What's your footprint? your eco footprint

[Robert_Flowers]

CAUTION: THIS QUIZ MAY SURPRISE YOU
Ever wondered how much "nature" your lifestyle requires? You're about to find out.

This Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. After answering 15 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to what other people use and to what is available on this planet.

http://www.ecofoot.org/

This mine  
CATEGORY ACRES

FOOD 5.9

MOBILITY 4

SHELTER 6.2

GOODS/SERVICES 9.1

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 25

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 5.7 PLANETS.
 

Robert

[MountainDon]

I ran myself and found

       "CATEGORY   ACRES
     FOOD                 4.9
     MOBILITY       0.2
     SHELTER       5.2
     GOODS/SERVICES       3.7
     TOTAL FOOTPRINT       14

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 3.2 PLANETS."

Nor sure what it means... like I never travel by public transit... it's non-existant. I seem to be in a good/bad category; good as far as USA, bad as far as world.

Hard to design a one size fits all quiz.

[glenn-k]

       
           
     CATEGORY       ACRES
     FOOD       4.9
     MOBILITY       3.5
     SHELTER       3.7
     GOODS/SERVICES       4.9
     TOTAL FOOTPRINT       17


     
     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 3.8 PLANETS.


I figure we have destroyed so many Iraqi's and other countries, that there should be no problem getting enough for me. :-/  Isn't that the way we have been brought up to look at it? :-/

[southernsis]

Here is mine.


CATEGORY      ACRES

     FOOD      5.4

     MOBILITY      0.2

     SHELTER      1.7

     GOODS/SERVICES      1.2

     TOTAL FOOTPRINT      8

[MountainDon]

           
I figure we have destroyed so many Iraqi's and other countries, that there should be no problem getting enough for me. :-/  Isn't that the way we have been brought up to look at it? :-/

I'm not using my share of the "mobility" factor. Guess I inadvertently did that when I decided to work out of the home and make the clients come to me. Maybe that balances my use out, they use more  

[jraabe]

FOOD                       4.7
MOBILITY                  1
SHELTER                   5.7
GOODS/SERVICES    4.4

TOTAL FOOTPRINT    16

Interesting. I'm only 4 times as big an eco hog than I should be.  

[glenn-k]

OK -  I think I have solved the dilemma.  I wanted to know how I could improve our situation drastically and have found the way.

CATEGORY        ACRES
     FOOD       2.7
     MOBILITY       0
     SHELTER       0.5
     GOODS/SERVICES       0.2
     TOTAL FOOTPRINT       3

     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 1.0 PLANETS.


I simply pretended to live a new lifestyle and retook the test to see what my goals should be.

I decided that the ultimate improvement would be to change my life to natural living so I imagined myself living naked in the desert, eating lizards and cactus.  There are many wild burrows in the desert, so I could catch one and have a nice cushy carpeted ride for my little bare tush.  For fruit I would eat cactus apples - nopales could be a main course.  A hot spring would provide heat and water.

Shelter would be built of sticks, rocks, mud and brush.  Probably better bone up on my survival skills before I get started. :-/

Anybody care to join me in saving the planet? :-?

I think there are laws against some of this - possibly cruelty to animals.  Government would have to be gone for this system to work, I'm afraid.

[MountainDon]

I "improved"  :-/ on your rating Glenn, Got the footprint down to  2, by living in a hovel with 7 other people. Much everything else like you did. Oh and eating nothing but plants.  And tonight I'd be freezing my butt off! More snow coming!!     Is that what they want, everyone live in a hut and spend all their time grubbing around for food. Sorry but I'm kinda used to my place here. This must have something to do with why all those illegals want to come here.   I wonder what the footprint of the folks at ecofoot is?
           
     CATEGORY       ACRES
     FOOD       1.7
     MOBILITY       0
     SHELTER       0.5
     GOODS/SERVICES       0.2
     TOTAL FOOTPRINT       2

     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 1.0 PLANETS.

[glenn-k]

OH, Mountain Don.  You must come over to my shelter and share some barbecued lizard.  You'll get mal-nourished just eating those plants.

I have even given up sun block.  

Manure from the burro can be substituted for Chapstick.  It keeps you from licking your lips.  We will put all of the corporations out of business.

[MountainDon]

I'll have to catch a wild horse and begin the trek. Might not happen till spring if you're on the west side of the Sierra's.  :'(  ...and I'll forgo the sunblock substitute.

[glenn-k]

We could meet at Saline Valley Hot Springs - west edge of Death Valley.

[Amanda_931]

I'm glad y'all figured out how to "fix" the questionaire.

 Just a plain smiley.  Not a wink, or a belly laugh.

I'd have to.  I live 10 miles out of town, don't seem to be able to leave my vehicles here more than twice a week.  Public transportation is only available to the disabled.  And, hell, it shouldn't count because nearly always it is one person in a big van ferrying one other person.  etc.  And while I do love horses and mules, and presumably donkeys, I have no desire whatsoever to have any other living being dependent on me right now.  Cats and dogs are enough.  More than enough, although I don't think I'll bother going the Nearing's route and avoiding the entanglement totally.

[MountainDon]

We could meet at Saline Valley Hot Springs - west edge of Death Valley.

"THE" Saline Valley Hot Springs? The one where clothing is optional?    

[Deana]

 I found this under their FAQ section:


"Is there a more precise calculator?

Yes, you can download a full Excel spreadsheet http://redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainabilityindicators/ef/ef_household_0203.xls
version including the latest U.S. figures. The spreadsheet provides details for the components of each consumption category. It includes factors such as recycling, energy sources, housing construction and even how much tea or coffee you drink.""

[glenn-k]

We could meet at Saline Valley Hot Springs - west edge of Death Valley.

"THE" Saline Valley Hot Springs? The one where clothing is optional?    

One and the same Mountain Don.  Used to fly my airplane into it-   the landing strip - not the spring.  Except -- optional means you can wear it but people may think you are strange.

Don't ask Sassy about riding the Honda 70 we put in the plane 8 miles across the desert to a waterfall in a canyon.

So - anyone else want to help us save the planet?  Amanda?  Was that a smile or a grin?

[glenn-k]

That is quite a spreadsheet, Deana.  It looks like it would take a long time to fill out.  

[glenn-k]

The valley was surrounded by mountains, Mountain Don, and I departed from there several times at night.  The campers would keep the fires going good and use their bright shining white bodies to illuminate the runway for me so I could see to clear the mountains as I circled around the campground until I was high enough to get over the peaks.  

I stretched it a little but the part about departing at night and using the fire as reference was true.  If I stayed near the camp to gain altitude, I wouldn't slam into a mountain in the dark.

[MountainDon]

If I stayed near the camp to gain altitude, I wouldn't slam into a mountain in the dark.

Understood. Bummer slamming into a mountain day or night. Just more of a surprise in the dark. As long as there's something visible that you can relate your position to evrything usually works out okay.

I've never actually been there (Saline Valley), but have spent some time in Panamint Valley 4-wheeling. Gotta go back some day. Quite a variation in altitude from lowest to highest points in the USA in that area; less than a hundred miles apart I think.

Once a year or so some flatlander will fly his airplane into one of our mountains, mostly in bad weather but sometimes in broad daylight. They sometimes "forget" that they're already at 5000+ feet on the ground and when the plane doesn't climb like it did back home... whamo.  

[Amanda_931]

I'm just glad y'all figured out how to cheat.  Now I can take the test and feel good!

8-)

7 miles round-trip over a road I would not do if it were snowing to the nearest cup of coffee not made by me (or Alma, down at the barn)

I'm out in the country.

But I gather that my electric bill is low, even though I use a little bitty electric heater to heat this place.