calculate your ecological footprint

I wish this tool was more universally accessable... It asks you to select your location on an unmarked map, which will eliminate most americans ^^

I'm 5.9 apparently. Walking everywhere along with a semi-veggie diet (I do buffalo and the occasional steak) keeps mine lower I think.

[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Noise ]

First question was on the meat issue, and I quit.

Vegan is not necessarily more green than omnivorous -- it depends heavily on how the meat is raised and where you get it from. That and if you like your organic veggies, you're better off supporting mixed farming if you want to avoid chemical fertilizers. Not gonna happen if we're all vegan.

Stuff like this bothers me because there are a number of accepted "truths" that don't always stand up to closer scrutiny.

ah, raising meat takes a lot more energy. Even if it is Free-Range, Organic, self-loving Bison. But then so does making tofu so that's where the other questions about food come in.

I got a 3 - mainly because I'm poor and live in a tiny apartment with 2 other people, walk and never fly I think.

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Which is more sustainable on this quiz?

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I'm too lazy/at work to check up on the methods but they ask a couple questions about processed and imported food.

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I agree with that. I eat only locally-produced meat from mixed organic farms. I know vegans who eat avocados, bananas, tropical nuts. etc. Which is more sustainable on this quiz?

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That's the point -- it's not even addressed. Nor is the idea of gardening and putting up your own produce, which is something we do.

If you go further in, there's the question of flight mileage... No choice between 25 and 100 hours per year.

I'm sure the public transportation question, too, would have bumped up my score, because I don't tend to use public transport to commute. I work from an office in my house. That would be even greener than public transport, yes? It's also very difficult to live in a smaller city and not drive, but even if you do you're driving smaller distances in a city where you can go from one end to the other in 20 minutes

[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Timebandit ]

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Nonetheless, it does do a good job of highlighting the impacts of the meat industry on the globe.

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No, I'd have to disagree. It does a crappy job of it because it sets up a false hierarchy of vegan=good/omnivore=bad. It's not that simple, and the quiz doesn't ask about other viable alternatives -- some of which are more viable in terms of environment, food production and optimal health for the human body.

I was working at a climate change conference across the pond (yes, I flew there, what else?) and one of the participants carefully took apart this "footprint" nonsense.

I am evil (though slightly less than Canadian average) because

a) I eat meat and fish - usually grain-fed local chicken, or fish

b) I live alone (though in a smallish flat)

c) I took an evil plane across the pond, though otherwise I usually walk, ride my bicycle or take the mйtro.

Yes, it is absurd for anyone living in a smaller place, even if they are organic farmers!

Ran through it twice. I'm between 5.1 and 5.7, depending on a few assumptions.

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
[b]I don't think 'ecological footprint' is nonsense at all - it's an attempt to get folks to think about the impact they have on the world and on the environment. The quiz can be greatly improved, indeed some suggestions have been made in this thread. But it's a good first step in getting questions raised about our impact and challenging ourselves to do better.[/b]

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Yes and no. Some of their definitions of "better" aren't, actually.

I don't want to discourage people from reducing their waste and energy usage. I often bike or walk, recycle, try to shop sustainably, live in the most sustainable neighborhood in my city, etc. But you can tell by the choices you have for responses in the quiz that there is a strong bias to a narrow definition of what constitutes better or worse. I find that very irritating.

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Arrrggghhh. So you not only have the ecological disaster of the oilfields themselves, but also the morons making a bad situation even worse by their highly consumptive lifestyle.

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Heh, agreed... The morons need to stop buying Canadian built vehicles and switch to more efficient imports.

Noise was just displaying his all-consuming hatred of all things eastern and bastardly once again.

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There are efficient vehicles built in Canada, but it's the mentality that has to change - why buy a big Dodge Hemi V8 (or a big Ford or GMC) truck when a smaller one will do the job? I think people want to 'show off' and that's what I'm attacking.

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You're right of course, it's just discouraging to know we're the ones specializing in building the objects of conspicuous consumption as well as the ones buying them.

LTJ, I thought you would have frozen and died off by now... Meh, theres always hope

[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Noise ]

And I, too, am mistaken. The Ontario Truck Plant has been converted to manufacture 'cross-over' SUVs.

Yeah, those things should be banned, unless it is proven that they serve some useful purpose (for tradespersons, not for show-offs).

Right now, I have two friends who are on a term fellowship at Harvard. I'd like to visit them, but there are no more trains between Mtl and Boston. My choice is a horrible bus that will make me carsick, or the environmental absurdity of flying there.

60 years ago there were 5 trains daily (each way) between the two cities. [img]mad.gif" border="0[/img]

The train is by far the best motorized transport. Beautiful! And with today's technology, it should be a no-brainer. Too bad about all those ugly freeways in the way...

Oh and I forgot to add that with the savings on not having a second car we're planning on getting our power from a green provider. Most likely Bullfrog.
Ideally we'd like to have some of our power generated on site but thats a ways off.
I don't know the technical details of the electric bike yet in terms of recharging it, but I do plan to look into the possibility of doing it with a solar cell, same with our rechargable lawnmower.