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New Zealand: My Ecological Footprint
Our Ecological Footprint
We were surprised about our footprints for different reasons; one of us was surprised that theirs was as high as using 2.5 earths, and one was surprised that theirs was not higher than 3.5! Interestingly though, the higher result of 9.5 tonnes of CO2 and the lower of 7.1 tonnes were on either side of the average (it was hard to find an average for NZ) of around 7.7 tonnes.
This is different to Tonga, a Pacific Island country close to NZ and at risk of climate change. They have CO2 emissions of 2.2 tonnes per capita. This is because they have a more sustainable lifestyle there. Food can be produced close by - e.g. seafood and coconuts, and the amount of technology used is less. Also, it is a smaller country which means everything is closer so less transport emissions.
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What do you think are the limits and possibilities in affecting climate change by the reduction of individual footprints?
Some of the limits and possibilities of affecting climate change by the reduction of individual footprints is by either eliminating fossil fuels like coal , fuel etc or to simply find a substitute that would dramatically drop the Carbon emission released. Trains could replace some flights for close to medium- range travel eg family visits, work trips or simply to go school since planes release a great mas of emissions in the surrounding atmosphere and is a massive contributor in global warming.
How do these simulations relate to your community? Do any of them feel irrelevant to your context?
The simulation basically displayed how much we were using on a yearly basis and proved to us that the amount of unnecessary things we do, eat or use contributes massively when all put together in the amount of emission we release. It showed what we as individuals needed to improve on or change in order to live in a healthier lifestyle/society. However some of it were a bit unrealistic for the era we live in ie we can’t change our transportation, given that majority of the students from our school live far away. Changing something that might seem insignificant in the start might have a ripple effect in the wrong direction which could leave o create future unwanted problems
How do these simulations help you (or not help you) find your place in combatting climate change?
This quiz gave us an insight of what we are using too much of, and how that affects our individual carbon footprint. For example, not using cars for transport and walking or biking instead can also produce less co2 in the air and the more we stop using polluting types of transport the more better! The simulations show that we can start with something small which can turn into something huge if enough people are going to contribute with the changes that are done. However, there is a lot that depends on how the country is structured - e.g. the sustainability of houses built, the public transport system etc.
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1 Comment(s)
Hello New Zealand, I was interested in what you said about Tonga - that they use less technology. What kind of technology - how do you link use of technology to climate change? I was also curious to know if you use buses to go to school or bicycles? These are some of the things your Kenyan counterparts highlighted as small steps to wards reducing their ecological footprints.
So in New Zealand what are some of the challenges with regards to housing policies and transport? And what role do you think you can play as students to start facilitating change?
Lebogang Disele
Oct 5, 2017