Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I'm the Cause of Earth's Destruction


So I found this website called My Footprint.org. http://www.myfootprint.org/en/


It allows you to take a quiz to find out what your footprint in terms of household, food, material goods and energy. I am bummed because I feel like I do some great things to reduce energy, save water, etc. and according to the quiz it would require 5.5 Planet Earths to support my lifestyle for my lifetime. Seriously? Am I contributing that many more toxins and granola bar wrappers to the polluted oceans and filthy air than other lazy butts?

I have planned on doing more anyhow, and found this really great book called "Go Green - How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community" by Nancy H. Taylor. It's a handy dandy little resource that I plan on finishing and trying some of their tips. In the short term, I have already joined the recycling team at work, and sent the coordinator some new ideas that I haven't heard discussed. I also am planning on bothering our apartment complex to coordinate a recycling program onsite. I guarantee about 90% of people do not recycle because the bin is not picked up oustide their door. We have to save our recycling for weeks then spend gas an dcarbon emissions to travel about a mile away to sort it on our own outside. Guaranteed, we are almost the only people who do that here.
Tonight I also swapped two of our bathroom fixture lights with CFL's (Compact Florescent lightbulbs) and thought at first it was the same level of lighting. I forgot that the CFL's burn brighter the longer they're on. Now our bathroom appears to be bright enough to be landing planes on. Oh well, we won't have to replace the bulbs for another nine years, so as long as we bring them with us when we move, all's good in the brighty-mcbright bathroom.
Future projects, program the thermostat, buy more local foods, and insulate our windows with that cellophane stuff ASAP. They did a horrible job with the windows when they re-did the apartment building. We freeze!

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