Ecological Footprint - End Results

I'll admit I was a little nervous that my footprint wasn't going to change at all, but WOW, what a difference! I know, I know, there are many caveats and potential misinterpretations in this quiz, and honestly I think that's where a lot of my reduction came from, but also from the number of small tweaks that I've been working hard to maintain all quarter!

New vs. Old

2.37 Earths...obviously not a great thing to think about, but a far cry from 3.78. I'm especially happy about this because it's much closer to what my footprint was the very first time I took this quiz when I was about sixteen. Retaking the quiz, however, I did a number of things differently. For example, since taking the quiz the first time, I found out the actual square footage of my home, which is much smaller than my original "guesstimate". I also reduced the number of miles I fly each year after calculating the distance from Seattle to places like Durango, Co, or Sun Valley, Id, two places where I fly most often. These small tweaks and more probably made at least as much of a difference as the actual goals I set, but at least I'm more informed about the reality of my footprint now, and Im happy that the more accurate one is lower than the guesstimate.

 Almost every category went down...except for food

This was confusing for me. I feel like a lot of what I did to enhance my goals was food-related, so why did it go up?! I've almost completely converted my grocery shopping to to Co-Op, I no longer skimp on expensive organic foods and buy the cheap Fred Meyer brand instead, and I've been trying to avoid produce that isn't in season, like berries and tomatoes, and focusing on winter crops. I guess I shouldn't be too upset because in the grand scheme of things I'm still doing better, I just can't figure out what I did differently to get these strange results. I'd say i've definitely been successful in my food goal; with all the habits I've changed shopping at huge supermarkets seems unappealing and a last resort to me now, and I know I'll continue that.

The corrections I made in transportation and housing are clearly visible. While I did cut out a few short car trips here and there, overall I was least successful at this goal. I'm still just as time-challenged as ever, so I still drive to work pretty much every day. I'm not giving up though; Spring is coming and I'll feel progressively guiltier about driving around in all that sunshine when I could be riding my bike.

 Then and Now, hardly a difference

The "biome" chart has the least impact on me; it doesn't give you a lot of context, and even though I've changed a lot about my footprint, it's barely noticeable on this graph. My last goal, purchasing a power strip to turn off electronics when not it use, was the easiest one of all. Within a week of setting this goal it was already a habit. I didn't even buy the power strip; I just started unplugging my lamps instead of switching them off (it does the same thing, right?), and doing the same with my laptop charger. Once I consciously thought about doing it each and every time, I quickly lost the need to think about it at all. This is an easy goal to keep up and I will absolutely do so.

There are a few other things outside of my set goals that I've done as well. For example, I bought a folding clothes drying rack, which I now use to dry most of my laundry on instead of using a dryer. I badgered my family about using my Seafood Watch guide to buy sustainably-sourced seafood, and, though I haven't really gotten the chance to put it into practice yet, I made another personal goal to stop buying into "fast fashion" as often as I do. I know the numbers from the footprint quiz may not be totally accurate, but it's still interesting, and encouraging, to see what a few small changes can do.