Ecological Footprint: How Much Nature Do We Use?

Part A

After taking the ecological footprint assessment, I was surprised that I had such a high ecological footprint. If everyone was to live like me, we would need 3.7 more earths to accommodate everyone, thus the urgent need to change my lifestyle. I have always known that every person’s actions have a consequence, and whatever one does will impact their life. As such, I always watch my ecological footprint. However, learning that services constituted a higher percentage of the ecological footprint than food for me was very surprising. I believe that I can reduce my ecological footprint to a smaller percentage by reducing the number of times I travel solo and instead take walks whenever I can (Arsenault et al. 2019). An obstacle to talking more walks would be that I would likely run late; thus, I plan on purchasing a bicycle. This will reduce my energy consumption and ecological footprint and increase my chances of traveling faster to avoid getting late. I believe that these actions will help reduce my ecological footprint. I however might  

Part B

The carbon footprint calculator helped me understand how much my household contributes to carbon emissions in the world. I was shocked to learn the difference between my total current carbon emissions and that of the average American household. I learned that my carbon footprint is at 27,452, while that of the average American household is 53,585. I thought that my average would be less than the amount I got, which has thus become a wake-up call for me. I believe I can significantly reduce my carbon emissions by recycling more plastics containers and papers. I will also begin recycling aluminum and steel since I have realized that they have a big potential in reducing carbon emission. I will also stop using incandescent light bulbs in the household and use energy star lights to save up on energy (Rácz, 2012). I expect that changing my incandescent light bulbs will be an obstacle since the energy star light bulbs are quite expensive. However, I plan on phasing them out gradually to mitigate the cost while also reducing my carbon footprint. I realize that these contributions might not help in reducing tons of carbon emissions, but I believe that every effort in reducing carbon emissions is worth it.

Part C

My current water footprint statistic lies at 1371 gallons a day, which is slightly lower than that of the US average. I was shocked to realize that my diet consumed more gallons a day than showers/bathing. However, I now realize that using low-pressure showerheads helps mitigate water consumption, thus reducing one’s water footprint (Water Footprint Calculator, 2017). To reduce my water footprint, I plan to reduce my caffeine intake as I am fond of drinking coffee. I also plan on adopting the use of soy milk as I am fond of drinking cow’s milk, which I now know has the highest water footprint (Water Footprint Calculator, 2017). I also plan on installing a low-flow faucet in my kitchen sink to reduce the flow of water to 1.5 gallons a minute (Water Footprint Calculator, 2017). I know that through these lifestyle changes, I will face the obstacle of changing my coffee and milk-drinking habits since I have gotten used to them. I, however, plan on replacing cows’ milk with soy milk which I plan to use in making my tea to get the caffeine I crave .

References

Arsenault, J., Talbot, J., Boustani, L., Gonzalès, R., & Manaugh, K. (2019). The environmental footprint of academic and student mobility in a large research-oriented university. Environmental Research Letters, 14(9), 095001 . https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab33e6

Rácz, D. A. (2012). Why invest in energy efficiency? the example of lighting. Journal of Environmental Sustainability, 2(2), 1. https://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=jes

Water Footprint Calculator. (2017). Cooking. https://www.watercalculator.org/posts/cooking/

Water Footprint Calculator. (2017). Eating lower on the food chain . https://www.watercalculator.org/posts/food-choices/

Water Footprint Calculator. (2017). Shower & bath. https://www.watercalculator.org/posts/shower-bath/