Ecological Footprint Update

Ecological Update

What an improvement! I realize that the improvement may only be 1.7 earths and I am still consuming far too much, but its progress. Its still crazy to think that according to this quiz if everyone consumed as much as me we would need almost 4 earths. The good news is that my goals worked! I have reduced almost all consumption categories except for the food category. I believe that the reason for this is simply because the quiz didn't have a option that represented my goal of eating vegetarian one day a week. That being said I was able to actually complete that goal. In-fact I was able to follow through with all of my goals. With moderate to great success.

Goal 1: Unplug Powerstrips 

My first goal which was to reduce my power usage was moderately successful. Over the last few months I have been turning off 3 powerstrips that powered my computer, TV, phone chargers, printer, PS4(console). Doing this every night and when I leave town has lead to a 3 dollar decrease in my power bill which equates to about 8.5% decrease in power. Which is .5% higher than my updated goal. I believe that the goal to unplug unused electronics is something I could easily do in the future. 

Goal 2: Walk to campus

My second goal was to reduce my carbon footprint which was a huge success. Over the last few months I have been walking almost everywhere including to and from campus. This has lead to a huge reduction in my carbon footprint which was my highest category. Infact i believe it was this lifestyle change that lead to at least a earths reduction. In the future i believe that this goal my be difficult to persue. The reason for this is I am unsure of how far I will be from my next job.

Goal 3: Eat vegetarian once a week

My Last goal was to eat vegetarian one day a week. What a realized while doing this goal was I already did this unconsciously at least once a week. This did not have an impact on my food footprint however. This is because the quiz simply didn't take small lifestyle changes like this into consideration when evaluating. I believe I could pursue this goal in the feature and even expand it to twice a week.

In the end this project was really eye opening and I plan on continuing to reduce ghost power and to eat vegetarian. I believe that by continuing these goals I will make new goals for myself.