My Footprint: The Negative Impact That My Lifestyle has on the Planet and My Goals to Be Better

#wwusustainability

For the first assignment of this class, we were tasked with taking a few different test that determined the ecological, carbon, water, and slavery footprint. The results showed me estimates of how much of an effect my current lifestyle has on the planet and those who live on it.

The first footprint test was the carbon test. This indicated that my household (my roommate and I) use about 23 tons of CO2 per year. This graph shows that the two categories that contribute most to my footprint are my travel and home utility use. I drive up to Mt Baker at least once or twice a week, which is about 80 miles of total distance there and back each time. I also fly a bit more than the average person, which is sometimes a necessity but is also very hard on the environment. In terms of food, I don't eat much meat but I also am not the best at composting my vegetable scraps. My apartment complex doesn't offer that service so I don't think about it much. Looking back, I realize that far too much of my organic, compostable scraps go into landfills.

                             

The next footprint test calculated my ecological impact. This one was very jarring for me because it really put into perspective how unsustainably I really do live. If everyone lived how I do, we would need 4.8 earths to maintain that lifestyle. I was happy to see that it was slightly less than the US average of 5.0 but when I looked at other countries, it was still really bad. For example, the average number for a citizen of Brazil is only 1.8. My personal earth overshoot day was March 16. This means that if everyone lived like me, we would use up all of the resources that the earth can renew in a single year. This is a very harrowing result and really makes me think more about how dire the environmental circumstances are currently. 

The water footprint test calculated that I use about 1,782 gallons of water per day. My household goes through 3,565 gallons per day. Again, my average is slightly less than the national average but there are still so many things I can do to improve this score. Water is one of the most precious resources that we have on this planet and it is hard to think about how much of it I waste on a day to day basis.

The next test calculates the amount of slave labor that contributes to my lifestyle. After answering a bunch of different questions, it was determined that 42 slaves "work for me". This is an especially sad number to learn of because when I compare my fun, happy lifestyle to the lifestyle that these people have, it's almost sickening. It makes me grateful for the family and culture I was born into that meant that I would never need to experience the horrors of slavery. 

I have decided to commit to three things to get me closer to living the more sustainable lifestyle that is required to fix the many issues with the world.

First, I plan to cut down on the amount of wasteful travelling that I  do. I want only carpool with someone else when I go up skiing instead of driving up in my own car by myself. I already ski with people every time and it is completely unnecessary for all of us to drive ourselves even if it seems more convenient some days. I also plan to take the bus to campus every day instead of driving, or at least get a ride with someone who lives near me. While it may be hard for me to cut down my air travel, I'm also going to be more mindful of making sure that the trips are absolutely necessary and warranted. 

Second, I plan to become more strict with my diet. Like I said previously, I already don't eat much meat but I plan to start eating none because it's not something I crave or need, personally. There's no reason for me to eat it, especially after learning about the impact that those industries have on the planet. I will continue to eat fish, but only ethical and sustainable fish. I have access to fresh, high quality salmon that is wild caught in a river by my brother and friends and I still plan to eat that. I won't however, eat fish that is not from this source. I also cook for my roommate and boyfriend often and I'm committed to making almost all vegetarian/low dairy meals for them. I can't force everyone around me to adopt my diet but when it is in my control, I plan to be more intentional with what I serve.

Lastly, I plan to commit to thrifting most of the clothes that I buy in the future. If not thrifted, I plan to completely avoid fast fashion brands and look closer at the ethics of the brands I do buy new from. I have a lot of clothes and I really don't need any new ones except replacing pieces that wear out/don't fit anymore. I commit to stop carelessly buying things just because they're "cheap" and because it brings me a few minutes of post purchase thrill. I hope that my small contribution can cut down on the amount of slaves that are required to maintain my lifestyle.

These three goals are ones that I believe to be achievable and while they may not have a massive impact on the state of our environment, I hope that even a little bit of good can come from them. I was shocked by the results of these calculators because I had previously thought that I lived a fairly green lifestyle already but they have shown me that there is more I can do to make a positive impact.