One change is that I'm going to buy the new Toyota Prius when it comes out (assuming I've sold off both of my other cars by then), which will just about triple my gas mileage.

Another is that I've started to learn where the organic farmers markets are around me, and I'm slowly starting to get the hang of that. So, I'm not only starting to buy more organic, I'm also buying fewer pre-packaged products and reducing the demand for goods that need to be transported to me.

I also recently started a job that's located one stop away by subway, so I'm going to start taking that instead of driving to work about 98% of the time.

My calculations in that quiz take me down another couple of points, or 1.3 planets.

1.7 planets for me.

I did this a while ago and we needed exacly one planet for me. That was way to close for comfort :eek:

Interesting, I "scored" a total footprint of 11.8

Oh well.

footprint: 11
Much of this is due to the fact that I still live at home, cuz this is definatley not an "eco conscious home"...not with my parents.
lovenlight,
linz

Oh sad! I'm at 13. There's no public transportation around here though, and I haven't a bicycle yet (buying one this summer and sellin my sports car! woo!). And I can't wait to live in an energy efficient environment once I can afford it! I have a new goal now, thanks stellar!!

FOOD 3.5
MOBILITY 3.5
SHELTER 14.3
GOODS/SERVICES 12.1
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 33

"IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 7.5 PLANETS!"

Is that good?

That's, uh, better than some, kpickell.

CATEGORY ACRES

FOOD 4.2

MOBILITY 0.2

SHELTER 4.4

GOODS/SERVICES 3.2

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 12



IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.




IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.7 PLANETS.

I guess thats bad since theres only 1 planet and we would need almost 2 more :| :(:(:(

Well, we only need 7.5 planets for my lifestyle and there are at least 9 in our solar system, so we got room to expand if more people want to follow my lead and live uber-american like me.

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES

FOOD 0.5

MOBILITY 1.1

SHELTER 0.9

GOODS/SERVICES 1.5

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 4

avg canada 8.8

Oh my gosh, nearly 4 planets for me, look out galaxy, here I come to exploit you.

My house is too big (kids all grown); never mind that the garden provides organic fruit, vegetables and herbal meds. My commute is too far. I live in a mountain valley but work in the city, 34mpg but a 60 mile round trip to a job I love as much as I like where I live.

So many things I buy are prepackaged, like pasta and olive oil. I do not have the room or the weather to grow grains so those come packaged. There is no public transportation where I live.

Gosh, you think you are doing so much and find out what a failure you really are. The other thing is that in keeping life simple I know that I am on the lower level of the economic scale in the US, but really, we live too rich.

I'm a 15. Bleh. The public transportation around here really sucks and my car is old and doesn't get the best gas mileage (it's not awful and it's better than half of my co-workers' brand new SUVs, but it's still not that good) and I can't afford a new car right now. The next car I buy will be more fuel-efficient. Now that it's summer, though, most of my produce will be lcoally grown from the farmer's market, so that should help a little.

I found it odd that the footprint quiz didn't ask about recycling.

Originally posted by Kamila
Oh my gosh, nearly 4 planets for me, look out galaxy, here I come to exploit you.

My house is too big (kids all grown); never mind that the garden provides organic fruit, vegetables and herbal meds. My commute is too far. I live in a mountain valley but work in the city, 34mpg but a 60 mile round trip to a job I love as much as I like where I live.

So many things I buy are prepackaged, like pasta and olive oil. I do not have the room or the weather to grow grains so those come packaged. There is no public transportation where I live.

Gosh, you think you are doing so much and find out what a failure you really are. The other thing is that in keeping life simple I know that I am on the lower level of the economic scale in the US, but really, we live too rich.

You're not a failure. You're an improvement, a work in progress. Never sell yourself short, and never give up!

:)

"Failure" was a poor choice perhaps.

When I compare myself to those within my field of vision I am doing well. I have room to feel a bit smug. When I see the bigger picture and realize how far I have to go... well it was an eye opener.

I like the idea of recycling too muppetcow. I just wish we did not have such a large selection of garbage to choose from.

What are "they" doing with all that glass and plastic? I see fleece made from old plastic, but not as much as I see of the plastic. And recycles are soooo expensive.

I also wonder which is really better, one less car in the junkyard or a new car with better mileage? In my case it would be the better mileage I think. Actually, quit my job (I get a whole $200. a month at a private Christian school doing a job that uses none of my talent but all of my heart) would be best, but then what would I do? Sit all day on the net using electricity? I have lost the line between passion and practical.

My footprint is 8 = 1.7 planets.

If you are interested, please read "Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth" by Mathis Wackernagel & William Rees for more information!

FOOD 0.7
MOBILITY 0.2
SHELTER 0.3
GOODS/SERVICES 0.3

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 1.5



IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 5.3 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.


IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.0 PLANETS

Yay! Im within the Global average!

FOOD 1.2

MOBILITY 0.5

SHELTER 1.5

GOODS/SERVICES 2.1

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 5.3

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.


IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.9 PLANETS.

_Hmmh!..

I also need 2.9 planets. :(

I think its because I live in a hot area (picked Atlanta) - I DO use airconditioning, but I think it automatically assumes I do.

It gave me half an acre for mobility, yet I chose 0 for everything because i just ride my bike - figure that one out.

I think that it makes a lot of assumptions. It's a good general guage.

I'm a 6acre kinda person.-- 1.5 planets needed for my kind of people. I still have room for improvement, though.

CATEGORY ACRES

FOOD 2.5

MOBILITY 0.2

SHELTER 4

GOODS/SERVICES 3

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 10

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.2 PLANETS.

I didn't do too well, but I did have to guess on a lot of it. And my parents aren't the most ecologically concerned people (but not the least) and I live w/ them.