Green Acres is the Place to be...

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and take the ECO-Footprint quiz. What is an ecological Footprint you ask? Well, gather around I'll tell you a story of how many acres of our planet it takes to sustain your household and what you can do to reduce it. or as it says on the Footprint website - If everyone lived like you, how many Earth's would it take to support your lifestyle?

From the most recent episodes of "Wa$ted" (see previous posts) it seems that most of the families run an average of 60-90 acres per family. A scary diagram is then shown of how land that really translates too. I'll be honest, I've been hesitant to take the quiz. I am truly trying to do better but I am faced with a few obstacles.

Obstacle #1 - I live in a 103 year old house. Yes, it has a heat pump (yay!) but it also has asbestos siding (boo!). Yes, it has a wrap-around porch and is in the shade most days (yay!) but a lot of the windows are painted shut and I don't have an attic fan (boo!).

Obstacle #2 - I live 12 miles from work with no public transportation to speak of.

Obstacle #3 - I really don't like fruits or vegetables :( I like MEAT!

I realize that these are just excuses and I DO have a plan for each to lessen my footprint. here is what I am proposing for #1 - get some of the windows unstuck and look into an attic fan. #2 - I have signed up for the OSU GreenRide Program (http://portal.greenride.com/OKstate/home.aspx) and have been matched up with someone so maybe that will work out a couple of days a week. And # 3 - I promise to visit the Farmer's Market at least once a month and WILL purchase and EAT the items that I find there.

And now, for my Ecological Footprint Results (drumroll please) 15.1 Acres! Not too shabby if I do say so myself! The area that I was least pleased with was the Services area. it seems that I eat too much prepackaged and non-local foods, which I kind of knew already.

If you would like to brave the quiz and get your own personal footprint go to http://www.ecofoot.org/ and then let me know your results!