Blog Assignment 9: My Ecological Footprint

1. What is your ecological footprint? (That is, if everyone lived like you, how many earths would it take to support the world population?)

My ecological footprint if everyone lived like me would be 5.01 earths.

2. As the world population grows, how will this impact the amount of resources (food, electricity, water, etc.) each person can consume and still remain within the sustainability of our planet? That is, what lifestyle changes will we need to make in order to ensure there is enough food and energy to sustain everyone?







3. What is the IPCC? What does it do?

The IPCC is the worlds leading authority on the science of climate change. They document the causes of global warming, which countries and which ecosystems are most affected. The IPCC also makes sure that policy makers know what they need to do to keep warming at or below the critical two-degree threshold.

4. Which climates require the most energy and the least energy on average to live in? (Give an example of a country for each)

The climates that require the most energy are coller climates such as Siberia because they need lots of heat for lighting and for cooking. The climates that require the least energy are hot and humid climates like Phoenix, Arizona, although there is still energy required for cooling as well as refrigeration it is not as bad as the cooler climates.

5. What is the Climate Action Network? What does it do?

The Climate Action Network is a worldwide network of over 265 non governmental organizations. The CAN works to promote government and individual action to mimit human-induced climate change to ecologically substainable levels. The members of CAN work to achieve this particular goal through the coordination of information exchange and NGO strategy on international, regional and national climate issues.

6. How do energy efficient appliances, line-drying your clothes, and using compact fluorescent light bulbs each help to reduce carbon emissions?

Energy efficient appliances help to reduce carbon emissions by using 2 to 10 times less energy. Line drying clothes instead of using a dryer saves 3 to 4 kilowatt hours per load-which equals out to about 5 pounds of carbon dioxide. Using compact flourescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs use four times less energy and last eight times longer.

7. Why are compact urban living and rural living more energy efficient than sprawling suburbs?

Compact urban living and rural living is more energy efficient than sprawling suburbs because carbon emissions are generally highest for households living in newer suburbs and because spread out suburbs require far more energy per person for public infrastructure.

8. What are carbon offsets?

Carbon offsets help consumers reduce their carbon footprint and make you, your car and your entire household carbon neutral.

9. Why does eating meat require more energy than eating plants?

Eating meat requires more energy than eating plants because a plant-based diet is significantly less land and energy intensive than a diet with a high proportion of meat, seafood, and dairy. Meat production also drives deforestation and requires high inputs of energy for processing and transportation.

10. How do food miles and food processing and packaging play a role in a person’s ecological footprint? How do personal and community gardens help alleviate this?

Food miles and food processing and packaging play a role in a person's ecological footprint because if your food comes from far away it requires alot of energy for transportation and refrigeration. If the food is hightly processed and comes in copious paper it puts a strain on forests. Personal and community gardens help relieve the enormous enviornmental impacts associated with industrial agriculture. Also, studies show that home or community gardening can add $500 to $1,200 worth of produce per year to a familys diet which is of great help to low income families.

11. What is a “food footprint?” What is a “housing footprint?”

A "food footprint" is the area needed to grow crops, fish and graze animals as well as carbon emissions from food processing and transport. A "housing footprint" is the area occupied by your home and the area needed to supply resources used in construction and household maintenance.

12. What construction and design features contribute to green buildings?

The type of construction and design features that contribute to green buildings are passive solar heating, water efficient fixtures, and recycled materials.

13. Finish the following statement: Energy is required to _deliver_ and __treat__fresh water. We can reduce our water footprint by ___60%___ and ____more____.

14. Describe two benefits of “green” cleaning products.

One benefit is that they are not harmful to humans another would be that they don't contaminate water supplies.

15. What is planned obsolescence? How can we counter it?

Planned obsolescence is the deliberate manufacturing of products to wear out quickly. We can counter it by trying to repair things as mjuch as possible and oly buying products that are designed to last.

16. What are the five environmental and economic benefits of recycling?

1. Reduced landfill space
2. Fewer demands on raw materials
3. Less energy consumption
4. Less air & water pollution
5. Cheaper goods & lower waste disposal bills

17. Click the “Reduce your footprint” link at the end of the survey and write a one-paragraph plan for how you intend to reduce your footprint. Your plan should include a list of behaviors you are committed to changing. Ideally, I would like you to select at least one behavior from each of the seven categories on the “Reduce your footprint” page that you are going to work on.



I intend to reduce my carbon footprint by walking more instead of driving my car, especially when around my neighborhood. Another way that I want to reduce my footprint is by installing compact flourescent light bulbs around my familys home, and when I own my own house I plan to choose energy efficient appliances. A couple of years ago I used to go to many local farmers markets as well as buy organic fruits and vegetables. I plan on doing this once again and changing my diet to a more fruits and vegetable consumption, rather than meat. Using bio-degradable as well as non-toxic cleaning products instead of harmful ones will also be a new goal of mine. I pledge to take shorter showers and only wash full loads of clothes and air dry my clothes afterwards on a clothes line instead of a dryer. I will recycle everything I can recycle, but waste less and buy less things that I do not need.