Ecological Footprint Analysis - Essay Example

Reflective Journal Ecological Footprint Part Footprint Ecological footprint is an indicator of sustainability to assess the measure of human consumption and its impact on the environment. This sections show my ecological footprint and how the calculation is worked out. The concept of ecological footprint, simply explained, is the land needed by an individual for sustenance. In order for everyone to live the way I do, we will need 6.2 earths. This is a fact since my carbon footprint is estimated at 46.91ga. I live in a temperate area with a homestead covering 2000 square feet. I use electricity biomass, heating oil and natural gas, and it generates 8.29% ga. I do not own a car. I neither turn off my computer nor do I have any energy saving features. My diet is usually assorted meat, grains and vegetables that make me an Omnivore. I mostly obtain food from supermarkets. I occasionally select organic food. I usually have two large meals a day. These facts it leaves my food footprint at 100.7 global acres and the country average at 65.74 ga. I own a 4-bedroom house, which is built from concrete. Inside the house, I own a little furniture made from sustainably produced materials. I sometimes use cleaning products that are non-toxic. I often buy new furniture every one year. If everyone on the planet lived the way I do, we would need 6.02 Earths. This result is quite surprising and exaggerated. It clearly shows that I have a high consumption of global resources. This is not quite a good indication since I am using up the resources that I do not own and do not have. I believe the footprint of an individual in a less developed country has a smaller ecological count than mine. This calls for measures to be taken immediately since if this goes on I will be wasting resources that could have been shared by others. During the past week, I have had to cut down on food consumption to one large meal per day. I have developed a habit of switching off lights that are unused. In addition, I have learned to switch off electronic that are not in use. This has decreased the number of Earths required to 3.4. Part 2: Stuff Ecological footprint analysis is an environmental accounting tool that estimates resource consumption. It also involves waste assimilation requirements of any population in terms of the corresponding productive land and water area. The following are waste materials I have thrown in the thrash can for the past one week: Metallic beer can Empty carton of milk/cigarette buds Piece of paper/tissue paper Banana peeling /plastic cup Plastic bag/gift wrapper Egg shells/chewing gum Candy wrapper/Diapers It is surprising how much garbage can accumulate with time. We do not realize it in day-to-day life. When my sister was an infant, we had to decide whether to bring disposable diapers with us to the cottage. On the island, we usually wash clothes by hand. Against better judgment, we thought life would be easier if we used the disposables. We brought a good supply of these diapers (an entire duffel bag] with us from the mainland. At that time, there was no recycling on the island. Garbage was either burned or tossed into the ocean. Knowing this, we made every effort to be mindful of waste, disposing of it in the most ecologically responsible way possible. But we had one serious problem: the growing accumulation of used disposable diapers. The ecologically responsible path was clear: separate the plastic, throw the waste into the ocean, and bring the plastic back to the mainland. This became inconvenient and extremely messy. On a small island, without formal garbage removal, the disposable aspect of the diaper became a significant concern. After some discussion and several inquiries about how the local population deals with this issue, we chose the easy and lazy method. I would put the diapers into large, plastic garbage bags and throw them into the ocean. I was hoping for a windy day, so the bag quickly float out to sea and then it submerged so it could not be seen. The ocean was unusually calm the day of departure. Assuming that I had collected the last of the disposable diapers, I threw two large garbage bags, filled with those wretched things, into the calm, pristine, greenish-blue waters of the Gulf of Maine. Several minutes later, seagulls peaked open the bags, scavenging my daughters fecal matter. Before long, dozens of diapers were floating across this beautiful harbor, floating a white path of plastic waste. They were like white buoys on the water, meandering in the calm harbor, slowly spreading out, and marking a trail of neglect. Firstly, we did not need the diapers we had the ability to wash the clothes using hands. This story shows how people have bought and disposed stuff that they do not need. Diapers have commonly been used among families across the U.S. most of the mentioned garbage are likely to be similar with any other’s across the U.S. Part 3: Water Consumption I sustain a family of four and own an outdoor swimming pool. The pool consumes about 30,000 gallons of water every two weeks. This pool is the principal consumer of water in the household. When it comes to diet, I love coffee. I usually take 2-3 cups of coffee every day. This has a significant impact in the calculation of my water footprint. On the third part, there are issues regarding the transportation element and the consumption of fuel of my vehicle. The last part is stuff and services. It asked questions based on facts about your gadgets and how they consume the water. The only area where I feel that I have wasted water is on the outdoor pool. I believe my water consumption is average, and I believe that there are many individuals who waste more water than me. There are certain patterns established in the use of water in my homestead, and they have tremendously helped me regulate the water consumption. When it comes to carbon footprints, Americans have some of the biggest feet in the world. Shelter-living peers produce a whopping 20 tons of CO2 per capita. What uses the most energy in lifestyle? Transportation, housing, and food. These are foods that are fresh and flavorful that are connected to a sense of place and transport one away from all the faux food that is oozing from every corner of culture today. It is food that can certainly be enjoyed allowing one to thrive, but does not jeopardize the ability of those who come in after doing the same thing. As it stands now, so much of current eating landscape dulls these vibrant connections—we are encouraged to gobble down food while multitasking and children are learning that dinner comes from the car rather than the kitchen. Earlier in my career, when I was actively counseling clients, I could already see the outcome of this lifestyle. All they knew how to do was survive on takeout, and they were miserable and often gaining weight. Part 4: Food This week was the “Take Action” phase, of my strategized diet designed to address the biggest problems associated with the food system, and the payback, in terms of both weight loss and a lightened carbon footprint, is going to be huge. "Can my eating habits cause warming of the planet?" Yes, and it is happening quicker than we thought. The consequences of your daily food choices go well beyond whether or not you will be able to fit into your “skinny jeans” tomorrow. Your choices resonate high up into the atmosphere, and like the extra fat cells on your derriere, they will linger there for a long time. According to a 2008 report in Human Ecology, food supply now accounts for about 19 percent of total US greenhouse and researchers estimate that up to 50 percent of this “energy bill“ could be trimmed with a few tweaks to the American diet Work Cited Kate, Geagan. Go Green Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet. Pennsylvania : Rodale, Mar 17, 2009 Print. Read More