place I go is only a couple miles away. What gives?
I KNOW it's my house.
If there were a hell, I know my spot would be waiting for me.
Hey CateS,
I also live alone and make much less trash then my neighbors....as a matter of fact, I am the ONLY person in my neighborhood that recycles, AND I recycle stuff from my friends as well! (Do I get credit for that). I drive a car that gets great gas mileage, and like you I don't even have the option of public transportation. I do travel on planes and tour buses for my work, but during the months at a time that I am off, I don't drive any distance to a job. If I'm well stocked up in my house, there are times I don't even touch my car for close to a week. Oh well.....
Hey Liz, ask Will if he can keep another spot open down there for me as well......probably for a lot of the same reasons. ::)
I got a 7; BUT that's probably mostly due to the fact that A) I live in a large dorm, which cuts a lot of housing I think, B) I don't own a car, and walk EVERYWHERE when I'm on campus (when I'm home, I drive fairly regularly, so my number is probably lower than it ought to be) and C) I'm poor, so I don't have the opportunity to fly much. Oh, and well, vegan of course. :P And my number STILL required 1.5 planets to sustain the population if they all lived like me. :(
I got a 7, too, for similar reasons: I live in a small space with 3 others, walk everywhere & sometimes use the bus, etc. However, I am going to try my best to keep living this kind of lifestyle when I go out on my own...hopefully, an even better one. Still using up too many earths! :-\
So, just for fun I pretended to be a single, motorbike and SUV-wielding, large-house-dwelling, essentially carnivorous, wasteful American consumer... I got a 120. If everyone lived like me, we would need 26.9 planets. :P Amusing, yet horrifying at the same time... because I'm sure there are more than a few of those out there.
Wow Mizzoukitten you just described my parents perfectly! Too bad I can't get them to see it.... :'(
i went out today and purchased a bunch of herbs to grow in my soon-to-be garden. cilantro, basil, thyme, lavender.
and some daisies for my front yard.
mine was 10. I got a hit on my food. I'm sure that it's because most of my stuff isn't packaged, but it's from far away. And I algo got hit on shelter. We have 6 people in our hosue and about 1800 sq ft. and we're squished! This was very interesting though. 2.2 planets to support my lifestyle. scarrryyy :o
I also get a 10....my biggest hit was shelter. I live in a 3 bedroom house with only one other person. We considered getting another roommate again, but the 3rd room belongs to the dogs. We have a little managree going with my two and all the fosters coming in and out.
I was very pleased with my mobility score of .7 ;D I purposefully do NOT own a car, and elected to move back to Tucson, in part for the public busses (we didn't have public transportation in new england) But it kinda feels like cheating cause I LIKE to walk and ride my bike....
Also, I'm not sure how to judge the waste thing. I think its less though. I'm not sure. My sister and I only have to empty the kitchen trash like once every two weeks. We compost and recycle ;) I have no idea how often my neighbors empty their trash
Question: Do you think if I am composting my organic waste rather than throwing it out I'm actually HURTING the planet? I kind of feel like things like my banana peels, melon rind and apple cores would act as a sort of catalyst for breaking down biodegradable things in the landfills....
We planted a tree in honour of earth day.
We were gonna plant an apple tree, but realized at the garden center we'd either have to buy two trees for the cross pollination or buy a self pollinating tree (they had a few, but they were to big for my truck). So lil' p and I picked a wee three foot cedar, they're a native species in our part of the forest, so that's better. Of coarse as we're planting the tree I look into the neighbours yard and notice their nice little apple tree starting to blossom!!!
K^2
I recieved a 18 (sniff) - I travel too much for work (wipes nose on sleeve)
:'(