Ecological Footprint Essay

I have often wondered how much my environmental actions contribute to bettering the

world. However, after taking my first Ecological Footprint quiz, it seems that my standard of

living requires 2.84 Earths to sustain the human population, about 1.84 more than I anticipated.

Surprisingly, changing my country of origin dramatically decreases the number of Earths needed.

So why does the country of origin matter so much? The ecological footprint quiz explains these

differences, and tries to direct our thinking to change our fundamental ideas of ‘progress’ and a

continually growing economy. This shift of ideas all comes down to politics, a composer of ideas

and power. Thus, the Ecological Footprint concept is political, and connects a personal footprint

to a nationwide footprint, raising awareness toward environmental protection, the first step to

change.

Personally, I make a daily effort to try to help the environment. I compost, recycle, buy

clothes from thrift or consignment stores, purchase organic food, and ride a bike. I am the

modern-day hippy. Yet, myfootprint.org calculates that I need 2.84 Earths to sustain the human

population using my ‘green’ lifestyle. I expected someone with my lifestyle to have a much

lower number. More staggering, someone living my same lifestyle in Honduras only requires

0.40 Earths to sustain human life. What accounts for these differences?

Honduras, a developing country, has far less infrastructure, people, and money to utilize.

This literally forces Hondurans to use less. On the other hand, Americans inherently use more

resources due to the infrastructure intertwined within the country. For example, an individual

may not have paved the road they live on, but by using it they take part in the use of such

infrastructure. The ecological footprint quiz considers these advantages and environmental harms

and absorbs it into individual inherent responsibility (“FAQ” Eco Footprint).

Due to this inherent responsibility, my third attempt of the quiz only lowered my result to

2.21 even though I changed my answers to become ‘greener’. From this ecological footprint

concept, it can be said that the sum of a country’s ecological footprint vastly outweighs an

individual ecological footprint. My individual actions had little impact on my overall score. In

addition, the Frequently Asked Questions portion of the website states that the end result is

calibrated by adding or subtracting an individual’s answers to an average baseline for a given

country (“FAQ” Eco Footprint). The United States’ baseline topples over Honduras’ in

comparison. Americans consider themselves lucky to have these advantages of infrastructure,

and in many ways we are. This quiz, however, raises the idea that perhaps this vast infrastructure

ultimately harms us by harming the Earth. There is only one Earth, after all, not 2.84.

The ecological footprint concept tries to change the idea that all progress and growth is

intrinsically good. Progress, while coupled with growth leads to more resources being utilized.

Furthermore, the quiz implies through the use of a baseline that real change takes more than an

individual; it takes collective action. If the United States can lower its baseline, then individual

choice will have a much greater impact. However, many Americans do not think about

environmental issues in a collective way. They buy compact florescent bulbs and worry no

further. The ecological footprint concept tries to change this way of thinking by comparing

answers to a nationwide average and suggesting voting environmental leaders into office; a

grassroots effort. In this way, the ecological footprint concept is political. What I mean by

political is not government parties, although those can be included, but the shifting of ideas.

Ideas are power and power is politics. For example, the President Obama and Governor Romney

are both trying to get into office because they believe they have the correct ideas to improve our

country. Their campaigns convince people of those ideas. So if political means the shifting or

attempt to manifest ideas into power, then the ecological footprint concept is entirely political. It

raises awareness and attempts to make grassroots change. The website wants people to take hold

of these ideas and to contact their representatives and make more environmental choices in their

life. These are fundamental changes in how many Americans think because ultimately

Americans may need to rethink what progress really means. Is progress growth, or can progress

be sustainability?

My roommate also took this quiz thinking he could get a lower score than me. He did not.

His dramatic increase from my answers to his at first made him laugh at the quiz, but when I

prompted him to take a look at how he could lower his footprint he truly considered the ideas. He

said, “Yeah I should try to do that.” Many of the consideration on the website had never occurred

to him, even though he lives with an Environmental Studies student. As an environmentalist, this

test strengthens my renewal to environmental protection, but for someone unfamiliar with these

practices, it can open their mind to new ideas. Ideas are power. Power is politics. Ideas, power,

and politics can lead to change.

On the other hand, I found quiz to be an imperfect system. The questions lack

information that may apply to students, and it assumes that I am living as a single family. For

example, income levels of my household do not necessarily apply. Some of my roommates have

jobs and many have loans covering their living expenses, but our overall income is not easily

combined. Furthermore, my house is split into two separate living areas: a basement apartment

and a main/top floor apartment. As a single household we share garbage and recycling, but I

have no influence on how the basement apartment disposes or how much they use. Finally, and

perhaps most obviously, this quiz is imperfect. I think if everyone on Earth used my standard of

living as a model we would not necessarily need 2.84 Earths. That answer is an estimate. The

estimate leaves out a country’s influence during wartime or the actions of groups within that

country. The average standard of living may be different in Kentucky than it is in Seattle,

Washington. These impacts are not taken into account and may influence my calibration.

Overall, I think the quiz is more effective than not. It may not be effective for immediate

widespread change, but it contributes to grassroots ideas that could lead to a movement. By using

a country’s infrastructure as a baseline for individual results, the quiz challenges our mode of

thinking and what it means to be environmental. Yes, individual actions plays a role, but this

concept alludes to the idea that in a free country, American citizens hold responsibility for the

infrastructure allowing them to easily consume and waste. In Honduras, a lack of resources,

labor or infrastructure forces Hondurans to use less. This concept challenges the idea that

progress or consumption as in developed countries can continue. This ecological footprint

concept is political, including the desire to change ideas and get a mass of people working

together. My results changed dramatically from one country to another and the quiz connects my

individual actions to that of a country, directing ones thought to the political notion that change

comes through politics, or the changing of ideas. The ecological footprint, if absorbed, could

change the world as we know it.

Works Cited

"Ecological Footprint." FAQ: Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct.

2012. <http://myfootprint.org/en/about_the_quiz/faq/>.