From my calculations, my ecological footprint is currently 7.99 hectares. Most of this actually comes from the transportation, water use, and fun. When I compare this to the average Canadian ecological footprint of 7.25, mine is not that much higher. From my sheet, my calculations told me that I scored 130 on water use, 240 on transportation, and 160 on food.
I compared my footprint to some of my peers’ and I found that in our class, mine was pretty average. Natalie’s footprint was 12.6, Draedon’s was 6.8, Sinu’s was 8.35, and Glenn’s was 15.2
10 actions that currently increase my ecological footprint are:
- showers longer than 10 mins everyday
- flushing the toilet every time
- my clothes are bought new for me
- I spend time travelling with just my family in the car
- I need equipment for my activities; mainly sport equipment
- farmed fish is part of my diet
- my average day’s garbage can fit in a shoebox
- my family uses more than 2 vehicles
- dairy products are in my regular diet
- I hardly wear 2/4 of my clothes
Five actions that I want to change/improve are:
- showers longer than 10 mins everyday
- my average day’s garbage can fit in a shoebox
- my clothes are bought new for me
- I hardly wear 2/4 of my clothes
- flushing the toilet every time
I can take shorter showers by staying mindful of my time and using it wisely. Usually when I shower, I use the time to think and relax but I can also do that without wasting water. I can reduce my waste by recycling even more; often, I forget to compost or recycle and item and it ends up in the trash. This may be avoidable, however, if I just keep in mind my goal. Instead of buying all of my clothes new, I can also go to thrift shops to see if there are any suitable clothes there. Because I have so many clothes that I don’t regularly wear, I can donate them to charities and thrift shops to help those in need, or I can start to wear more of them regularly. I can save water by using the ‘yellow mellow’ method; only flushing when I need to.
reflection
Some of the changes that were a lot easier for me to make were reducing my waste and flushing the toilet less often. These were easier for me because mostly I just had to stay mindful and do it whenever I remembered. Sometimes I still forgot and threw away a tissue, or I’d eat a snack and need to throw the wrapper, but overall it was really easy to reduce my waste.
Some of the changes that were harder were taking shorter showers and wearing my other clothes more regularly. These were a bit harder because when I step in the shower, I get more comfortable and don’t want to get out. However, I still managed to make my showers a little shorter than usual. Wearing more of my clothes regularly was a bit harder because most of my closet are clothes that I don’t really like anymore; some of them I’ve outgrown and some are just not as comfortable.
Some obstacles I encountered was when I thought of one of the actions I wanted to change (my clothes are bought new for me). I realized this wasn’t something I could really change in a short-term (it’s not like I go shopping every day). I decided that I would make this more of a plan for the future instead. Another obstacle was donating my clothes; usually around every year, my family gets a call from an organization that would go around to people’s houses and pick up clothes that could be donated; this was already a regular thing and I realized that I wouldn’t need to ‘improve’ this part; I could just do it when the time comes.
Some steps I want to take in the future is washing my clothes in cold water. Even though I didn’t include it in the actions I wanted to improve, I still wanted to do it in the long-term. I also wanted to change how much heat I use; this winter I plan to wear more sweaters and not use the heat so often. I’ve also resolved to go shopping for clothes in thrift stores more often, and to donate all the clothes I don’t wear.
However, most of the changes that would be considered ‘good’ for the environment I don’t see myself doing. I enjoy having longer showers, eating dairy, and having a warm room. I also have a lot of sport equipment and I don’t see myself giving that up either; I enjoy skiing and playing field hockey, volleyball, etc. But after doing this assignment, I will start to become more mindful of my footprint and keep doing small changes to reduce my impact on the environment.