Blogs
- What part of your ecological footprint most surprised you?
The fact that my lifestyle would consume 5.1 Global Hectares (planets) and emit 13.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide was very surprising and alarming. This was very eye opening as I thought I was energy efficient, however obviously I need to cut down on consuming resources.
2. How did your footprint compare to your city’s average and your country’s average?
My ecological footprint is 5.1 Global Hectares whereas Australia’s Global ecological footprint is 5.2 Global Hectares. Therefore I am just considered below average.
3. What parts of your footprint do you feel is possible to reduce? What parts don’t?
One main area I can specifically target is using more eco-friendly products as well as reducing vehicle transportation. However, food consumption would be hard to reduce as I am very dependent on this category daily.
1. Where you surprised by how much water you consumed?
Yes I was extremely surprised as I thought my lifestylewouldn’t consume that much water however, I consume a humongous 1525m3 of water per year.
2. How did your footprint compare to your country’s and the world's average? (You will need to research this.)
I was considered above average when compared to Australia’s average water footprint as my average water footprint is 132m3 larger than it. In addition, when compared to the global average water footprint, mine consumes 282m3 of more water.
3. What parts of your footprint do you feel is possible to reduce? What parts don’t?
The domestic section could be reduced as water usage at home can easily be cut down. However, the food section would be hard to reduce as my lifestyle relies heavily on it.
How do these simulations relate to your community? Do any of them feel irrelevant to your context?
Everyone can take certain actions to reduce their personal ecological and water footprint. This can easily start by educating people about the consequences for excessively consuming resources. If this occurs, people will then be mindful and start to reduce the amount of resources consumed, therefore the countries ecological and water footprint would significantly decrease.
How do these simulations help you (or not help you) find your place in combatting climate change?
The ecological and water footprint calculator simulation was very insightful on the how much resources I am really consuming. This made me realize I need to take immediate action against climate change by reducing the quantity of resources I consume.
Have these simulations changed how you think climate change should be tackled?
These simulations have made me realize that my current lifestyle is significantly contributing towards climate change. Therfore, I need to take certain actions such as reduce my resource consumption in order to positively impact on climate change.
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1 Comment(s)
Hi Sae,
I appreciate your self reflection in this blog post. A major challenge around climate change communication is convincing people that they should care "enough" to make changes to their everyday lives. Sometimes these changes are easy and people can adapt accordingly, other times they require a big shift that can feel out of someones reach. For example, eating meat. It can be surprising for some to realize the impact of the meat industry on the environment. How do we talk about something like reducing meat consumption without having people get defensive? How do help people recognize that they will need to make a significant shift if they hope to have an impact on climate change?
UalbertaKendra
Oct 6, 2017