It's the Big Things That Matter

Recently, on Eco Design + Living, I asked readers to share some of the things they are doing to decrease their ecological footprint. Read about it here. Some of you may be wondering what an ecological footprint is and how it's calculated. For those who already know, I encourage you to take the test again over a period of time to see a comparison. For those wanting to be in the know, an ecological footprint is the amount of natural resources, calculated as an area, it takes to sustain a person. These natural resources are the products of our ecosystem that we consume, including the resources needed to take care of our waste. Natural resources are regenerative, though because of the growth of the world's population and the desire for all people to raise their standard of living (amount of consumption) to the level of developed countries, the world is in danger of overshoot. What this means is that humans are using more resources than the planet can regenerate in a meaningful time. Wastes accumulate; soil, oil, and water decline; and species are pushed to the brink of extinction.

These natural resources are the underlying foundation of our economy (the sale of goods and services derived from natural resources) that is showing signs of serious strain. Some believe we are experiencing a recession that has finally hit bottom and we're now poised for the growth machine to kick in. While I don't doubt that we will have fits and starts over the years to come, we are facing an undeniable truth - we are bumping up against the natural limitations to growth, ecosystem overload, a planet full of humans with endless needs and desires. As soon as growth gets going again and investors speculate on expanding growth, we'll soon face higher energy costs. Then comes the increase in food prices, as nitrogen becomes more expensive. As things become more expensive, life becomes less affordable, and so forth and so on, like a see saw, we move up the growth ladder, then we get knocked back down.

How can we learn to do things differently? to desire a different outcome? to behave differently and have different expectations? What if we could prosper without continuous growth? What does it mean to prosper? Does this mean you have to get rid of your iPhone? I say "you" because I don't have an iPhone. Never mind.

Back to the Ecological Footprint quiz. My personal continual goal is to reduce my ecological footprint and become more of a producer instead of a consumer. Just for fun, I dragged up an older post from sustainingsowal.wordpress.com about my ecological footprint. Read below, if you're so inclined. Since then, I have taken the quiz several times and once as an exercise in an Ecological Economics course. The instructor just so happened to be the friend of Mathis Wackernagel, the developer of the calculation method of the ecological footprint. The number one complaint of the students in the course was their frustration at feeling like they were high on the eco-friendly scale, only to discover that their footprints weren't drastically different from their non-recycling, fast food eating, SUV driving, plastic bag using peers.

Why not so different? It's the big things, not the little things that make a difference. My dear friend, Christian Wagley has explained and made this all too clear to me over the last few years. It doesn't mean a hill of beans if you use cloth bags, if you still drive your gas guzzling car all over town. Are you a do-gooder, recycling that evil plastic cup? Think again. If you are a regular meat eater, you're having more negative impact on the planet than a few plastic cups. That's why unless we make fundamental changes to the way we live, our ecological footprint barely budges. Want to make an impact? Stop eating meat and switch to a vegetarian diet. Take in a roommate or family member. More people under the same roof, sharing resources, lessens your impact on the planet. Give up your car. Bike, walk, or take public transportation. Stop flying. One trip across the country by plane can undo all the little good things you do in a year.

Think I'm kidding? Think again. Take the test and see for yourself. In the meantime, read one of my earlier posts on the subject. It's entertaining. On a more positive note, my friend Christian also reminds me that it's the execution of the little things we do that brings us to awareness and capability of the bigger things. Live well! Chandra

I’ve been avoiding taking the Ecological Footprintquiz due to the fact that living in the United States inherently means my footprint is grossly disproportionate to other struggling souls in developing nations. It’s just another reminder of the excesses we take for granted and actually declare “necessities” in our privileged society.

The other reason for my personal avoidance of the test is because I find the simple, brief, watered down test, robs one of the opportunity to somewhat redeem themselves by omitting the details of ones personal conservation efforts. On the other hand, I could take the expanded, more thorough test, which asks questions like, “how many pounds of vegetables do you eat a week?” Since I suffer, like most Americans, from ISAS (internetshort attention span), I’ll have to save that test for another day, say when I have a produce scale handy.

None the less, I decided it was time to take the plunge and face up to my overconsumptive self and take the abbreviated quiz. I took two quizzes to compare the results, then realized they were linked to the same site. The results were as expected, sort of.
Taken from Earth Day Network

Category acres: food 4.7, mobility 1, shelter 4.2, good/services 3.5 total footprint 13

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 3 planets.
…and from Redefining Progress

Your Ecological Footprint is:
32.68 Global Hectares
Global Average Footprint: 21 global hectares
Sustainable Footprint: 15 global hectares

According to my handy dandy Pocket Ref guide, my 32.68 global hectares equates to 80.75 acres. There seems to be some discrepancy between the two quizzes that are actually from the same source.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an advocate for reducing our ecological footprints and I think such quizzes can be educational, though I think there is inherent danger in providing these quizzes to the average person that has very little knowledge of what constitutes an ecological footprint and the need to reduce it. For instance, if someone were to take this basic quiz, which doesn’t appear to take into account the fact that someone has diligently changed all their appliances to Energy Star or switched out all their bulbs for CFL’s, they may at first glance at the results be quite put out. They may think to themselves, “Even with the efforts I’ve made, it would still take 3 planets to sustain everyone globally at my current consumption. Hmmm…3 planets, that’s just a monumental thought beyond the scope of what I can personally affect.”
What we really need, which may already exist, are smaller, incremental measures of our advances toward sustainability. Something that the average person can get their arms around and really identify with, like getting on the scale and realizing you lost 3 pounds. Something more in line with our short attention spans.

Well, I know I’ll be diligently working on reducing my footprint in 2007 and there after. So, when you see me at For the Health Of It with my purple reusable bags, or you see my yard has transformed into an edible oasis, or I show up to a meeting on my bike a bit bedraggled, you’ll know why.

Eco Design + Living is an online resource for living sustainably on the Emerald Coast and beyond. For more information e-mail chandra@cfhdesignstudio.com