I think most everyone these days is aware of climate change and the impact our decisions have on our future. Heck, even Target has started offering 5 cents off your purchase if you bring your own bag! I have been personally focused on this issue for a long time, and have been on sort of a "granola crusade" for several years now! :)
I swear to you, I feel like I'm doing almost everything I possibly can to reduce my use of resoruces. I took a quiz today, in honor of Blog Action Day, and was surprised by my results -- if everyone alive on planet Earth lived as I, we'd need 1.43 Earths to accomodate everyone!
What? We don't have enough Earths!
My highest score, although well below average, was my carbon footprint. I thought the suggestions given for reducing my carbon footprint were a little bit silly, because I really do all of those things already. I bus halfway across town to work, we buy compact fluorescent lightbulbs, we hardly ever fly, we unplug/shut off appliances when not in use, (our power bill is less than $20 per month, and we pay extra for 100% wind energy,) but that area is still my highest. Why? Well, for starters, I live in an apartment building, which means I have little control over appliances, insulation, green building, and the like, and truthfully, Dan and I still drive quite a bit. Dan's car is old and not terribly fuel-efficient, and we know someday we'd like a hybrid. We also like to travel, and travel by car is still the cheapest option for us -- bus and train tickets are often much more expensive than a tank or so of gas needed for visits to the family, and there's no way we'd get all of our camping equipment on a train! :)
What to do? Buy carbon offsets? Maybe this is our best choice for now. And we'll keep that hybrid in mind for the future . . . .
I encourage you to take the test and check out your score -- you may be as surprised as I! Don't be fooled by those below-average scores you may get, either -- clearly, "average" ain't doing us a whole lot of good these days! We should all aim for scoring at or below the "one Earth" level, since, well, that's all we have.
Happy Blog Action Day! It's not too late to join in if you're interested!
(And, if you take the quiz, leave me a comment with the link to your score if you're willing!)
2 comments:
Ok, I'm posting mine and I feel horrible about the result: 3.76 earths. My carbon footprint is highest.
So, where are the issues?
Mostly driving. I drive almost everywhere by myself. I fly at least once a year (hey, this is WAY cut down compared to years past).
Ugh.
Ack--I would need 1.56 earths! I wonder how many the "average" person needs!? Wow.
Courtney
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