I just took the Ecological Footprint quiz and if everyone lived the way I did, we would need 5.28 earths! My first reaction was what am I doing?? After I read some other blog posts I realized I am not the only one which made me feel a little better but I was still shocked. To the right is a graph showing what my usage is compared to the country's average. This graph also made things look a little better and it was interesting to see it all broken down. I live in a small apartment which is why my housing footprint is a lot lower than the country's average, but in every other category I am pretty much even.
This quiz really opened my eyes. The quiz asked questions that I never really took the time to think about and now I see how much even the little things effect the environment. I do some little things like recycle, trying not to take long showers, and my roommate and I pretty much always have slippers, sweatshirts, and sweatpants on because we keep our apartment between 60-65 degrees.
After seeing what my lifestyle is doing to the earth I plan to make some changes. I am going to start off slowly by trying to remember to unplug our small things when were not using them, and buying some new lightbulbs...anythng will help right?
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Hey Shannon, good idea on adding your graph into the post. Isn't it weird what even though you live in a smaller house every other aspect of the graph is pretty equal to the country average. Makes it seem like you need to make extensive changes to dramatically change your rate. Mine was pretty much in the same line. Nice work on your post!
ReplyDeleteI love the graph, too! Keep us posted on the changes you make!
ReplyDeletethank you for putting up the graph along with your post, its cool to see it that way to compare it. I think we all have been pretty shocked to find out the way we are living and how it is really affecting our world. I too have started unplugging things when they arent in use, just to make some sort of step in the right direction. Good job and good luck!
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked by how high my results were, so don't feel as bad. I also thought...What in the world am I doing? I really like how you included your personal graph of your usage. I think that the fact that you are living in an apartment really did help you, because I live in a house, and when I took my quiz I was way up there partially because of it. I think it is great that you are considering buying new lightbulbs and unplugging things. Every little bit counts. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI am sure anything would help. Unplugging is not a small thing at all, it really helps. We just started that at my house and it saved us a decent amount of money. I really need to cut down my time in the shower as well and running water forever before I actually get in the shower. Smart thinking with the graph!
ReplyDeleteHey Shannon! Reading your post I realized that we do a lot of the same things to try to be environmentally friendly but surprisingly it's not nearly enough. I am also looking for more ways to improve my ecological footpring... every little bit counts! Keep up the good work!
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