The Human Footprint
What is sustainability?
sus·tain·able* -adj \sə-ˈstā-nə-bəl\
a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agriculture>
Give examples of ways that you can lessen your human footprint.
· Buy organic and local.
· Pay attention to packaging.
· Ditch bottled water.
· Energy-proof your home.
· Unplug it!
· The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle.
What is a human footprint?
The amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something (as a person's activities or a product's manufacture and transport) during a given period of time.
What do you think the video was trying to get across to you?
I think that the movie we watched was trying to show us how much we consume in a life time. The movie wanted to really make us aware of the amount of things we use, consume and waste by comparing different objects. For example the amount of showers we take in a life time was shown to us in little rubber ducks.
Find out what an Ecological Footprint is. What does Earth have to do with our footprint?
Ecological Footprint is the ecological impact of our activities and operations on our environment. The earth is and its resources provide us with everything, and when we pollute our earth it affects each and everything on this planet.
Describe some global impacts that occur because of consumerism.
con·sum·er·ism*- Noun \kən-ˈsü-mə-ˌri-zəm, -mər-ˌi-\
Definition of CONSUMERISM
1
: The promotion of the consumer's interests
2
: The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods
At least once in our life time we have all been shopping, without consumerism a society could not function, it needs some sort of consumption. We all consume all the time, but the real problem is how much we consume. Day in and day out we are badgered by advertisements, billboards, newspapers who are trying to get us to consume more. They all sell different things, the only thing they all have in common is the message they are giving out to the public. The more we consume, the better our lives will be. When we look at the big picture, that fact is not true. As consumers we don’t always know the cost of what we are buying. Take the banana here in Belgrade; have you seen any farm grown bananas around? I haven’t seen any but the ones in the supermarket that are shipped here from places around the world. Have you ever wondered while you are buying this product how many miles it has traveled to get here? How much fuel has been spent to get it here, now try and figure out how much this banana would cost if it was locally grown? The bananas would cost quite a lot less right? Every little act of consumption is linked to the big picture of consumerism. The big picture is how the world is being effected global warming and our effect of consumption and consumerism.
Reflect on what you learned about your family behaviors and actions and what type of Footprint you are leaving on the planet.
I definitely think that our family needs to become more aware on the effects of our carbon footprint. We can always do better, but we have started to recycle and put in energy efficient light bulbs. I hope that when we learn more about our carbon footprint we take more of an action then we are now.
Write down some ways that you believe you could lessen your footprint.
· Remembering to turn off lights, I think that is super important for our family to do. Turning off the lights could majorly affect our family’s footprint.
· Unplugging things that we don’t need. Before we watched the movie, I never knew that keeping something plugged in still uses energy even when it is done charging.
· Baths, my sister loves to take baths but the amount of water wasted is enormous! I find when you are taking a bath you are bathing in your own filth. Yuck! Yet I do find it relaxing.
Were there any facts that surprised you from the website?
· Planet earth supports over 6.1 billion people and 30 million fellow species.
· If everyone on Earth lived like the average Canadian, we would need more than four Earths to provide all the materials and energy we currently use. I wonder how many earths America would have…
· Currently we use about 2.2 hectares per person. We are running a deficit of -.4 hectares per person. We are using more than we actually have!
Those facts were popped out at me like a gummy bear in a vegetable plate!!
What about from the video we watched in class?
I learned a whole bunch of extremely interesting facts about the wildest things. I will show you some of the facts that I learned.
· 83% of the world is in use.
· Americans eat 40 billion hamburgers in a year.
· On average Americans will eat 1,423 chickens in a life time.
· On average a person will eat 25 pounds of candy in a year.
· Each person will throw away 15 tons of trash in a life time.
· 100,078 cans of soda opened every day.
· 1.2 million gallons of water, a person will waste in a life time.
· Sewer lines could wrap around the world 24 times!
· A person spends more time on beauty than education.
· 125 million cell phones are thrown away every year.
· 2 acres of land are cleared every minute.
· We will take about 37,320 pills in a life time.
What were some facts that stuck in your head and really made you think about human behavior on our planet?
I think that the fact that stuck in my head and will remain in my head is the amount of water we use in a life time. I mean, 1.2 million gallons of water, each person will use in a life time! That is just crazy to me! Now think about it, 1.2 million multiplied by the billions of people around the world that is a lot of water around the world wasted. My question is, when will the world’s water completely gone? Or because of the water cycle, the cycle with continue.
Finally, click on You Can Help to get some ideas about what you can do to help lessen the footprint you leave.
· Start with the 3 R’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
· Make sure you aren’t taking baths frequently.
· Turn off lights and unplug things that aren’t needed.
· Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
BY Blaise Sevier
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