After taking the quiz via the website my ecological footprint was determined to be 3.6 Earths. I believe the main reasons for it being so high are due to the fact that I live in a household with four other roommates and that our combined resource usage (electricity, gas, waste, etc) is higher then an average household (such as a household with only two occupants).
The disturbing thing is that everyone in my household already does quite a bit to reduce our footprint. Examples of strategies our household uses include: an organic garden on our side yard (where ornamental grass used to grow), a compost box that both recycles household food waste and provides fertilizer for our garden, recycling of everything that can be recycled, energy efficient appliances, and a bio-diesel producer that we use to turn our used cooking oil into fuel for one of our diesel vehicles. Examples of our garden and bio-diesel producer can be seen by visiting greensol.org (Note: You will have to type the address in a new window as the link isn't functioning-both the garden and bio-diesel producer were projects specifically designed for our household by Green Sol, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit I started with a friend of mine two years ago).
The changes we hope to make in the future include retro-fitting solar panels and wind turbines (as time and funding for Green Sol permits) to provide all of the energy our household needs.
It should be evident by my non-profit and sustainable practices thus far that this matter is of great concern to me :)
The long term effects of all of us living with such large ecological footprints should be obvious. If not, let me just say that all of us, right now, are contributing to an unsustainable way of life; a way of life that will eventually lead to our species demise and the demise of the majority of other species on our planet.
Of course its not fair that our country (which has one of the smallest populations on Earth) consumes the majority of resources. However, I believe this fact will not change as long as we are slaves to our monetary system. That topic I will leave for another time (my blog group would be just such a time) and end by saying that people in other countries are already being effected by what the industrialized world has been doing for decades. The bottom line is that those people wont have to worry about scrounging for resources because if we as a society continue on the path we are on people will simply cease to exist. Maybe that's not such a bad thing though . . . but its unfortunate how many other species we will take with us.
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I think the general population of people in our area have high footprints. Over the last decade or so, it seems like a ton of people have moved out of the bay area where the homes are very price small apartments to the Roseville area where they can afford spacious homes for the same price. If the reason for them moving was because they needed more space because of family growth then that would be more acceptable. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind people moving from the bay area or anywhere else, the point is that people are purchasing homes larger than they need, which in many ways helps enlarge individuals ecological footprint whether its through cutting down trees to add the extra loft to the house or to destroying the natural habitat which once inhabited the region. I feel like you’ve done a great job with having roommates rather than each friend in taking up space with their own place, as well as economically friendly discarding some wastes into your compost to growing foods in that same compost to help sustain your life. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteJoseph Di Giordano
You have really given me some food for thought on other ways how I can reduce my footprint. If the world had more people like you our environment would be better off than it is now. Even though you have four roommates you are all conserving space and sustain your resources through recycling and growing some of your own organic food. If I had the space for any type of garden I would take full advantage but unfortunately some college students are limited. I highly agree with the fact that if everyone does not do something soon it will be the end of our demise. But I guess one person at a time. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteKimberly
I think that your garden and bio-disel fuel producer is awesome. Most people do not take the time to do these small things, myself included. I think that America can set the example and other countries will follow. I also believe that if public transportation had better funding and was more practical that a lot more people would take public transportation instead of everyone driving a car. Think about bigger cities like NYC or Boston, they have awesome public transportation and it is no big deal to to take it. In most circumstances people don't even own a car. Personally it is hard for me to imagine not having complete control over when I am coming or going somewhere, but that is how I was raised. We always had a car but I would like to see some change in transportation as well as how much we dispose of materials.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am amazed on how well you and your roommates are doing to trying to help our beautiful earth. I am so glad to hear there are people like you. I really hope that you are successful in all you are tyring to accomplish. You mentioned you would have to have about 3 earths for your style of living. That is half of what I would take. I take 6 earths and there is only two in my home. You have really opened my eyes in trying to do better. I hope you and your roommates the best. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you and your roommates for doing so much and actually caring about the impact you make on the environment. I too have been looking into creating a garden at my house, most likely a raised vegetable garden (because I am a vegetarian), which I would also create a compost pile so I get the best quality of clean and fertile soil. I must admit I'm jealous that you and your roommates will be installing solar panels and also use wind power for energy. That is something I have been trying to convince my parents to do with their house for quite sometime now without success.
ReplyDeleteMy question to you though is: What do you power your bio-diesel producing water heater? It looks like it is hooked up to the house working off of household electricity.
Wow you definately put most of us to shame when in comes to conserving. The biodiesel has always been an intrest to me, though it seems i haven't heard much about it considering how long its been around. Were the alterations done to the truck expensive/difficult? I would like to hear more about what you've done and personally would consider a biodiesel vehicle.
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