Ecological Footprint Quiz Results
CATEGORY
ACRES
FOOD
6.9
MOBILITY
0.5
SHELTER
5.7
GOODS/SERVICES
5.7
TOTAL FOOTPRINT
19
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 4.2 PLANETS.
It's clear to see that I use much more than my fair share of the world's resources. In fact, I use 14.5 more acres than should be equitably allotted to me. That means that I am cutting into productive acres and resources of many other people. I knew my living was wasteful and compared to the world, on the extravagant side, but I guess I didn't realize that my living was costing other people (people in poverty) some of the world's resources. And the problem is, its not just me. The rest of America lives just as wastefully, if not more, than I do. The average ecological footprint of people in America is 24 acres per person. Thats 19.5 more than we all deserve! Is it really fair that Americans use 5 times more than their fair share of the world's resources? Absolutely not! But the wasteful and carefree manner that most Americans are accustomed to living is so embedded in our culture and way of living that it is very hard for us to realize it and even harder for us to change it. But something really needs to be done. We are consuming the world's resources and damaging the environment in astronomical amounts at great rates. This creates a problem for the world that we aren't owning up to. Our lifestyles have consequences, and the amounts that we consume should definitely bring significant responsibility to our country to address these consequences. The amount of food we eat puts a lot of strain on productive farmland, the amount of CO2 we release has probably contributed significantly to Global Warming and the amount of "stuff" we consume uses up the world's resources at an unsustainable rate. Yet, instead of taking responsibility for its actions, the U.S. tends to try to back out of the responsibility. Unless we can come up with 3.2 more planets, America really needs to own up to its overconsumption, try to fix the problems it has created and begin to make adjustments in the way we treat our environment.
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2 comments:
I never really thought much about how many of the resources I used until this. It is amazing how much of an impact it has on the world's resources and we do need to change how we are living and you're right, it's going to be hard to change since it is so embedded in the American culture.
Yes, its too much that we use in extra! You are correct that changing an ecological footprint is not in an individual person's hand, but we can ofcourse start with one...
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