Ecological Footprint Results

Hi there!
This blog is to track my sustainability lifestyle practices in order to reduce my ecological footprint. According to the quiz on www.myfootprint.org, if everyone lived my lifestyle, we would need 5.17 Earths! You can view my results here: http://www.myfootprint.org/en/your_results/?id=638808



My results show that I use 67% of the country's average carbon footprint.
Some of the ways I am currently reducing my carbon footprint:

• I walk or take the bus when I can. The last three years I have lived really close to campus and haven't even owned a car. I bought a car in June because I got tired of having to coordinate with Greyhound schedules to get home. However, now I live behind the park and ride and I take the bus to and from campus daily.
  
• I don't let my car idle. I rarely go through a drive-thru.
  
• I have only owned my car a few months but I plan on having it serviced regularly.
• I don't take short air plane trips. Normally when I fly, it's across the pond. I have been to Scotland twice.
  
• I use energy efficient appliances.
  
• I rarely turn the heat on. Last winter my roommates and I practically froze, just so we didn't have a high electric bill.
  
• I don't landscape, therefore I don't need power equipment.
• Puget Sound Energy already has an extra charge for green energy in the bill.

My results show that I use 173% of the country's average food footprint.
Currently I am not reducing my food footprint. Hence, this blog entitled "Piggin' out on the Planet."

My results show that I use 53% of the country's average housing footprint.
Some of the ways I am currently reducing my housing footprint:

• I take short showers.
  
• I take less frequent showers.
  
• I run the dishwasher only when it's full. I have even talked to my roommates about doing the same.
• 
  I only do my laundry when I need to. I have to talk to my roommates about this one. The seem to do laundry all the time! Did I mention they are boys? I don't get it
• Since I bought my car in June I have definitely only washed it twice. Is that rare enough?
  
• I don't hose down the walkway, driveway or deck

My results show that I use about 14% of the country's average goods and services footprint.
Some of the ways I am currently reducing my goods and services footprint:

• I buy what I need and only when I really need it. I have had the same shirts, jeans and shoes for years. I really do get sick of my clothes. Also, I only buy new appliances and electronics when they are actually broken.
• I'm a frugal spender. I have about 4 times as much money in my savings account as I do in my checking account.
  
• I recycle all glass, paper, aluminum, and plastic.
  
• I compost when on campus.
  
• My notebooks for school are from recycled paper.
  

After all of these attempts at reducing my ecological footprint, we would still need 5.17 Earths to live the way I do. Even though I am below average for 3 out of the 4 areas, needing 173% of the country's average food footprint shot my number of Earths sky high.

I know that eating meat and dairy on a daily basis is a direct result but I'm not sure that's going to change. I grew up in a household that had a portion of meat with every dinner meal and dairy regularly. Now that I am a college student, I don't cook very much but I still have meat or dairy at least once a day. Whenever I go out to eat, I get a steak or a hamburger because if I'm paying to go out, then I want to eat something I like. So for this project I will have to find something else to change.

Changes I am going to make and track this quarter include:

• .
  Turning off my laptop when I am not using it. Currently I keep my laptop on all day while I’m at class so I can jump right on it when I get home. I also keep it on during the night so I can check my e-mail first thing in the morning without having to wait for it to boot up. Starting today, I will turn my laptop off whenever I am not using it. I will also unplug the power cord from the wall when it is fully charged so I am not wasting energy.

• Along those same lines, I will not charge my phone at night. It only takes about 2 hours to charge my phone, yet I leave it plugged in all night. I also forget to take the charger out of the wall socket so it is constantly seeping energy that isn’t being used. I will charge my phone when I get home from class for the required time and then remove the charger from the wall. I will wait for my phone to die completely before charging it on a more frequent basis.
  

• I will drive less and take the bus more. Currently I take the bus to and from class everyday. However, during the evenings I tend to take the bus to the various clubs and sporting events I attend each night. Instead of driving because it’s convenient , takes less time and I don’t have to worry about bus schedules, I will plan my time more wisely and take the bus to and from my evening events as well. If I have to drive somewhere for groceries or another errand, I will try to carpool as much as possible.
  
  

Starting September 28, 2009, I plan to be more aware about these things and begin to change my actions in order to reduce my ecological footprint. I will write about my progress at least once a week.