Footprint Revisited

This is the last of my footprint blogs for the scholastic quarter.  I have been making serious efforts to reduce my impact on the environment over the past few months, but due to the simplistic nature of the questionnaire and the lack of serious detail that I could apply to my answers I ended up with almost the same score.

Let's Review

 Old Footprint

 = 3.6 Earths, 15.8 global acres

New Footprint Calculation 

= 3.5 Earths, 15.5 global acres

To be quite honest with you I am not terribly sure how exactly this all adds up.  In my opinion I feel that any improvement is a step in the right direction.  In our class we had discussions about the nature of the survey and how an individual's answers are weighted according to where in the world they are due to cultural societal norms and expectations.  For instance, a person answering all of the same questions in the same exact manner might end up with two less Earths simply because they are from a country that is believed to be less wasteful and more proactive in reducing global impacts.  Either way, my numbers have dropped and the exercise has led me to be more thoughtful in the ways in which I interact with my environment and the methods in which I make decisions on food, electricity, and transportation.  

In my first post I had to throw down a few things that I could do to reduce my footprint and be more mindful.  Of the things that I had listed most of them were pretty easy to handle, especially due to the changing of the seasons.  Reducing my energy use for heating?  Right.  As for the efforts that I have taken to unplug appliances and turn off my power strips I have been doing really good.  I have incorporated those actions into my pre-departure routine.  I also stopped purchasing sandwich meat.  I have really missed my peppered turkey and provolone sandwiches with lettuce, pickle, mayo, and garlic mustard.  Yum.  

Half-way through the quarter I reevaluated my methods and included reducing my water use.  My initial thoughts were that if I washed everything all at once it would be a better deal.  That worked out.  I have also been very careful to keep my dish washing water usage to a minimum.  I have actually taken a different stance on the water issue in a fashion.  I have decided that if I drink as much water as possible it will help me keep my system flushed and running smoothly.  I don't think this has very much to do with my footprint.  I mean, really, that's not included in a wasteful category.  

I guess I will leave this with one or two thoughts on my sustainability:  I feel that I will continue to take greater strides toward being completely mindful of the ways in which I interact with my environment and the methods I use to reduce my waste.  I strongly believe in the Food Plus Recycling program that we have in Bellingham and will continue to increase my knowledge of the composting and closed-loop processes that work for our environment, not against it!