Environmental Footprint

1. Based on your findings from the ecological footprint calculator, how many Earth’s would be needed to support the global population if everyone lived your same lifestyle? Additionally, describe the impacts on the Earth’s climate, biodiversity, and economic security if every individual in the world lived your same lifestyle and discuss why these impacts would occur.

Answer = I’m sad to say that if the population lived like I do it would take 5.6 Earth’s to sustain us all. It takes 22.6 global acres just to support my life style. That multiplied by the population of the globe would put a huge burned on the earth and all of its resources. My foot prints alone affects the ecosystem around me. The more food I eat and the more energy I use just to sustain myself affects the plant and animal life. The waste and the pollution that I produce takes away from the diversity of my surrounding area.

2. Based on your findings from the ecological footprint calculator, what are the 3 everyday products and practices that contribute most to your environmental footprint?

Answer = I’m not ashamed to say that I eat meat every day. I eat beef, pork, and poultry every day of the week. I also use a large amount of electricity. I never cut off my fans in my home and I have my air condition running consistently during the summer, sometimes in the low 60’s. I also have stopped recycling my paper and plastic as well as not buying recycled paper and other material.

3. Based on the information from the reduce emissions section of the household emissions calculator, name at least 2 actions that you can take to limit your carbon emissions? Include in your answer the exact dollar savings and the weight of carbon dioxide that could be saved (from the calculator results) for each of these two actions.

Answer = One action I can take to limit my carbon emission is to turn down my thermostat by 7 degrees during the summer months. This will save me $71 a year as well as reducing my 1% or by 2,359 pounds of CO2 per year.

Another action I could take is to limit my mileage on my suv. If I limit my weekly travel each week by 10 miles I will save $85 a year as well as reducing my CO2 per year by 625 pounds

4. Does reducing the size of your ecological footprint necessarily mean reducing your quality of life? Why or why not? Are there ways of enhancing your quality of life while lowering your environmental impact?

Answer = I think that if I can reduce my footprint I would actually enhance my quality of life. For instance if I can reduce the amount of meat I eat weekly I can not only be a healthier human but I will also decrease the amount of slaughter for animals, cost for the feed, the packaging and shipping of the meat for the animals. It cost more to keep a cow healthy then it does to grow and eat your own crops. I can also take the bus at least 2 to 3 times a week. Let’s face it the cost of gas is extremely higher and will only get higher and even if I have a hybrid car it would be better if I took the train instead of putting both of my vehicles on the road every day. This will also save me money on gas and maintenance of my vehicle. I’ll try to take the train and bus or even carpool to reduce my ecological footprint in the future.