I took the test and if everybody lived like me we would need 2.72 earths 
What about you?
http://myfootprint.org
What about you?
http://myfootprint.org
What is YOUR ecological footprint?
- Thread starter storealex
- Start date
2.74. Though the quiz fails to capture how minimalist my lifestyle really is.
Yeah, seem alright as an average, but I suspect I'd have to lie my way through a bunch of lifestyle changes to get an accurate assessment.
I drive a compact 4-door car (which isn't effective), but I'm particularly efficient in my driving habits - most of the hybrids I see around here are larger vehicles which get worse fuel economy than me anyway.
Compact fluorescent bulbs - LEDs. More efficient than average LEDs, at that.
Use power strips to turn off stand-by lights - I've mostly hacked the LED standby lights out of my electronics because of their annoyance factor.
Turn off computers and monitors when not in use - Monitors off, computers on, but they're literally never "not in use" and I've taken special care to select low power parts and high efficiency power supplies.
Dry clothes outside whenever possible - I have an indoor clothes line, so I hang dry clothes always. (And always cold-water wash.)
Keep thermostat relatively low in winter - Yeah, 18.5 for the few hours per day that I'm home/awake, off while I'm at work or in bed. No A/C.
Unplug small appliances when not in use - Don't own any small appliances that draw any standby power.
Minimal use of power equipment when landscaping - Landscaping?
And site is all janked up and breaks without cookies or something, so didn't give me a score. Don't care enough to redo.
Edit: Also I mostly don't eat meat.
3.2 earths, but I felt like I had to lie a lot as well. I don't own a car, and I have no idea how to estimate how many miles a year I travel on the subway or on a bus.
I could probably be doing more for the environment, but I suspect I also do more than the average American.
I could probably be doing more for the environment, but I suspect I also do more than the average American.
The quiz is quite California-centric. The way they obsess about water.
I get values between 1.15 and 1.4, depending on how i decide the close calls and things that don't really apply to me.
With a car and dairy, no less.
I get values between 1.15 and 1.4, depending on how i decide the close calls and things that don't really apply to me.
With a car and dairy, no less.
Spoiler :
Mise
isle of lucy
I'm at 1.70. I don't know where I was when I took this last - does anyone have a link to the previous thread? My carbon footprint is very low because I have 100% renewable electricity (and no other energy sources in my house, i.e. no natural gas), and I offset 200% of my carbon emissions (so even if carbon offsetting is twice as inefficient as they expect, I should still be neutral). I don't drive and I walk to work. I use public transport to get around but like dt I struggled to estimate. I said I travelled on average 8km per week by public transport, which is 1 trip to central london and back (4km each way) per week, plus I make maybe 12 longer trips (e.g. to my parents) which averaged 40km each. Problem is I also take the bus rather than train, but meh, it can't be too far out. This isn't one I can do much about personally as I have already eliminated the vast majority of regular travel by walking to work and back.
Speaking of which, the test is really good at highlighting where the Quick Wins are. I can easily cut my food footprint by making some smarter purchases. I've already cut out a lot of meat by decreeing that I'm not allowed to cook meat at home. However, I have compensated for this on a subconscious level by eating more meat when I'm at restaurants and buying more takeaways... I'll have to make a stronger rule, so that my foodbrain doesn't scupper my attempts at cutting down on the meat.
In terms of meat consumption specifically, I can probably cut out cows and pigs from my diet. Chicken farming and sustainable fishing are much less damaging to the environment than farming cows and pigs, so this would be a good next step.
Other than that, hopefully this will push me towards a more vegetarian diet. It's good for my health too, not to mention my conscience...
Full results for the curious:
Speaking of which, the test is really good at highlighting where the Quick Wins are. I can easily cut my food footprint by making some smarter purchases. I've already cut out a lot of meat by decreeing that I'm not allowed to cook meat at home. However, I have compensated for this on a subconscious level by eating more meat when I'm at restaurants and buying more takeaways... I'll have to make a stronger rule, so that my foodbrain doesn't scupper my attempts at cutting down on the meat.
In terms of meat consumption specifically, I can probably cut out cows and pigs from my diet. Chicken farming and sustainable fishing are much less damaging to the environment than farming cows and pigs, so this would be a good next step.
Other than that, hopefully this will push me towards a more vegetarian diet. It's good for my health too, not to mention my conscience...
Full results for the curious:
I eat a of lot of meat, cheese and like. Guess it's also the area where life style changes will be hardest for me to implement. I'd gladly move closer to work, install solar panels, grow my own herbs etc. But I cannot imagine living without meat.
It's really very simple. I started a one-month trial a few years ago where I stopped buying meat when I went shopping... and that was basically all there was to it. I was kind of shocked at how easy it was, and how little I missed meat.
Mise
isle of lucy
Yeah it's really easy not to buy meat. It's a lot harder, I find, to choose not to eat meat if there's already a meat dish right in front of you.
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
4.04. I don't know if it really accurately adjusts for foreign countries. I laughed when I got to the part about house size—500 square feet would be almost double the size of my current apartment.
Mise
isle of lucy
Yeah my flat is 38 sq m, smaller than the smallest option in the list by quite some margin...
Leonel
Breakfast Connoisseur
4.25 Earths! I win and the children of the future lose! I did really good on my carbon and housing footprints, did okay on goods and services but was a little higher on my food. A lot of the carbon foot printing is simply because 86% of the Pacific Northwest's power is hydroelectric so I'm pretty sure my carbon would be way higher anywhere else.
Borachio
Way past lunacy
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2012
- Messages
- 26,698
Spoiler :
Perfection
The Great Head.
4.59 Earths.
Well, we're all screwed then I guess.
Well, we're all screwed then I guess.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I refuse to take this test since it says to pick a language and I don't speak American, I speak English. 
But what exactly are their guidlines for the test?
But what exactly are their guidlines for the test?
My flying really socked it to me too. I actively fly less than I could. But, it's still a pretty big deal I guess. My only consolation is that I travel really light.
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